Tonight we have four soldiers to remember. All were killed in Afghanistan.
Since 2001, there have been 1363 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.
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Nov. 1 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Killed were:
Spc. Jonathan M. Curtis, 24, of Belmont, Mass., and
Pfc. Andrew N. Meari, 21, of Plainfield, Ill.
Spc. Jonathan Curtis and Pfc. Andrew Meari were guarding the entry to Camp Outpost Senjaray when a suicide bomber tried to enter the base. The two soldiers stopped him at the entrance and the man detonated the bomb, killing all three of them. The two soldiers died protecting their fellow soldiers.
Spc. Curtis's parents, Philip and Pamela Curtis, told a Mass. television station kwqc.com. their son saved seven lives.
Philip Curtis says their pride doesn't diminish their loss.
The two posthumously received the Bronze Medal for Valor and the Purple Heart medals.
“There’s valor there; there’s bravery; there’s a sense of duty to the mission to do what I’m supposed to do,’’ said Philip Curtis of Cambridge, who was briefed by the Army on his son’s death.
Philip and Pamela Curtis spoke with the Boston Globe about remembering their son:
“Jon died in a war that is pretty much out of the consciousness of the average American,’’ Philip Curtis said. “It’s just something that goes on. If there were a draft, and if the sons and daughters of congressmen, as well as Wall Street bankers and professors and lawyers and everybody else, were sharing in this personal sacrifice, maybe the outcome wouldn’t be any different, but we would pay a little more attention to where we were and what we were doing.’’
Samantha Curtis, Jonathan's wife, told the Knoxville Sentinel:
"He saved seven to nine lives. The other soldiers were injured, but they will survive as a result of my husband," Samantha Curtis said. "I'm very proud of him. He's just an awesome man."
Jonathan Curtis was raised in Belmont, Mass. In 2004, he joined the U.S. Army. His mother, told the Globe:
Before his enlistment, Pamela Curtis said, “he wasn’t particularly good with people who wanted to make him jump, and turn on a dime, and were screaming at him.’’ But after basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., she said, “he came back standing up taller and a number of pounds lighter and looking me in the eye. He had a whole different demeanor about him.’’
He served a tour in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.
He met Samantha when he came down to Knoxville to visit an Army buddy. Immediately, the two hit it off and became engaged five days later. The couple married in February, 2009. They have a seven month old daughter.
Samantha told the Knoxville Sentinel:
Samantha Curtis said her husband was a great father and husband, and a "soldier 99.9 percent of the time."
"He was a good man. He tried to help people and he tried to make the world a better place," she said. "I am so proud of him. He died in very good standing. He did nothing wrong; he was trying to help."
Family photo submitted to Knox News.
Spc. Curtis will be laid to rest on Tuesday, November 9, 20101, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Patriot Guard Riders will provide escort. A memorial service in Belmont will be scheduled at a later date. A memorial fund to Jonathan Curtis has been established by the family. This fund will provide for our youth to attend Boy Scout and high adventure camps.
Rest in peace, Spc. Jonathan M. Curtis.
Andrew Meari's grandfather served in the Korean War. His grandson bore a striking resemblance to him and would follow in his footsteps and enlist in the Army. Pfc. Andrew Meari carried his grandfather's photo with him wherever he went.
His uncle, Todd Williams, told the Herald News
“That was something he was proud to carry,” Meari’s uncle said Wednesday.
“He had a lot of potential,” Williams said. “He found his niche in the military. He loved being a soldier, and he loved doing what he was doing.”
Meari was a bright and well liked student. His parents were divorced. His mother, Denise Meari, lives in Plainfield, Illinois. His father, Mahmoud Meari, lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Andrew spent his childhood in Plainfield, he graduated high school in Wisconsin. Meari joined the Army in 2008. He deployed for Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne in May, 2010.
“He died a hero,” Williams said. “He is going to be missed — he and the other soldier who was killed. They were good friends. They had a pretty tight unit.”
“He did something that a lot of people can’t do or won’t do. His commanding officer spoke glowingly of Andrew and Jonathan. He was well-loved by his family as well as the soldiers he worked with. He died defending his country. That’s the ultimate sacrifice. God bless him.”
Pfc. Andrew Meari's funeral will be on Veteran's Day, November 11, 2010 at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery. Patriot Guard Riders will escort.
Rest in peace, Pfc. Andrew Meari.
DOD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Spc. James C. Young, 25, of Rochester, Ill., died Nov. 3 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 863rd Engineer Battalion, Darien, Ill.
Chad Young had just returned to Afghanistan after being home for a visit, when he was killed by an IED. The family is in shock. From the sjr.com :
Young returned to his forward operating base in Afghanistan Oct. 29. He was killed five days later.
“I’m just glad we all got to see him before it happened,” Steven Baptist said.
This was Chad's second deployment to Afghanistan. His job was to drive ahead of Army convoys to ensure the roads were safe. On November 3, his vehicle hit an IED, killing Spc. Chad Young.
“You see this every day on TV, but it doesn’t hit home until it hits your house,” Young’s brother, Steven Baptist, said through tears while gathered with other family members at his Auburn home Friday afternoon.
“I never would have thought it would be Chad.”
Young was a 2003 graduate of Glenwood High School. He joined the Army in 2004. He is the son of Brett and Jerry Young. Young came from a blended family of four boys. They all considered themselves family. Stven Baptist is Chad's older brother by ten years.
His brother, Bohdon, told the SJ-R news:
“The four of us, we always looked at ourselves as real brothers,” Bohdon Baptist of Auburn said. “We just want Chad remembered. He was a great person. He led a great life so all of his family could live in a free world.”
Funeral arrangements are pending.
Rest in peace, Spc. James Chad Young.
Sources: ksdk, SJ-R.com.
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Sgt. 1st Class Todd M. Harris, 37, of Tucson, Ariz., died Nov. 3 in Badghis province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.
This was Sgt. 1st Class Todd Harris's second time in Afghanistan. It was his fourth deployment. He previously served in 2002. He served in Iraq in 2003 and 2006. He was due home for the holidays.
Todd Harris was born in Texas. He graduated in 1992 from Sahauro High School in Tucson. He was a star football player and very well liked. From KVOA:
Best friend Scott Ford says he's known Todd since the 5th grade and can't believe that he's gone.
Ford said, "Todd Harris was a man that had a smile that would light up the room."
He says Todd planned on coming to Tucson for the holidays.
Ford said, "He said he was coming down during winter time to hang out in Tucson, and then a few days later I found out that he passed away, it's just crazy."
Sgt. 1st Class Todd Harris leaves behind a son and daughter.
Sources: Tucson Sentinel, KVOA.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
Rest in peace, Sgt. 1st Class Todd Harris.
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.