The year 2010 has seen the the highest annual death toll in Afghanistan for U.S. troops with 498 killed in the costly war that began in the fall of 2001. Another 60 Americans died in Iraq. Since 2001, there have been 1369 U.S. troops killed while serving in Afghanistan, and since 2003, 4430 U.S. troops killed while serving in Iraq.
The IGTNT (I Got The News Today) series is a reminder that nearly every day, somebody gets the heartbreaking news that a friend, former classmate, or beloved family member will not be coming home from war.
Tonight we remember two young Marines, lost to all who love them:
Sgt. Garrett A. Misener, 25, of Arlington, Tennessee
Cpl. Tevan L. Nguyen, 21, of Hutto, Texas
Please take a moment below to remember them, and all those
who have lost their lives in these wars.
The Department of Defense confirmed the deaths of two Marines killed in action in separate incidents in Afghanistan:
Sgt. Garrett Misener and Cpl. Tevan Nguyen.
Sgt. Misener from Camp LeJuene, was a veteran on his sixth combat tour, and Cpl. Nguyen was on his first combat deployment.
Cpl. Nguyen is Camp Pendleton's second Marine to die in the past week, and the 22nd death for the battalion since arriving in Afghanistan in late summer.
Lance Cpl. Kenneth Corzine, 23, died on Christmas Eve from complications stemming from a December 5 roadside bombing. Please visit the moving tribute written by joyful.
Cpl. Eric Torbert Jr., 25, another Camp Pendleton Marine is honored here, along with Cpl. Sean Osterman, 21, of Camp Le Juene.
On Christmas IGTNT honored Lance Cpl. William Crouse IV, 22, and his Military Working Dog, Cane, who were attached to both Camp Pendleton and Camp LeJuene.
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Sgt. Garrett A. Misener, 25, of Arlington, Tennessee
Sgt. Misener died on December 27 after a hidden roadside bomb exploded during his foot patrol in Helmand, province, Afghanistan. Sgt. Misener was a squad leader assigned to 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Sgt. Misener's 22 year old sister was the first family member to get the terrible news at 11:15 Sunday night.
"Just came back from work, making dinner, got a doorbell ring," she said.
"I saw two marines standing there, I said, 'Oh God, please let it be he's sick,
loosing an arm or leg or something'. I knew it was just wishful thinking....
They had me sit down before they told me." His sister said their mother was in California visiting family.
"They wanted to talk to my mom, so I called her on my phone.
They told her over the phone."
Garrett Misener was born in Clovis, New Mexico. But when he was just an infant, his family moved to Utah after his Baptist pastor father began work in a church there. Garrett spent 11 years in Utah before moving with his mother and two sisters to Memphis, Tennessee.
Garrett graduated from Cordova High School on the outskirts of Memphis in 2003. He loved motorcycles and Mustang cars, and his dog. And he wanted to be a Marine for as long as his sister can remember. Garrett enlisted at the age of 18.
"We'd play all his favorite games and all his favorite games had to do with pretending we're in the military," she said.
"He loved everybody, had a strong passion for people, for people to feel safe and loved.
I think that's part of why he wanted to be a marine."
She says her big brother was an amazing person.
"He was a great guy, my big brother, he took care of me."
She said the last words she heard from her brother before he was deployed
this summer, were, "Love you, take care of your mom."
Garrett's father is an ordained pastor who serves at Bethel Baptist Church in Alamogordo, New Mexico. He said his son had one month remaining on his current deployment before he was scheduled to return to North Carolina.
"This was the third Christmas in a row that he had been deployed,"
his father said.
"He had been deployed a total of six times.
That is the price we are asking these young men to pay."
His father said Garrett loved serving his country as a Marine, and talked about with pride. And he said Garrett was willing to do his part, despite the risks involved.
A memorial service is planned this week for Sgt. Misener in Germantown, Tennessee, and next week in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
Garrett had expressed a desire in his will to be buried in New Mexico, most likely in Belen next to his beloved uncle, a nine-year veteran of the New Mexico State Police.
