Tonight, we honor two more American heroes, who gave their last full measures for their country this week, Pfc. Edwin C. Wood, 18, of Omaha, NE and Staff Sgt. Christopher F. Cabacoy, 30, of Virginia Beach, VA. Pfc. Wood was a young man, full of dreams of glory. Sgt. Cabacoy was a father, and a husband, with dreams of returning to his family. Join us in paying tribute to their sacrifices, and the sacrifices of their families and loved ones.
The Soldier's Dream
Our bugles had sung, for the night-cloud had lower'd,
And the centinal stars set them watch in the sky,
And thousands had sunk on the ground overpower'd,
The weary to sleep and the wounded to die!
When reposing that night on my pallet of straw,
By the wolf-scaring faggot that guarded the slain,
At the dead of the night, a sweet vision I saw,
And twice ere the cock crew, I dreamt it again.
Methought, from the battle field's dreadful array,
Far, far I had roam'd on a desolate track,
Till nature and sunshine disclos'd the sweet way
To the house of my Father that welcom'd me back.
I flew to the pleasant fields travell'd so oft,
In life's morning's march when my bosom was young,
I heard my own mountain-goats bleating aloft,
And well knew the strain that the corn-reapers sung.
Then pledg'd we the cup, and fondly we swore,
From my home, and my weeping friends never to part;
My little ones miss'd me a thousand times o'er,
And my wife sobb'd aloud in the fulness of heart!
Stay! stay with us! rest! thou art weary and worn;
And fain was the war-broken soldier to stay;
But sorrow return'd with the dawning of morn,
And the voice in my dreaming ear melted away.
Pfc. Wood and Staff Sgt. Cabacoy died July 5 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
http://www.defense.gov/...
Pfc. Eddie Wood
Eddie Wood was not who you would typically expect to volunteer to be a soldier. A shy young man, he was not your typical gung ho hard ass soldier(and I mean that in a good way). Rather, he was a Boy Scout and a set builder for his high school drama club. I cried when I read about Eddie Wood - a good boy who had idealized dreams of what it meant to be a soldier, and who was cut down in the prime of his life by a cowardly bomber, before he ever had a chance to become the good man he was destined to be.
On the ground in Afghanistan barely more than a month, Edwin “Eddie'' Wood already had survived one bomb attack. Back out on patrol Monday as a scout with the Army's 10th Mountain Division, insurgent bombers struck again. This time, the blast claimed the life of Pfc. Wood, an 18-year-old graduate of Omaha North High School. “He did his duty, like he was supposed to,'' said his father, Tom Wood of Omaha. “He never told me exactly what happened (the first time). Soldiers don't talk about that stuff.”
Wood, a month shy of his 19th birthday, had been in the Army less than a year. But he’d been dressing in uniform almost from the time he could walk. His father is active as an early American soldier re-enactor, and from an early age Eddie joined in, too. As a young boy, he would wear a three-corner hat over his red hair and carry a water bucket behind the cannon as other re-enactors walked in parades. In more recent years, he had his own period infantry uniform, muzzle loader and saber.
http://www.omaha.com/...
Wood's mother, Jan Boehmer, told Omaha television station KETV that he'd been home on leave about a week ago and had just returned to duty, promoted to truck driver.
Wood called home Sunday, but Boehmer said she missed talking to him. She has the message he left on her voice mail: "Hey Mom, just letting you know that I'm doing OK, and just wanted to let you know we had a little awards ceremony the other day. Talk to you later when I get my phone ... love you guys. Bye."
Boehmer said she's also saved other communication from her son. "I have every text, every e-mail, everything," she said. "I saved it because I knew in my heart he probably wouldn't come home. I knew it. There's a reason I knew it."
http://m.siouxcityjournal.com/...
Besides his parents, Eddie Wood was survived by brother Thomas Jr., 15, and sister, Isabeau Tholen, 11.
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Staff Sgt. Chris Cabacoy
One look at a picture of Chris Cabacoy tells you all you need to know about this big, gregarious jokester. Full of love and smiles, he will be deeply missed by his loved ones.
Friends and relatives said Wednesday that Cabacoy was a humorous, caring man who had a way of brightening their days. "He took his job seriously. He joined the Army and put himself in harm's way to serve the country," said Felipe Cabacoy, an uncle, who recalled playing football and fishing with his nephew. "He was lovable, never gave us any problems growing up, charming and full of smiles."
Cabacoy graduated from Virginia Beach's Tallwood High School in 1997, according to his Facebook profile. There, he met his future wife, Tamara, with whom he had a son, Aidan. "They've always been in love," said Eddie Las Marias, 29, who grew up alongside Cabacoy. "He's known her since high school. At one point, they'd broken up for a little while. He was distraught, did his hardest to get her back, got her back and they've been a great family ever since."
After high school, Cabacoy briefly studied engineering at Old Dominion University, friends and family said, before joining the Army in 2000. But Cabacoy always held on to his reputation as a jokester. Andrew Las Marias, 19, a brother of Eddie, remembered being spooked when Eddie, Cabacoy and Cabacoy's brother played monster sounds from a hidden voice recorder. "Chris is probably one of the funniest people that I have ever known in my life," he said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Paolo Cabacoy said his brother planned to come home in mid-August for two weeks of R&R. [snip] Whether at the beach or at home, Chris was always surrounded by friends or family - or both. "There was no distinctive line that separated family and friends," Paolo Cabacoy said. If anyone was having a bad day, his brother could find a way to brighten it. "Chris was always the one who could find a little bit of laughter to make people smile," he said. It's something they learned from their father, "Life is too short to take it so seriously every day."
"I want everyone to know what a great person my husband is and what a true hero Hampton Roads had in their own backyard," Tami Cabacoy said in a statement released by a family friend. Paolo Cabacoy said 7-year-old Aidan is just like his father. "He's taking care of the rest of our family. When we asked him how he's doing, he says he's okay. He said 'My father's in my heart, and he's in my mind.' " Wednesday, a bow hung from the magnolia tree in the family's front yard where several years ago, Dennis Cabacoy would push his infant grandson in a swing.
http://hamptonroads.com/...
Staff Sgt. Cabacoy's awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal,and Combat Action Badge.
An Army carry team brings Chris Cabacoy home at Dover AFB
Chris Cabacoy is survived by his wife and son.
What is excellent,
as God lives, is permanent.
Hearts turn to dust,
hearts love remains.
Hearts love will meet the again.
- Emerson
God Bless Eddie Wood and Chris Cabacoy, and those loved ones they leave behind.
About "I Got the News Today" (IGTNT)
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor service members who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; 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. The series, which was begun by i dunno, is maintained by Sandy on Signal, 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 and CalNM.
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.
If that's not clear, read this: http://www.dailykos.com/...