Good evening, dear ones. Will you please join me, SisTwo, and the IGTNT team as we honor six soldiers who lost their lives on foreign soil:
1st Sgt. Eddie Turner, who died June 22 at Camp Clark, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident;
Army Specialist Joseph D. Johnson and Army Private First Class Gunnar R. Hotchkin, who died June 16 at North Kunduz, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an IED;
Army Staff Sergeant James P. Hunter, who died June 18 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an IED;
Army Specialist Nathan W. Cox, who died June 16 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained June 14 when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire at Near Forward Operating Base, Khogyani, Afghanistan; and
Army Private First Class Benjamin J. Park, who died June 18 at Zhari district, Kandahar, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an IED.
Will you dear Kossacks kindly take a moment to send a warm thought or prayer to the hundreds of thousands of forgotten or unnoticed souls who have suffered, and continue to suffer, from the insanity of war? This is not their diary but still, we all feel and grieve the pain of a broken human spirit.
Blessings and Light to all who share our world.
Our IGTNT forget-me-nots were a gift from dear llbear.
As you read this diary, please remember that friends and loved ones of the soldiers honored here may read your comments. Please, whatever our personal feelings about the war may be, may our comments only reflect compassion for their grief and loss. Thank you.
1st Sgt. Eddie Turner by joyful
41-year-old 1st Sgt. Eddie Turner was an automated logistical specialist assigned to the 626th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). 1st Sgt. Turner enlisted in the Army in January 1990, and he arrived at Fort Campbell, Kentucky in November 2007.
1st Sgt. Turner's many awards and decorations include a Bronze Star Medal; two Meritorious Service Medals; eight Army Commendation Medals; eight Army Achievement Medals; six Army Good Conduct Medals; two National Defense Service Medals; a Korean Defense Service Medal; an Southwest Asia Service Medal; an Afghanistan Service Medal; an Iraq Campaign Medal; a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; three Noncommissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbons; an Army Service Ribbon; an Overseas Service Ribbon; a Kuwait Liberation Medal; a NATO Medal Former Republic of Yugoslavia; a Parachutists Badge; an Air Assault Badge; and a Driver/Mechanic Badge. 1st Sgt. Turner was awarded a level M4 (expert level) in the Weapons Qualifications.
The 101st Airborne Division's Facebook page has almost 100 condolence comments for 1SG Eddie Turner, as well as for Spc. Andrew Looney and Pfc. David Miller (who will be honored in a diary this weekend).
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear ordered state flags to be flown at half-mast on the day of Sgt. Turner's interment. The magnificent Patriot Guard Riders have 1SG Turner on their Watch List, where messages of condolence and support are being left of Turner's loved ones.
An Army carry team carries the transfer case containing the remains of 1st Sgt. Eddie Turner Friday on June 25, 2010 at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. (AP Photo credit: Steve Ruark)
1st. Sgt. Eddie Turner is survived by his mother, Jeannie Karr of Clarksville, Tennessee, and his 101 Airborne Division brethren.
Our hearts are with all who knew and loved Eddie Turner. Please know that we stand beside you at this terrible time of loss.
Army Specialist Joseph D. Johnson by SisTwo
Joseph Johnson was born in Flint, Michigan and graduated from Carman-Ainsworth High School in 2004. Johnson enjoyed snowmobiling, fishing and camping.
Johnson enlisted in the Army in 2006. He was assigned to the 161st Engineer Support Company, 27th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade, 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg. Specialist Johnson went to Afghanistan in December, and was working as a gunner and disarming improvised explosive devices. According to the Detroit News:
"I'm just so extremely proud of him and the sacrifice he has made," said his grandmother, Glenna Maxwell of Flint Township. "It'll never replace him, and I can't imagine my life without him in it, but somehow it'll be OK and I'll see him again some day."
Maxwell said her grandson was known as a practical joker who loved to make people laugh.