"Garrett had expressed to his mother and to me that he wanted to come back to New Mexico," he said. "He and Randy were really close."
Gary said he has received an outpouring of support from his friends in Alamogordo.
"This a military town," he said. "It really hits home here."
Among those Sgt. Misener leaves behind are his father, his mother, his sisters, and his Marines.
Sgt. Garrett Misener is missed. May He Rest in Peace.
Source; Source; Source; Source
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RIP Marine (TAPS)
written by Horace Lorenzo Trim
Fading light, dims the sight;
And a star gems the sky,
gleaming bright.
From afar, drawing nigh;
Falls the night.
Day is done, gone the sun;
From the lakes, from the hills,
from the run
All is well, safely rest;
God is nigh.
Then goodnight, peaceful night;
Till the light of the dawn shineth bright.
God is near, do not fear;
Friend, goodnight.
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Cpl. Tevan L. Nguyen, 21, of Hutto, Texas
Cpl. Nguyen died in combat on December 28 when an improvised explosive device exploded in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Cpl. Nguyen was a rifle team leader assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Camp Pendleton, California.
Tevan Nguyen grew up in Hutto, Texas. He ran track and played football for Hutto High School, and played in the 2005 state championship game. His friends and family remember him as someone who excelled at whatever he tried, and who always had a great sense of humor.
Tevan's family and friends said he had long planned to be a Marine. So it was no surprise when he joined the Marine Corps in June 2007.
Cpl. Nguyen was serving his first combat deployment when he was killed.
"I'm very proud of him because all his life he always did the right thing,"
said his father, while fighting back tears.
"It still makes me proud of him. He did it for the cause he wanted to," said a friend.
"Tevan was always like a little brother that always wanted to help everyone.
He'll put anyone in front of him and not worry about himself."
Tevan had also always wanted to have a family, and he married young. He and his wife happily welcomed their first born son earlier this year. Cpl. Nguyen got to spend just 9 days with Tevan Junior before going off to war, never to return to his loved ones.
Cpl. Tevan Nguyen's awards include the Purple Heart Medal and Combat Action Ribbon, among many other decorations.
Among those Cpl. Nguyen leaves behind are his wife and infant boy, and his parents and a sister.
Cpl. Tevan Nguyen is missed. May He Rest in Peace.
Source; Source; Source
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Photos Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Thanks to Timroff for our faithfully lighted candle IGTNT logo.
(Other Photos by CalNM)
Helping our troops:
If you wish to assist our military and their families, consider Operation Helmet, or sponsoring a deployed service member at TroopCarePackage.com.
Fisher House provides housing for families of injured troops and veterans who are recovering in hospitals, and Guardian angels for soldierspet assists the animal companions of our deployed military.
When our veterans come back home, they can find support at Welcome Back Veterans.
Our recently returned veterans need jobs, and Veterans Green Jobs is now hiring for positions and filling training sessions. VGJ corps retrains veterans as leaders in forest and resource conservation, green construction, and energy efficient upgrades of homes in rural areas. Encourage a Veteran, and see if you can help out.
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About the IGTNT series: I Got the News Today is intended to honor, respect, and remember the fallen, and to remind us that each casualty has family and friends who received the terrible news that their loved one has died at war.
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. The US Department of Defense news releases are found at defense gov/releases. Icasualties lists the names of those killed, and shows the number of wounded. Published AP photos of the returning war fatalities are found on the Dover AFB page.
Click the IGTNT tags below for previous diaries in 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, Proud Mom and Grandma, Sandy on Signal, Wide Awake in Kentucky, Ms Wings, maggiejean, racheltracks, ccasas, JaxDem, and me, CalNM. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but are an important service to those who have died, and show our community’s respect for our fallen brothers and sisters.
Please bear in mind that these memorial 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.