Tonight, we honor two more soldiers killed in Afghanistan. One was from Memphis, Tennessee and the other was from Greenville, South Carolina. They were killed when and IED struck their vehicle in Afghanistan.
Since 2001, there have been 972 American troops killed in Afghanistan. Since 2003, there have been 4374 American troops killed in Iraq. Please take a moment to honor their sacrifice.
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DoD Announces Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Jan. 13 at Combat Outpost McClain, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. The soldiers were assigned to the 118th Military Police Company (Airborne), 503rd Military Police Battalion (Airborne), 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.
Killed were:
Staff Sgt. Daniel D. Merriweather, 25, of Collierville Tenn.
Pfc. Geoffrey A. Whitsitt, 21, of Taylors, S.C.
Last Wednesday, January 20th, Congressman Steve Cohen (D) TN-09 read aloud a tribute to Staff Sgt. Daniel Merriweather on the House Floor. He honored him with the following statement:
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a Memphis/Shelby County citizen who gave his life in service in Afghanistan. Staff Sergeant Daniel Merriweather is the first soldier to die from Memphis in 2010 and the 12th since 2002. He died when his convoy ran over an improvised explosive device.
“Staff Sergeant Merriweather graduated from Overton High School in Memphis, Tennessee, where he studied broadcast journalism, played football, loved sports, cowboy hats, boots and country music and you can see from his picture, and the reflections from his friends, how much he loved life and how popular he was.
“Staff Sgt. Merriweather wanted to serve his country and he did so. He had two tours of duty, one in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. 25 years of age, he's survived by his wife and two children, including Daniel Merriweather Jr. who is just 3 months old. He has a sister and brother as well.
“These are the 12 soldiers that have died from Shelby County, and unfortunately staff Sergeant Merriweather joins that company.
“Let us honor the life of Staff Sergeant Merriweather.
The House holds a brief moment of silence.
“Thank you Mr. Speaker.”
Thank you, Congressman Cohen, for remembering and honoring Staff Sgt. Daniel Merriweather.
Daniel Merriweather's mother, Pamela Finnie, spoke to Eye Witness News about her son:
"Most people don't get to do what they want to do in life,” said his mother, Pamela Finnie. “Most people don't get to die doing what they want to do in life, and he did what he wanted to do."
snip
Pamela Finnie told of how at 17, he wanted to enlist. She did not want to sign the papers, but knew it was what Daniel wanted. He loved his country and was proud to serve. This time; however, Finney said he had a sense things weren't going right in Afghanistan for him:
"We were talking and he told me, he wasn't going to make it back this time,” she said. “It was different. He just knew. He just knew that he wasn't going to make it back."
“Daniel's not the kind to stand still and suffer,” Finnie said. “He's gone on to his next mission.”
Staff Sgt. Daniel Merriweather was laid to rest on Friday, January 22 in Memphis, Tennessee. Along with his mother, he is survived by his wife and two small children.
Photo from Commercial Appeal
Once there were two yellow ribbons wrapped around the tree at the Whitsitt's home, one for each of their sons serving in our wars. Now, they have been replaced with one yellow and one black ribbon. The Greenville Online spoke to the parents, Steve and Debbie Whitsitt:
Steve Whitsitt said he and his wife had just walked out to the front porch of their home on Marsh Creek Road to have lunch Wednesday when a government vehicle pulled up.
“We knew as soon as we saw the first one get out of the car that it was not going to be good news,” he said.
“Geoff knew at four years old he wanted to be a soldier, and he never waivered from that,” he said.
His goal was to become an Army Ranger, Whitsitt said.
“He had a warrior spirit,” according to his mother.
But above all, he was driven by the desire to help others and to serve God, she said.
“He loved his life. He loved his friends. There is nothing that I can think of that I would have wanted differently in how he lived his life,” she said. “He loved God.”
Pfc. Geoffrey Whitsitt was laid to rest on Saturday. My deepest condolences to the family.
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.