Three more lost to us.
Tonight all three were men, and all three were young. All of them were someone's sons; some were someone's brother, or someone's fiance. One was someone's dad.
Please join me as we mourn these young men, taken from friends and families, from our nation and the world, far too soon.
The Department of Defense has announced that our nation has lost SPC Christopher S. Wright, 23, of Tollesboro, Ky.; Lance Cpl. Nathaniel J. A. Schultz, 19, of Safety Harbor, Fla.; and Pfc. Alexis V. Maldonado, 20, of Wichita Falls, Texas.
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Christopher S. Wright
Days after his eighteenth birthday, Christopher Wright enlisted in the Army. It was something he had long talked of doing, so his family in the little town of Tollesboro, Kentucky (where Christopher’s father runs Tollesboro Supply and T-City Pizza) were not surprised.
He did not take an easy route in the Army. Christopher became an infantryman, and later underwent the rigorous training necessary to earn the title Ranger. Since he joined the Army in 2004, he had already served in wars three times. He had previously served tours of duty in both Iraq and Afghanistan before deploying on his current mission in Afghanistan with the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
His step-mother said of him:
"He was a man of more courage at his age than you can understand."
When his time in the Army was done, Christopher hoped to earn a business degree and start his own business. Always alert to the needs of young people, he took the time to visit the elementary school he had attended during a short leave from Iraq in 2007. One of his teachers who was at the school when Christopher returned, Lynne Evanczyk, said that
"He told the kids how right it is to be responsible."
Christopher died of wounds he suffered in a battle in Konar Province, Afghanistan.
Christopher is mourned, remembered, and loved by many, including his mother, Linda, his father Jim and step-mother Michelle.
Merciful and compassionate God,
we bring you our grief in the loss of Christopher Wright
and ask for courage to bear it.
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Nathaniel J. A. Schultz
Nathaniel Schultz had only been a Marine for a year. He had only been deployed for a month. He had only been a Lance Corporal since the first day of August.
He was, in many ways, an ordinary young man, with ordinary likes. He liked to skateboard. He enjoyed hiking. He bagged groceries at a local supermarket. He played both electric and acoustic guitar.
Yet he was also extraordinary. Having spent time with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch, using the time to stay in good physical condition, he made it a point to go to the Ranch shortly before deploying to Afghanistan. The Ranch’s director, Scott Halbach, said that Nathaniel wanted to thank the volunteers for what they had done for him. Mr. Halbach reported that his own children looked up to Nathaniel. This was not surprising, for Nathaniel was always interested in others. As his sister Deanna put it:
He was one who wanted to fix everything. He wanted to help everybody.
Nathaniel died in Helmland Province, Afghanistan.
Nathaniel is mourned, remembered, and loved by many, including his mother, Lisa, his three sisters, Deanna, Charlotte, and Grace, and his fiancée, Britney.
Merciful and compassionate God,
we bring you our grief in the loss of Nathaniel Schultz
and ask for courage to bear it.
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Alexis V. Maldonado
Alexis Maldonado enlisted in the Army a year after he became a father. His son, Isaiah, just turned two.
Alexis became a combat engineer, one of the soldiers who travel dangerous roads, seeking to protect the lives of others while risking their own. The unit in which he served, the 510th Clearance Company of the 20th Engineer Battalion, saw tragedy before they even deployed. Theirs was one of the units attacked during readiness processing at Fort Hood last November, and engineers Alexis had trained with were killed or wounded before the unit ever left American soil.
Once deployed to Afghanistan, his service was remarkable. Alexis’s unit was stationed at Forward Operating Base Ramrod, and they cleared roads of IEDs to protect soldiers and civilians alike. Alexis completed more than one hundred missions of this extremely dangerous duty, usually driving or manning the machine gun position which serves as the eyes of the vehicle.
After his service in the Army, Alexis Maldonado hoped to study auto mechanics at Universal Technical Institute, near home in Dallas, Texas. He wanted to be a mechanic. He loved music, and was a dedicated weight-lifter.
Alexis died of wounds he suffered when his convoy was ambushed in Zhari Province, Afghanistan.
Alexis is mourned, remembered, and loved by many, including his parents and step-parents, Jesse, Alicia, Linda, and Keith, his fiancée, Baronica, his son, Isaiah, his brothers, Brad and Sergio, and his sister, Aleksi.
Merciful and compassionate God,
we bring you our grief in the loss of Alexis V. Maldonado
and ask for courage to bear it.
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Material for this diary from, inter alia, The Ledger Independent, KFVS, The Louisville Courier-Journal, Tampa Bay Online here, and also here, The Wichita Falls Times Record News,and The Dallas News.
Helping Our Troops
If you wish to assist our military and their families, consider Operation Helmet, which makes helmets safer, or Fisher House, which provides comfort homes for families near the treatment centers for our wounded veterans. Sponsoring a deployed service member at USTroopCarePackage can provide letters or care packages that make a real difference in a military person's life. To assist the animal companions of our deployed military, information is available here.
When our veterans come home, many will need jobs. Please look at the programs of Veterans Green Jobs and Welcome Back Veterans to see if you can help out.
About the IGTNT Series
"I Got the News Today" is a diary series intended to honor, respect, and remind us of the sacrifice of our U.S. troops. Click here 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, Proud Mom and Grandma, Sandy on Signal, CalNM, Ms. Wings, Maggie Jean, and Wide Awake in KY. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but are an important service to those who have died, and show our community’s respect for them.
Fallen service members whose names have been released by the US 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 person more fully, but still in a timely manner.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members mentioned here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.