Tonight, we honor two more soldiers and one airman who died in Afghanistan. Two men were killed by an improvised explosive device, and the third died from a heart attack. Spam Nunn wrote about the first two men and I covered the last one. There are two more that will be included in Monday night's IGTNT.
Since 2001, there have been 970 American troops killed in Afghanistan. Since 2003, there have been 4374 American troops killed in Iraq. Please take a moment to honor their sacrifice.
Thanks to Timroff for our beautiful logo.
This tribute is by Spam Nunn.
IGTNT - Two Angels in the Sand
Please join us tonight in paying tribute to two more heroes who gave their country their last full measures of devotion this week, Spc. Robert Donevski and Tech. Sgt. Adam K. Ginett. Spc. Donevski gave his life providing safety to the people of Afghanistan. Tech. Sgt. Ginett gave his life while leading a team of men to blow up a cache of improvised explosive devices.
Angels, in the early morning
May be seen the Dews among,
Stooping—plucking—smiling—flying—
Do the Buds to them belong?
Angels, when the sun is hottest
May be seen the sands among,
Stooping—plucking—sighing—flying—
Parched the flowers they bear along.
- Emily Dickinson
Spc. Robert Donevski
Spc. Robert Donevski, 19, of Sun City, Ariz., died Jan. 16 in Abad, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered on a routine patrol, when a small band of Taliban attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
http://www.defense.gov/...
Ganko Donevski, a Vietnam veteran, said his son died defending other members of his unit and will receive the Bronze Star. He said Robert always longed to serve in the military like his father and vowed to enlist after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"He said, 'Daddy, I'll make them pay for this 9-11,' " Ganko Donevski remembers.
He said he son had recently been promoted to the rank of sergeant.
http://www.azcentral.com/...
A fellow soldier told Donevski’s family that he was shot in the head when his unit came under fire by gunmen. His brother, Christopher Donevski, said he was told that Donevski fought bravely to protect himself and his comrades. “During a battle, he was always the guy up front. He got shot saving his buddies,” Christopher Donevski said.
An avid sports fan, he played intramural basketball and had a 4-0 record in an amateur boxing league before entering the military. He followed the Phoenix Suns and the Buffalo Bills — his mother’s home team — and loved partying, playing Xbox games and hanging out with his friends. He was intense and occasionally intimidating — a born debater with strongly felt convictions, a friend said. “Even if he was wrong, he’d argue with you until he convinced you he was right,” said Stephen Northrop, of Scottsdale, Ariz. “You definitely had to have self-confidence to be around him.”
At the same time, his friend Sally Deadman knew him as a “softy.” “He would always text me and be so hard on himself when he would cry or get emotional about leaving all of his friends and family,” she said in an e-mail. “I don’t think many people got to see that side of him, but I’m glad I did.” [snip] He joined the Army in the summer of 2008, over the objections of his brother and mother, who worried about his safety. He said, ‘Momma, this is something I want to do. I want to serve,’” Linda Donevski said. To his friends, he laid out the decision as a no-brainer: “He said, ‘I don’t want to push pencils. If I’m going to die, I’m going to die doing something,’” Northrop said.
http://www.gazette.com/...
Spc. Donevski is survived by his brother, Christopher, and parents, Linda and John Donevski, of Sun Valley, Ariz.
Tech. Sgt. Adam K. Ginett (aka "Brother Circus Trick" to his EOD brothers}
Tech. Sgt. Adam K. Ginett, 29, of Knightdale, N.C., was killed in action on January 19th while conducting a dismounted patrol in the Arghandab River Valley, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. He was targeted indiscriminately as he and others in his patrol passed a buried, undetected improvised explosive device, enroute to a suspected cache location. He was assigned to the 31st Civil Engineer Squadron, Aviano Air Base, Italy.
http://www.defense.gov/...
Senior Airman (SRA) Adam Ginett of the 36th Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Flight, Andersen Air Force Base (AFB), Guam, prepare to detonate ordnance on the Tarague EOD range, by laying blocks of C 4 explosives over MK 76 Marine practice bombs. (Released to Public)
Location: ANDERSEN AIR BASE, GUAM (GU) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)
DoD photo by: A1C JOSHUA P. STRANG, USAF Date Shot: 5 Apr 2002
He was the son of James and Christina Kazakavage of Coats,N.C.. A graduate of East Wake High School, Sgt. Ginett lived in Knightdale before joining the Air Force at the age of 18. Sgt. Ginett received two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree in criminal justice and political science. He worked in explosive ordinance disposal. He was also a master sniper.
