Tonight, there are two Marines to honor. Both were brave, young men who had only been in Afghanistan less than two months. They leave heartbroken families and friends.
Since 2001, there have been 1371 American troops killed in Afghanistan. Since 2003, there have been 4427 American troops killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom and 9 killed in Operation New Dawn. Please take a moment to honor their sacrifice.
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.
Special thanks to racheltracks for her help with comments, tonight.
In Flanders Fields
by Lt. Col. John McRae, MD, (1872-1918)
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved,
and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Lance Cpl. Dakota R. Huse, 19, of Greenwood, La., died Nov. 9 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Dakota (Cody) Huse had been in Afghanistan less than eight weeks when he was killed by an IED in the Helmand Province. He was a 2009 graduate of Huntington High School in Shreveport. He is survived by his mother, Donna Huse, brothers, Javoris Hinton, Matthew Phifer and Dusty; sisters- Leslie, Samantha and Sabrina .
His mother is maintaining his facebook page and wrote:
Nothing yet really .waiting to finally have Cody home and get things done . I want to again thank everyone so much for your words and prayers . They help so much . Keeps me close with my Dakota(Cody) your all are amazing and you've all touched our hearts so much we will keep everyone updated as we know more
His classmates held a vigil for him at school. The Shreveport.com reported students heard from the Louisiana Purple Heart Association President, Richard Gardner, and from their choir. The family cried when the Star Spangle Banner was played. Then, the students quietly walked past a photo of Cody Huse. His brother told the Shreveport Com:
"He served his country, loved his family, loved his friends, and that's what meant the most to him", said his brother, Matthew Phiffer.
Please remember Cody and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Rest in peace, Lance Cpl. Dakota (Cody) Huse.
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Lance Cpl. James B. Stack, 20, of Arlington Heights, Ill., died Nov. 10 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Lance Cpl. James B. Stack died in Afghanistan from small arms fire while on foot patrol. He died on the 235th Anniversary of United States Marine Corps. Stack was part of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Division which has seen heavy losses. He was the sixth Marine from the base killed in a week. He had been in Afghanistan about a month before he was killed. From Sign on San Diego:
Stack was serving with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment on his first combat deployment. His death was the sixth fatality in a week from Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in southwestern Afghanistan and the battalion's 15th Marine killed in combat since Oct. 8th.
The 3/5 Battalion is fighting insurgents for control of Sangin, which is the last major population center in Helmand province under Taliban control...
Since the time he was 14, James Stack knew he wanted to join the U.S. Marine Corps. His minister spoke with him about the Marines and the dangers, but Stack told him he was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. In April of 2009, Stack enlisted in the Marines.
Stack was home schooled. He was a skilled marksman and 2008 Champion of Junior Olympics as an air pistol shooter. He told his father:
I can shoot better than they can, don’t worry about me, I’m coming home,” James Stack wrote.
His father, Robert Stack, told of a letter his son sent, telling him he was "more than a dad, he was his friend." The grief stricken father spoke proudly of his son and the Marines, to the NBC Chicago TV video here, he is honored to be his dad and they had were more than "a father and son, they had a certain friendship. "
His father added:
“Freedom is not free,” said Robert Stack. “The military pays the price with their own blood. I have no regrets. I was his biggest supporter and biggest fan.
“I can’t think of anything that made me prouder than seeing him become a Marine and seeing what he had to go through to earn that title. I didn’t appreciate how difficult it is.”
Along with his parents, James Stack leaves behind a widow, Katie, and a baby daughter.
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, Spam Nunn, True Blue Majority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, Ms Wings, Jax Dem, Kestrel 9000, racheltracks, csas, 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.