Tonight, we have 5 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Since 2001, there have been 1267 American troops killed in Afghanistan. Since 2003, there have been 4417 American troops killed in Iraq. Please take a moment to honor their sacrifice.
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.
DoD Announces Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Aug. 29 at Nangahar, Afghanistan, of wound sustained when their military vehicle was struck by rocket propelled grenade on Aug. 28 at Nangahar, Afghanistan.
Killed were:
Capt. Ellery R. Wallace, 33, of Utah.
Pfc. Bryn T. Raver, 20, of Harrison, Ark.
Wallace was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Raver was assigned to 1st Brigade Special Troop Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
A little over two weeks ago, Capt. Ellery "Ray" Wallace arrived in Afghanistan. This was his third deployment, he had served in the Iraq war twice. Upon his arrival in Afghanistan, he commented on his Facebook page:
“Here I am in Afghanistan think it kind of looks like Utah.”
Captain Wallace grew up in Texas in a large family of seven children. He earned a bachelor's degree in criminology and sociology and was currently working on his M.B.A. Wallace loved to laugh and tell jokes. His aunt, Kathy Winkley, told the television station, WABC4.com he was an honorable man.
For Wallace, his family says being a soldier was more than a job. Serving his country was his life and he’d become a decorated soldier. Winkley says, “He would get back to his mom and get back to people and say, ‘You know there’s so much good going on here and the people as a whole love the American soldiers.’ It does give us all comfort to know that’s what he loved doing.”
Captain Wallace is survived by his wife, Janelle, and four children, along with his parents.
My deepest condolences to the family of Captain "Ray" Wallace.
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One week before Bryn Raver died, he posted a comment on my space site from August 21, 2010: "just can't wait for deployment to be over and be home with my baby. "
Just two weeks before he died, Pfc. Raver had been at home with his wife, Kellie, and their daughter. He had 8 more months to go and his my space indicated he was counting down the days. Sadly, he was killed by a rocket propelled grenade on August 28th, just days before his 21st birthday.
Bryn's father, Charles Raver, spoke with KFSM about his son:
"He knew when he went back he said I may not come back," Charles remembers. "He said I might but it's a good chance I might not come back."
Charles Raver told the news, KFSM when he heard about Spc. Clayton McGarrah, who was a soldier from Harrison, Ark killed in Afghanistan in July, he thought of his own son.
"You wonder well will he be the next one," Charles says. "You do. And it happened to turn out to be that way too."
My deepest condolences to the family of Spc. Bryn Raver.
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DoD Announces Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device Aug. 27 in Paktiya, Afghanistan.
Killed were:
Pfc. Chad D. Coleman, 20, of Moreland, Ga.
Pvt. Adam J. Novak, 20, of Prairie du Sac, Wis.
They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
"I may not come back alive, but I'm not afraid of dying"
Those words were spoken by Chad Coleman to Leslie Merriman, the executive director for the Newnan-Coweta Habitat for Humanity, last year when Coleman volunteered to do work with his school to help with a project.
His construction teacher at Central Education Center, Tom Barnett, recalled Coleman's strength and character:
“The one thing that stands out about him was his desire to serve his country,” said Barnett. “He talked about his plans on an ongoing basis with me both personally and with the class, and looked forward to finishing school and enlisting.
“Chad was quite a character,” Barnett continued. “He was fun-loving and enjoyed being with his classmates.”
Chad Coleman was born in Wisconsin. His family moved to Moreland, Georgia in 2005. Coleman attended Newnan High School from August 2005 to May 2009. A friend of the family, Sonja Dobek, told the Times - Herald:
“He was an only child and was loved very much,” said Dobek. “He had the best sense of humor. You never saw him where he didn’t have a smile on his face. This is just hard to believe.”
His parents, Brian and Shannon Coleman, were in Dover to meet his body and unavailable for comment. My deepest sympathy to them.
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Logan Novak had only been in Afghanistan for a week, when his mother called and told him his brother, Adam, had been killed by an IED in Paktiya, Afghanistan (eastern part near the Pakistan border). His brother was killed not far from where Logan was stationed. Logan returned to the States on Monday. He told the television station NBC15:
"Right away it was non-stop crying," said a somber Logan Novak. "I couldn't stop shaking. It kind of seemed like somebody was going to come up to me and say it was a really bad joke."
His mother, added:
"I had to tell my son that his brother was killed," said Adam's mom Sue Block. "I kind of thought somebody would have taken care of that for me."
Adam Novak was born in Fon du Lac, Wisconsin. He was the youngest of five children. His father died in 2002. Novak graduated in 2008 and joined the Army in September of 2008.
HIs mother remarried and his step-father, Rick Block, spoke to the Sauk Prairie Eagle:
"We worried about him every day, but I think the military is good for some people, and I'm a believer in the cause. We gave him our blessing and kept our fingers crossed."
"We were certainly fearful of an outcome like this, but I always thought the odds were in your favor," he said.
In January of 2010, Adam was visiting a friend at Fort Campbell, when he met a special woman, Celeste. The couple married in March and were planning a nice wedding party this fall. Over the weekend, Celeste moved from her home in Fargo, North Dakota to Fort Campbell, Kentucky to be with her husband, not knowing he had been killed. She was notified en route to her new home.
"He was the most amazing person I'd ever met. I could never image someone to be as strong and as brave as Adam is."... Celeste Novak told the NBC station.
My deepest sympathy to the wife, mother, step-father, brothers and sisters of Pfc. Adam Novak.
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DoD Announces Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Spc. James C. Robinson, 27, of Lebanon, Ohio, died Aug. 28 at Paktika, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
From the Middletown Journal:
Robert Bretland of Monroe said his son, Rob, played soccer with Robinson at the old Lemon-Monroe High School.
“It’s pretty tough right now to talk about him. He was just a good kid. He had a good family. He was like another kid to us,” said Bretland, fighting back his emotions.
Spc. James Robinson was a 2001 graduate of Monroe High School. He was the soccer team and in the science club. The assistant principal, Robert Millisor, remembered Robinson, from the Cincinnati.com:
“He was very fun-loving, a good man of character,” Millisor recalled. “I remember the group (Robinson’s class) in particular; they were a real close-knit group.
“I really respect his courage and dedication and willingness to serve,” Millisor said. “You can’t ask for more than that out of somebody.”
A moment of silence in honor of Spc. James Robinson will be observed at Friday night's football game at Monroe High School. Spc. Robinson is survived by his wife, Kathryn E. Robinson; daughter, Victoria A. Robinson; and stepdaughter Emily B. Cable, all of Fort Campbell; as well as his mother and father, James R. and Kimberly Robinson of Middletown.
Spc. James Robinson earned the following awards and decorations: Bronze Star; Purple Heart; Army Commendation Medal; Army Good Conduct Medal; Army Service Ribbon; National Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Overseas Service Ribbon; NATO Medal; Combat Infantry Badge; and Weapons Qualification, M4, expert.
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, Wide Awake in Kentucky, Ms Wings, Maggie Jean, 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.