Sgt. Ginett served three tours in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan. He earned the Bronze Star on his first tour in Afghanistan. He was the head of the units that swept the buildings used for the Democratic and Republican presidential nomination conventions.
He is survived by his parents, James and Christina Kazakavage, and sister, Sarah Kazakavage, all of Coats; paternal grandfather, Joe Kazakavage of Port St. Lucie, Fla.; and maternal grandparents, James and Mary Haslam of Cary.
http://www.mydailyrecord.com/...
Air Force Tech Sgt. Adam K. Ginett had a reason for pursuing one of the most dangerous missions in the military, his mother said. "He told me, 'Mom, I don't go out there on the battlefield with a gun and shoot anybody. I find these bombs that are going to take someone else's life. I'm saving people's lives, not taking them,' " said Christina Kazacavage of Coats. [snip]
According to his grandfather, Jim Haslam of Cary, Ginett's unit was walking toward a location where a cache of IEDs was thought to be hidden. One other person was killed in the incident and three were wounded, Haslam said.
Ginett opted for explosive ordnance duty after he graduated from boot camp. Though he had planned for a career in the military since he was in high school, he had other interests, too. He interned for four summers during high school with cartoonists at Walt Disney World in Florida, and he worked in Nancy Redman's pottery studio in Knightdale during his last year at East Wake. Redman remembers him as an artistic friend of the family. "He just had a big interest in art," she said.
http://www.newsobserver.com/...
An Air Force carry team carries a transfer case containing the remains of Tech. Sgt. Adam K. Ginett Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Ginett, 29, of Knightdale, N.C., died Jan. 19 near Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan of wounds from an improvised explosive device.
Visiting hours will be at the Thomas Funeral Home
401 N. Ennis St.
Fuquay Varina, NC 27526
There will be funeral Mass at St. Bernadette's Catholic Church
1005 Wilbon Rd
Fuquay Varina, NC 27526
Tech. Sgt. Ginett will be buried with full military honors at the Arlington National Cemetery in Alexandria, Va.
Please pray for the souls of these heroes, and for the loved ones they leave behind.
DoD Announces Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael P. Shannon, 52, of Canadensis, Pa., died Jan. 17, in Kabul, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to Headquarters, 7th Army and U.S. Army Europe, Heidelberg, Germany.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael Shannon considered it an honor to serve his beloved country. His strong feelings of patriotism were apparent by the "Obama/ Biden" sign still standing in his yard, a year after the inauguration. His wife, Donna, told the Pocono Record
"The Army was his life. The only thing equal to the Army in his life was his family," Donna Shannon said.
She added, "He was a Soldier through and through"
snip
"His attitude was, we're all going die some way," Donna Shannon said. "No one has a master plan to avoid it, so don't use it as an excuse to not do your part for your country and your family. That's the kind of man he was."
Sgt. 1st Class Michael Shannon died from a heart attack while serving in Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife, Donna, and three children: Rhea, 21, Michel'le, 18, and George, 9. He is also survived by his mother, Lorena Shannon. Shannon's funeral will be on Tuesday in Canadensis, Pa. Memorial contributions may be made to Barrett Township Volunteer Fire Company, P.O. Box 1, Buck Hill Falls, PA 18323, and to Barrett Friendly Library, RR1, Box 1010, Cresco, PA 18326.
Rest in Peace, Sgt. 1st Class Michael Shannon.
We Remember Them
In the rising of the sun and its going down,
We Remember Them.
In the bowing of the wind and in the chill of winter,
We Remember Them.
In the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring.
We Remember Them.
In the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer,
We Remember Them.
In the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn.
We Remember Them.
In the beginning of the year and when it ends,
We Remember Them.
When we are weary and in need of strength,
We Remember Them.
When we are lost and sick of heart,
We Remember Them.
When we have joys and special celebrations we yearn to share,
We Remember Them.
So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are part of us.
We Remember Them.
~From the Jewish Book Of Prayer~
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind. Its title is a reminder that almost every day a military family gets the terrible news about a loved one. Diaries about the fallen usually appear two days after their names are officially released, which allows time for the IGTNT team to find and tell their stories.
All of the U.S. fatalities can be seen here and here. They all had loved ones, families and friends. The DoD news releases are here. I Got the News Today is intended to honor, respect and remind. Click the IGTNT tags below for previous diaries.
Click the IGTNT tags to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by monkeybiz, noweasels, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, a girl in MI, Spam Nunn, JeNoCo, Janos Nation, True Blue Majority, CalNM, and me, Sandy on Signal.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members chronicled here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.