Tonight, we honor three Special Forces soldiers killed in Pakistan. These are the first casualties reported from Pakistan that were part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The U.S. Embassy said the soldiers were part of a small, specialized group which is in Pakistan to train Pakistan's Paramilitary Frontier Corps. The soldiers were dressed in civilian clothes. They were attending an inauguration ceremony for a girls' school, built by U.S. aid, when a bomb exploded killing 4 school girls and injuring 65.
Since 2001, there have been 986 American troops killed in Afghanistan. Since 2003, there have been 4375 American troops killed in Iraq. Please take a moment to honor their sacrifice.
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From the Department of Defense:
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Feb. 3 in Timagara, Pakistan, from wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.
Killed were:
Sgt. 1st Class David J. Hartman, 27, of Okinawa, Japan. He was assigned to the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne), 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.
Sgt. 1st Class Matthew S. Sluss-Tiller, 35, of Callettsburg, Ky. He was assigned to the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne), 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.
Staff Sgt. Mark A. Stets, 39, of El Cajon, Calif. He was assigned to the 8th Psychological Operations Battalion (Airborne), 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.
Trea Bacon spoke to her son via skype just the day before he was killed by a bomb explosion at the opening of a Girls' School. Sgt. 1st Class David Hartman showed his mom the Pakistani garb he would be wearing so that he blend in with the people and told her of the school that they built for girls. Trea told the Portage Daily Register:
"He did what he had to do in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he didn't like the fact that he had to shoot people, possibly kill people, and he didn't like having to be scared of other people," Bacon said. "He wanted to help people. This job he liked because he was helping people. All Civil Service is there to build schools, bring water, feed hungry families."
"He served a tour in Iraq and a tour in Afghanistan, and those were supposed to be more serious than this one. He even told me, ‘Mom, this is not going to be more dangerous,' and this is the one I lost him on," Bacon told the Daily Register on Friday.
Trea Bacon told the paper she is grateful her son found his soul mate, Cherise Sabio Hartman. They have been married for four years and have a one year old son and another one on the way.
"Tomorrow is my grandson's birthday - Mikey - and she wants it to be as normal for him as possible. (And) she thinks she's having a boy, and if it is, it'll be David Jr.," Bacon said.
Sgt. 1st Class David Hartman will be buried on February 11, 2010 at the J.F.K. Chapel, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Photo taken by Portage Daily Register
Last Wednesday, Mark Stets, heard the news of an explosion at a girls' school in Pakistan and worried his son might be involved. From Hampton Roads.com:
The names of the victims weren't given, but the descriptions were all too familiar.
"I knew that's what he was there to do, and I knew that not too many people are doing jobs like that in Pakistan," said Stets, who lives in Virginia Beach. "I thought, 'It's Mark. He's coming home early.' "
The next day, the father got the dreaded news.
"We know that what he was doing was important," Stets' father said Thursday. "And we know he was good at it. We're taking comfort in that right now."
Stets' father said he and his wife talked frequently with their son while he was in Pakistan, though he spoke only in vague terms about his work there. Relatives said he dressed like a Pakistani civilian for many of his missions and that he described his job there as "marketing to the enemy."
"He was trying to sell them on our way of life and on peace and democracy," his father said. "He was proud of what he was doing."
Staff Sgt. Mark Stets always loved the military. His mother, Nancy, told the local stationWVEC:
"We have pictures of him having set up his little army of men," Nancy tells 13News, "and he still collected all that stuff."
"From the day he was born," says Stets, "he was a G.I. Joe."
Stets served one year in the Navy, then switched to the Army. He loved the Army, and made a career out of it. Besides Stet's parents, Staff Sgt. Mark Stets is survived by his wife, Nina, and three daughters from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Sgt. 1st Class Matthew S. Sluss-Tiller is remembered back home in Kentucky for being a well-mannered, patriotic and courageous man.
Brenda Thornbury, an art teacher who stayed in touch with Sluss-Tiller after he graduated in 1993, told the Daily-Independent:
“He was always eager to do whatever he needed to do to serve his country,” she said.
"Matthew was a wonderful person," she said. "In high school he knew he would serve his country. He loved the Lord -- he loved his family."
Over a hundred condolences were left at the WSAZ-TV site from friends who knew him. Here is an especially beautiful one from a Sgt. Major of Matthew's:
I served with Matthew as his First Sergeant and Sergeant Major, Matthew was also my very dear friend. My heart goes out to Melissa and Hannah. I still recall when he brought Hannah home from the hospital, he drove by my house to show her to me. The proudest day of his life. I recall his words..."Isn't she perfect Sergeant Major?" I know that today Melissa woke up without her Soulmate, Hannah without her Daddy, Jane without her son, the world minus one true Warrior and I without my dear friend. Matthew I will forever miss you. Keep your feet and knees together Jump Master...until we meet again. Chris
Sluss-Tiller was honored by the Kentucy House Majority Leader, Rocky Adkins, for his service on the house floor on Tuesday. Adkins sponsored a resolution honoring the 1993 Lawrence County High graduate.
Matthew is survived by his parents, wife, Melissa, and three year old daughter, Hannah. Funeral arrangements are pending. My deepest sympathy 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.