On Wednesday, the Department of Defense announced the loss of three more soldiers in Afghanistan. They include Staff Sgt. Chauncy R. Mays of Cookville, Texas, Spc. Christopher G. Stark of Monett, Missouri, and Spc. Rudolph R. Hizon of Los Angeles, California. In addition, we will honor the memories of the nine Afghan boys who lost their lives while collecting firewood earlier this week. Please follow me below the fold to learn more.
On Wednesday, the Department of Defense made the following announcement:
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Feb. 28, in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.
Killed were:
Staff Sgt. Chauncy R. Mays, 25, of Cookville, Texas.
Spc. Christopher G. Stark, 22, of Monett, Mo.
They were assigned to the 63rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion, 20th Support Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
Staff Sgt. Mays was a native of Cooksville in eastern Texas. He was a 2004 graduate of Cherry Hill High School. His best friend, Matthew Terrell, went to Mays' house on learning of his death. Friends wrapped a tree in front of his house with yellow ribbons, honoring Mays' service to his country. Terrell reports that Mays was on his third and final deployment at the time of his death.
"Every time he came in, we'd usually get together and me and him and his daddy would hang out and throw some horseshoes," said Terrell. "He was always talking about going back what he could do to help somebody else. I never understood it, but it takes a different kind of person to do that and we're all proud of him."
Terrell says Chauncy had an undeniable love for his country, and for the military.
"I never met anybody that was enthused, probably won't ever again about being in the army and help serve the country," said Terrell. ~source
Staff Sgt. Chauncy Mays was married and the father of two small children, ages 3 and 1. Thank you, Staff Sgt. Mays for your faithful service to our country. Our prayers are for your young family.
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Spc. Christopher G. Stark of Monett, Missouri was killed in the same incident. He was a 2007 graduate of Monett High School, and he was involved in the Junior ROTC program while he was a student there. The teachers and ROTC instructors who knew start when he was in high school said that he was focused on a career in the military.
"
I was pretty devastated," says 1st Sergeant John Marvut, ROTC instructor.
Stark joined ROTC in its inception and quickly became a soldier to admire.
"Just a community type guy," says Marvut. "Role model."~source
Flags have been flying at half staff at Monet High school since Tuesday in Spc. Stark's honor.
Teresa Stark said that her son left for Afghanistan on December 1st.
Teresa Stark said she didn't always like her son's career choice, but she supported his decision to join an explosive ordinance disposal unit.
"You want your kids to be doing what they want to do, and to be happy. We all have to pick our own deal."~source
Stark's family issued the following statement:
United States Army Specialist Christopher G. Stark, 22 of Monett, MO was killed in action on Monday, February 28, 2011, while serving in Afghanistan.
Christopher was an Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Tech, also known as a bomb specialist.
~snip
Christopher is the son of Teresa Stark and the late, Jeff Stark.
Additional family members include brother, Trenton Stark; Grandparents Max & Maxine Brown; and Mary & Bill Johnson.
Extended family include; longtime family friend, Kirk Little and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
~source
Thank you, Spc. Stark, for your love of and service to our country. Rest in peace.
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On Wednesday, the Department of Defense also announced that:
Spc. Rudolph R. Hizon 22, of Los Angeles, Calif., died Feb. 28, in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.
Spc. Hizon joined the military in January of 2009. He completed his training at Fort Benning, Georgia in November of 2009, and he was then stationed at fort Polk. He was deployed to Afghanistan with his unit in October of 2010.
Spc. Hizon was a heavily decorated soldier. His awards and medals include:
the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.~source
He is survived by his mother, his father, and his brother.
Thank you Spc. Hizon for your bravery and your selfless service to our country. May you rest in eternal peace.
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Finally, nine Afghan boys were killed when they were collecting firewood for their families. They were mistaken for insurgents by NATO helicopter gunners. The New York Times has the complete story. I know that we all send our condolences and prayers to the families of these young boys.
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Poppies are the universal symbols of remembrance. May be never forget all the people who have lost their lives in Afghanistan.
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The purpose of the I Got the News Today series is 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.
Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and is currently 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, CalNM, Wide Awake in KY, maggiejean, racheltracks, and Jax Dem.
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.