"When he decided to enter the military, he went in with both feet," his grandmother said. "He was just truly a solider through and through."
Army Specialist Joseph D. Johnson died June 16th in North Kunduz, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device (IED). The 24-year-old was killed when the blast flipped over the tank he was riding in. Also killed in the attack was Pfc. Gunnar R. Hotchkin.
Surviving him are his parents Dennis and Teri Johnson of Genesee County's Mundy Township. The funeral for Specialist Joseph D. Johnson will be held at Central Church of the Nazarene.
The Patriot Guard Riders will be attending the funeral services in Flint, Michigan on Saturday. They will also provide an escort to Great Lakes National Cemetery following the service.
Army Private First Class Gunnar R. Hotchkin by SisTwo
Gunnar Hotchkin was a 1997 graduate of Hinsdale Central High School and an All-American swimmer.
Gunnar moved to Naperville from Hinsdale soon after his wedding in 2001. He married his wife, Erin, at King Bruwaert in Burr Ridge, where his grandmother lives.
He joined the Army just last year and was deployed to Afghanistan in December as a heavy construction equipment operator. According to the Chicago CBS News site:
Childhood friend Preston Bokos says Hotchkin, a carpenter, joined the Army at age 30 after being laid off when the company he was working for folded. Hotchkin enlisted to support his wife, Erin, and three children.
Bokos says it was Hotchkin's intent to ride out the recession in the military.
Hotchkin was assigned to the 161st Engineer Support Company, 27th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade, 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg.
On June 16th, Private First Class Hotchkin was in North Kunduz, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device (IED). 31-year-old Hotchkin was killed when the blast flipped over the tank he was riding in. Also killed in the attack was Specialist Joseph D. Johnson.
PFC Hotchkin's awards include the Bronze Star Medal, a Purple Heart, an Army Good Conduct Medal, an Afghanistan Campaign Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, an Army Service Ribbon, an Overseas Service Ribbon, a NATO Medal, an Combat Action Badge, and a Driver Badge with Driver Wheeled Vehicles.
PFC Gunnar Hotchkin is survived by his wife, Erin, his children, Tristan, 4, and Ethan, 8; a stepdaughter, Taylor, 10; a brother, Kurt; his mother, Christine, a longtime teacher at Westview Middle School; his father, Randall; his neice and nephew; and his grandmother.
A funeral service will be held Friday at Union Church of Hinsdale. Following the burial at Fairmount Willow Hills Memorial Park in Willow Springs, a reception will be held at The Community House in Hinsdale. The Patriot Guard Riders will be attending the funeral services. A fund is being set up to benefit his children.
Army Staff Sergeant James P. Hunter by SisTwo
James Hunter was born in Lexington, Kentucky but grew up in Ohio. He was an 2003 graduate of Firelands High School. On last Valentine’s Day, atop the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, James Hunter and Candice Clark were engaged.
Hunter had served two combat tours in Iraq before arriving in Afghanistan and would have celebrated his seventh anniversary in the Army next September.
He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Hunter was an Army journalist for the brigade and often had photos and stories appear in The Leaf-Chronicle as part of "The 101st Today" section. These quotes can be found at Kentucky.com:
"He sure loved Kentucky, and Kentucky basketball. He was absolutely ecstatic about John Calipari. I wish he had gotten a chance to meet him."
"He loved being in the Army," Tom Hunter said. "He was only 25, but he was a very young and inspiring non-commissioned officer.
"He really wanted to help people. Even though a lot of people now don't think we're getting anywhere in Afghanistan, James was very positive about trying to help the people that are impoverished over there, and making a better life for them."
Army Staff Sergeant James Hunter was killed June 18th after being in Afghanistan less than a month. James and another soldier were wounded when an insurgents' bomb exploded while they were on foot patrol. Hunter was 25 years old.
