Kandahar, which has a population of around 500,000, is a main focus of the "surge" of troops begun last December. Many allied forces are in and around the city, which has long been a Taliban headquarters. It is the capital of Kandahar province, and the Arghandab River flows along its west side.
Initial reports of the roadside bombings in southern Afghanistan on Monday said seven US troops and a coalition soldier were killed in the Arghandab River Valley region. The attack began when a bomb detonated near a Humvee on a main road on the outskirts of Kandahar. It is believed insurgents targeted the Humvee because it wasn't as heavily armored as other vehicles in the convoy.
The names of five of those killed while traveling through the war zone are these US soldiers:
- Private First Class Chad D. Clements from Huntington, Indiana
- Chaplain (Captain) Dale Goetz from White, South Dakota
- Staff Sergeant Jesse Infante from Cypress, Texas
- Staff Sergeant Kevin J. Kessler from Canton, Ohio
- Staff Sergeant Matthew J. West from Conover, Wisconsin
All of the men we are remembering tonight are from Fort Carson in Colorado. Four were with a unit sent into the war zone just five weeks before the bombing. In mid-July, Fort Carson held a color-casing, where the troops enclosed the brigade's flag in a case to signal their readiness for the mission. There was story in Colorado Springs' The Gazette describing the ceremony:
After training in small-team tactics and foreign languages and customs, a 3,800-soldier Fort Carson brigade is preparing to join the vanguard of the military’s counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan.
The 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team will begin leaving Fort Carson this month for a yearlong tour.
Most solders will be stationed in Kandahar, the birthplace and spiritual home of the Taliban, where their focus will be on training Afghan security forces while earning the trust of the Afghan people...
"We’re not there to knock down walls and blow stuff up," said Capt. Earl Brown, a brigade spokesman.
Photo from The Gazette
Private First Class Chad D. Clements
Chad D. Clements was from Huntington, Indiana. He was a 2002 graduate of Huntington North High School and joined the Army in February of 2009. According to an article in Fort Wayne’s Journal Gazette:
"Chad loved his family and friends with all his heart," Danielle Clements said.
She also recalled her brother’s love of the Fort Wayne Komets and Pittsburgh Penguins hockey teams and collecting memorabilia of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt.
He also admired a certain NFL quarterback when he was younger and would delight his family when donning that quarterback’s jersey.
"Our fondest memory of Chad was when he was little he used to dress up like Joe Montana!" she said in the Facebook message.
Clements was trained as a truck driver, and was sent to Afghanistan in July for his first war deployment. He served with the brigade’s support battalion, driving vehicles where bombings and ambushes are increasingly common.
Clements was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, which was based at Fort Carson, Colorado. He had just begun his first deployment with the Army on August 5th.
In a violent incident with insurgents, Clements was killed when his humvee was hit by an explosive device Aug 30th in the Arghandab River Valley of Afghanistan. He was 26 years old.
Private First Class Chad Clements is preceded in death by his father, Daniel R. Clements, and a brother, Zachary James. Among those he left behind are his sister, Danielle; his mother, Anne Beady Tarter; and his stepfather, Ed Tartar; as well as grandparents, stepgrandparents, a stepbrother and stepsister.
Funeral plans have not been announced yet.
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Chaplain (Captain) Dale Goetz
Dale Goetz grew up in Hood River, Oregon and was a graduate of Horizon Christian School there in 1986. He graduated from the Maranatha in Watertown, Wisconsin in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in Bible studies.
Goetz completed his Master of Divinity degree at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Minneapolis in 2000. He was pastor of a church in White, South Dakota, until beginning his work toward chaplaincy. Goetz joined the Army in 2000. He was a member of the Chaplain Corps. Goetz had served in Iraq from 2004-2005.
The Goetz family had been transferred to Colorado in January after serving three years in Okinawa, Japan. Goetz was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division based at Fort Carson.
Captain Goetz was a chaplain sent with the Fort Carson soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, who are presently assigned to southern and western Afghanistan. The troops are responsible for training Afghan military and police units. The base also is home to the 71st Group soldiers who are bomb-disposal experts. They are trained to track down hidden roadside bombs and destroy them. Before the deployment, the Chaplain helped soldiers prepare their families for the long separation while they were in a war zone.
Chaplain (Captain) Dale Allen Goetz died August 30th in a roadside bomb attack in Arghandab River Valley area of Afghanistan, less than a month after he deployed. Four other soldiers based at Fort Carson with him died that day also. Goetz was killed after getting out of his vehicle to help the soldiers in the Humvee hit by the first IED.
In The Gazette of Colorado Springs, it states:
In Afghanistan, Goetz wanted to bring 300 soldiers to know Jesus and had told friends that three GIs had accepted Christ in his first month overseas.
Friends said they knew Goetz would see combat alongside the soldiers who made up his flock.
Goetz had a calm demeanor that helped soldiers find strength in the darkest of times, Schwenke said.
"He brought peace in the midst of turmoil," Schwenke said.
A Baptist minister, Goetz is the first US chaplain killed in the 9-year-old Afghanistan war. He was 43 years old. Goetz is survived by his mother, Hope Goetz, his wife, Christina, and children, Landon, 10, Caleb, 8, and Joel, 1 year.
