Tonight, we honor two more troops killed in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. Since 2001, there have been 1029 American troops killed in Afghanistan. Since 2003, there have been 4386 American troops killed in Iraq. Please take a moment to honor their sacrifice.
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DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Sgt. Joel D. Clarkson, 23, of Fairbanks, Alaska, died March 16 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of wounds sustained March 13 during combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
Sgt. Joel Clarkson was injured from a gunshot wound during combat in Afghanistan. He lived for three more days before succumbing to his injuries. Sgt. Clarkson was on his third tour of duty.
Clarkson was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska. In honor of his service, Governor Sean Parnell ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff on Tuesday and issued the following statement. From Fairbanks Daily Miner:
“Sandy and I are deeply saddened by the loss of Sgt. Clarkson,” “He was a brave soldier who sacrificed his life while defending our freedom. We offer our condolences and prayers for his family and friends during this difficult time.”
His mother in- law set up a moving tribute to him on Facebook called "In Support and Love of Joel Clarkson" . Joel was a caring father, wonderful husband and true patriot, here are some excerpts from the site:
My son-in-law, Joel, was seriously injured this past week while serving his and our country. It is with a broken heart that I must inform this collective family of Joel's passing. He was a Hero serving our country, and as a final act - a hero as a donor to those in need of life-saving transplants.
and
I wish to extend my whole-hearted love and appreciation to everyone in this group, and every person who took the time to pray, send healing thoughts and just gave pause to Joel's injury. Your support has kept us strong during this terrible time.
Now we embark on a time without Joel - and I humbly ask each of you to continue sending that love and support to his young wife, Cassandra; his 9 monthly old son, Orion; his parents, Steve & Karen; his sister, Jessica... and his adoptive/exchange family, extended family, family by marriage, family by love, friends, etc...
Sgt. Joel Clarkson will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on March 27, 2010.
Photo from Facebook page.
Rest in peace, Sgt. Joel Clarkson.
DoD Identifies Navy Casualty
Chief Petty Officer Adam Brown, 36, of Hot Springs, Ark., died March 18 in Afghanistan. He was assigned to an East Coast -based SEAL Team.
Chief Petty Officer Adam Brown was laid to rest today in Arkansas. A crowd of about 500 greeted his body yesterday when he returned to Hot Springs Arkansas.
Brown was a Navy Seal. The Navy is not releasing any details of his death other than to say he died from fighting heavily armed militia somewhere in Afghanistan. Brown had been a Seal since 2001. He joined the Navy in 1998. His medals include a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.
Chief Petty Officer Adam Brown is survived by a wife and two children.
My deepest sympathy to his family and friends.
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Spc. Robert M. Rieckhoff, 26, of Kenosha, Wis., died March 18 in Baghdad, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with rocket-propelled grenade fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
Last Thursday morning, Barbara Garwood, Rieckhoff's mother, and his grandmother, Judith Nelson, were chatting over coffee when they heard a knock at the door. As soon as they opened it and saw a Major plus a Chaplain, they knew. Judith Nelson told the Kenoshan News:
“They asked to come in, but we knew right away what had happened because I had seen the cross on his uniform,” Nelsen said.
His mother wanted to know if he suffered at all, the men told her no. He didn't suffer at all.
“They said no, he didn’t suffer. It was quick,” Nelsen said. “Then I asked, ‘Are you positive, are you absolutely sure it’s him?’ They said, ‘Yeah, there’s no doubt. They don’t make mistakes like that.’ They are completely sure before they come out.”
Barbara Garwood heard every morning from her son via email. He assured her things were well and not to worry. He would be home in June. This was his third deployment overseas: twice in Iraq and once in Kuwait. Rieckhoff was proud to serve his country. He had just been promoted to Seargent, but it had not yet been handed to him. He enlisted in the Army at the age of 18, recently he re-upped for another years with the Artillery regiment.
Judith Nelson told the Kenosha News:
"It was just something he wanted to do,” Nelsen said. “So many of his friends were getting into trouble, and he didn’t want to be like that ... He said, ‘Grandma, I know if I wouldn’t have joined, I would have been right down the tubes with them.’ But it made such a man of him.”
Besides his mother and grandmother, Spc. Robert Rieckhoff is survived by his two children: Tyler, 8, and Katrina, 4, both live in Tennessee.
We Remember Them
In the rising of the sun and its going down,
We Remember Them.
In the bowing of the wind and in the chill of winter,
We Remember Them.
In the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring.
We Remember Them.
In the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer,
We Remember Them.
In the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn.
We Remember Them.
In the beginning of the year and when it ends,
We Remember Them.
When we are weary and in need of strength,
We Remember Them.
When we are lost and sick of heart,
We Remember Them.
When we have joys and special celebrations we yearn to share,
We Remember Them.
So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are part of us.
We Remember Them.
~From the Jewish Book Of Prayer~
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.