James Hunter is survived by his father, William "Tom" Hunter, his mother, Patricia Phillips, and four brothers and a sister -- Thomas, 26; Kathy, 22; Billy, 21, a U.S. Marine corporal; Daniel, 20; and Timothy, 19 -- and a half-sister, U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Charity Morgan. Hunter is also survived by his fiancée, Candice Clark.
Staff Sergeant Hunter will be buried next week in Lexington, his birthplace. The burial will be in the veterans' section of the Lexington Cemetery. The Patriot Guard Riders will be providing an honor escort today and attending the funeral services on June 29th.
Army Specialist Nathan W. Cox by SisTwo
Nathan Cox was a native of California. He graduated from Washington High School in Fremont, California in 2001.
Cox joined the Army in February of 2004 and became a combat medic. He served with the HHC, 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He arrived at Fort Campbell in March 2010, and served at least one prior tour in Afghanistan.
On June 14th, insurgents attacked the patrol that Specialist Cox was on with small-arms fire near a forward operating base at Khogyani. Khogyani is in eastern Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border. Army Specialist Nathan Cox was seriously wounded. Cox died two days later, on June 16th, at Landsthul Regional Medical Center in Germany. He was 27 years old.
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement which said:
"Maria and I were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Specialist Nathan Cox. His courage and selfless dedication to this country will be remembered forever. On behalf of all Californians, we send our condolences to Nathan's family, friends and fellow soldiers as they mourn this terrible loss."
In honor of Cox, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff.
His many awards and decorations include an Army Commendation Medal, an Army Achievement Award, an Army Good Conduct Medal and a National Defense Service Medal.
Spc. Nathan Cox is survived by his parents, Nathan and Margaret Cox of Fremont, a brother and a sister. Family members flew to Germany to be with Spc. Cox.
No funeral plans have been announced, but a memorial service was performed in Afghanistan.
Private First Class Benjamin J. Park by SisTwo
Benjamin Park was originally from Fairfax Station, Virginia. He joined the Army in August 2009 and arrived at Fort Campbell in January of 2010.
Pfc. Park was an infantryman assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Private First Class Benjamin Park died June 18th in Zhari district, Kandahar, Afghanistan. Insurgents attacked his dismounted patrol with an improvised explosive device (IED). He was 25 years old.
Park's many awards and decorations include a National Defense Service Medal; a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; an Army Service Ribbon; an Overseas Service Ribbon; a Combat Infantry Badge and a Weapons Qualification, M4, expert level.
Virginia Governor McDonnell has ordered all United States and Virginia State Flags in Virginia to half-staff on Thursday, June 24, 2010, in memory of United States Army Private First Class Benjamin J. Park.
Pfc. Park is survived by his parents, In Sook Park, and father, Do Hyun Park of Fairfax Station, Virginia.
According to News site:
"I’m still in shock," said In Sook Park, the soldier’s mother. "I still cannot believe that my son is dead."
No funeral plans have been announced, but a service for Private First Class Benjamin Park was held in Afghanistan.
I can't think of a better way to honor the fallen than to contribute to the well-being of their fellow soldiers still on active duty.
The following fine organizations could sure use your support and your donations: AnySoldier.com, Books for Soldiers, Fisher House, the Military Pets Foster Project, Guardian Angels for Soldier's Pets, Operation Baghdad Pups, Operation Enduring Christmas, an organization that sends holiday presents to the children of our fallen troops, and Helping Udders, an organization that sends cooling vests to the Military Working Dogs stationed with their handlers in Iraq.
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind. Click here to see other IGTNT diaries, a series which was begun by i dunno and which is currently maintained by Sandy on Signal, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, noweasels, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, TrueBlueMajority, CalNM, and Wide Awake in Kentucky.
These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but, we believe, an important service to those Americans who have died and the loved ones they left behind. Fallen soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and National Guard whose names have been released by the Department of Defense will usually be diaried two days after the official announcement on the DoD website. This allows the IGTNT team to cover each fallen service member more fully, but still in a timely manner.
PEACE AND BLESSINGS