Two young men, Shane Martin and Michael Stansbery, are among the latest to be gone from us too soon. Please read on, to allow Sandy on Signal and I to introduce to you these young men.
The following tribute was written by Sandy on Signal.
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Lance Cpl. Shane R. Martin, 23, of Spring, Texas, died July 29 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Shane Martin cared deeply for people, especially those less fortunate and in need. His mother, Debora Wallace, told the Houston Chronicle:
"He was known at Klein Collins as the one who would stand up for people who were being bullied," said his mother, Debora Wallace. She remembered one of the school administrators pulling her aside during her son's senior year. "He said, 'When Shane graduates from high school, what are we going to do?' He protected so many people at school, the small kids, and the underdogs."
His uncle, Robert Brock, confirmed the inherent good nature of Shane Martin.
"I know he went there with the idea of helping the Afghani people — I know that in my heart - but also to be a good and loyal and helpful Marine to his own team members," said his uncle, Robert Brock.
Shane Martin was born in South Africa. At the age of 12, he moved with his family to Texas. In high school, he was part of the Junior ROTC. After graduating from Klein Collins High School in 2005, he attended the Art Institute of Houston for a short while, then enlisted in the Marines.
Martin married his high school sweetheart, Lauren, on July 4, 2008. In December of 2008, he was deployed to Iraq. While serving in Iraq, he became a U.S. citizen. The naturalization ceremony took place at one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces.
In May of 2010, Lance Corporal Martin was sent to Afghanistan. Even during war, he saw the natural beauty of the country. He called his mother and asked her to send his art supplies, he wanted to draw scenes of the land.
"The irony is, here you have a kid who was as tough as anything, who was a Reconnaissance Marine, but he could stop for a moment and see the beauty of the people and the land around him, and there's something so poignant about that," said his aunt, Amanda Brock. "You know, he lost his life in that beauty."
Shane's sister, Diane, told the Chronicle she was a writing letter to him when she got the news that the love of her life was gone.
"I never finished it," she said. "It was telling him to be safe and everything, so everybody could sleep. And I never got to send the letter.
Lance Corporal Shane Martin is survived by his wife, parents, brother, sister and grandparents.
Semper Fi, Lance Corporal Shane Martin
+++++++++++
The Department of Defense has announced that our nation has lost SPC Michael L. Stansbery, 21, of Mount Juliet, Tenn. He died near Kandahar, Afghanistan, when his unit, Headquarters Battery of the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, was attacked with IEDs.
Mount Juliet, Tennessee, is a suburban town east of Nashville, which may well be named after a castle in Ireland. It has a high school, a commercial center that includes a multi-screen theater, and a handful of city parks. It was from there that Michael Stansbery enlisted in the Army, after he graduated from Wilson Central High School in 2007.
His enlistment was not surprising one: military service runs in the Stansbery family. Relatives fought in World War II, and his father was a Marine who served in Desert Storm. As early as the first grade, he had written a letter identifying himself as a future soldier:
"I will go to battle and have a bunch of men with me to help. I will go to the ocean and save someone from trouble."
He deployed to Iraq last year. He returned safely.
In April of this year he arrived at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the Army post nearest his home, but the stay would not be long. In June, he deployed to Afghanistan. Three weeks ago he wrote to his family from Afghanistan. This letter told them:
" Don't worry yourself so much over me because I am well. I wish I knew how I could bring peace to your mind. "
Michael’s aunt, Lynelle Chauncey Zelnar, is one of the founders of Forgotten Soldiers Outreach, a group that, like NFTT, sends packages to our deployed troops. A video discussion of him with one of the managers of Forgotten Soldiers, Ms. Helen Saucier, is here. There are other news reports about Forgotten Soldier and Michael Stansbery here and here (labeled "Mount Juliet Soldier Killed in Afghanistan").
Michael is mourned, remembered, and loved by many, including his parents, Michael and Tammy Stansbery, and his sister, Michelle Stansbery. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Merciful and compassionate God,
we bring you our grief in the loss of Michael Stansbury
and ask for courage to bear it.
Material for this diary from, inter alia, News Channel 5 and The Knoxville News Sentinel
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, 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.