A funeral service will be held in Colorado Springs with burial at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver.
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Staff Sereant Jesse Infante
Jesse Infante was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He was the oldest of five siblings and graduated from Sam Houston High School in 1999. He had been in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps while at Sam Houston.
He enlisted in the Army in January of 2000 and had served a combat tour in Iraq from December 2005 to December 2006. His hometown was listed as Cypress, Texas by the military. He planned to spend his career in the Army and hoped to become a drill sergeant.
A 10-year veteran of the Army, Infante deployed to Afghanistan on July 25th. He was trained as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
An article in the Houston Chronicle quotes Infante's stepmother:
Army Staff Sgt. Jesse Infante had just deployed to Afghanistan on July 25, but he couldn't wait to come home on leave in November to witness the birth of his son.
"He was all excited he was having a boy," said his stepmother, Nancy Infante.
She said the 30-year-old soldier, who also has a 6-year-old daughter, Kassandra, planned to name the baby boy Jesse. "He was going to be a junior," she said.
Staff Sergeant Jesse Infante died Aug 30th in the Arghandab River Valley of Afghanistan when his Humvee was damaged by an insurgent’s bomb blast. Four other soldiers from Fort Carson also died in Monday's attack: Capt. Dale A Goetz, Staff Sgt. Kevin J. Kessler, Staff Sgt. Matthew J. West, and Pfc. Chad D. Clements.
Infante was a three-time recipient of both the Army Commendation Medal and the Army Achievement Medal.
In addition to his father, Jesus; stepmother and daughter, Infante is survived by his girlfriend, sister Jessica Infante, 22, and three brothers, Juan, 20, Estevan, 17, and Julian, 16.
Funeral plans have not been announced.
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Staff Sergeant Kevin J. Kessler
Kevin J. Kessler was oldest of four children who was elected class vice president of East Canton High School and graduated in 1996. Kessler joined the US Army in June of 2004 when he needed a job and thought it would be a good career.
Kessler joined the 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division in November of 2009. The unit is based at Fort Carson in Colorado. He had been married to his wife Adrian for more than five years. The couple lived in Colorado Springs while based in Colorado.
Kessler served two tours in Iraq before deploying to Afghanistan in May of 2010. He worked as a a motor transport operator, maneuvering military vehicles along the dangerous Afghan roads. According to Ohio's Inde Online site, Kessler heard the happy news that his wife was pregnant just before this deployment:
Kessler’s family threw him a party before he left the country in early July. It was a celebration, of sorts.
Kessler’s wife, Adrian, had found out she was pregnant, and they shared the good news with the entire family.
"Kevin was just so proud and so excited (about becoming a father)," Lightner said after talking Wednesday with Adrian.
On August 30th, Staff Sergeant Kessler was killed in a roadside bomb attack in Arghandab River Valley region, less than a month after he deployed into the war zone. Four other soldiers based at Fort Carson with him also died that day.
Staff Sergeant Kevin J. Kessler earned 27 medals. He was honored with the Army Commendation Medal for valor for his work in combat and is a seven-time recipient of the Army Achievement Medal.
Kessler is survived by his wife, and unborn child; his parents and their spouses, Kristine and Rod Williams, and Larry and Sue Kessler; his sisters, Emily Lightner and Laura Rohr; his brother, Daniel; and his grandparents, Annie and John Rhuark.
Funeral plans have not been announced.
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Staff Sergeant Matthew J. West
Matthew J. West was a 1992 graduate of Gaylord High School in northern Michigan and received a bachelor’s degree in 1997 from Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan.
West was trained in Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD), and was a bomb disposal expert assigned to the 71st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group, which was based at Fort Carson, Colorado. He left for Afghanistan in late July, after serving earlier tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The military lists West's home as Conover, Wisconsin, evidently because his family moved from Michigan recently. His wife, Carolyn, and three children live in Colorado Springs, since the base is located near the Colorado city.
Staff Sergeant Matthew J. West died August 30th in the Arghandab River Valley region of Afghanistan when his Humvee was damaged by an insurgent’s bomb blast. He was killed a little more than a month after beginning a third tour in a war zone. He was 36 years old.
Awards received by West are the Bronze Star, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal – 2, Meritorious Unit Citation, Army Good Conduct Medal – 2, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal – 2, Iraq Campaign Medal - w/Campaign Star, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon – 2, NATO Medal, Combat Action Badge, and a Senior Explosive Ordnance Disposal Badge.
Matthew West leaves behind his wife, Carolyn, and three children, 4-year-old Tyler, 3-year-old Joseph and 3 month old Annalise. The picture to the right is from last year, when West was coming home from a previous deployment to Iraq. Then, he was greeted by little Joseph wearing a shirt which read, "My Dad is My Hero."
Photo is from the WSAW website, but is attributed to "CSP"
The family of Matthew West is requesting his burial to be at Arlington National Cemetery.
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Helping our troops:
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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 US troops. Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, noweasels, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, JeNoCo, Mediaprof, TrueBlueMajority, JanosNation, Proud Mom and Grandma, Ministry of Truth, CalNM, Wide Awake in KY, and maggiejean. 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 diarized 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
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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.