I Got The News Today (IGTNT) , which is among the oldest continuous series on Daily Kos, provides members of this community a venue to pay their respects to those who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The IGTNT title is a reminder that nearly every day the family of an active duty service member receives the terrible news that their beloved has died.
~Our beautiful logo was created by Timroff.
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Honoring and Remembering:
Capt Joshua M. McClimans
Sgt 1st Class Bradley S. Hughes
Sgt David P. Day
Since 2003 we have suffered the loss of 4450 American lives and a total of 4768 Coalition Forces in Iraq.
Since 2001 we have suffered the loss of 1562 American lives and a total of 2434 Coalition Forces in Afghanistan.
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To Where You Are
~ Performed by Josh Groban
Who can say for certain?
Maybe you're still here
I feel you all around me
Your memories so clear
Deep in the stillness
I can hear you speak
You're still an inspiration
Can it be
That you are my forever love
And you are watching over me from up above?
Fly me up to where you are
Beyond the distant star
I wish upon tonight
To see you smile
If only for awhile
To know you're there
A breath away's not far
To where you are
Are you gently sleeping
Here inside my dream?
And isn't faith believing?
All power can't be seen
As my heart holds you
Just one beat away
I cherish all you gave me
Everyday
'Cause you are my forever love
Watching me from up above
And I believe that angels breathe
And that love will live on and never leave
Fly me up to where you are
Beyond the distant star
I wish upon tonight
To see you smile
If only for awhile
To know you're there
A breath away's not far
To where you are
I know you're there
A breath away's not far
To where you are
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Capt. Joshua M. McClimans, 30, of Akron, Ohio
Capt. Joshua M. McClimans died April 22 at Forward Operating Base Salerno, Khost province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 848th Forward Surgical Team, U.S. Army Reserve, Twinsburg, Ohio. ~ DoD News Release
Joshua McClimans was a 1998 graduate of Jamestown High School where he was a star athlete, recording more than 100 wins in his high school wrestling career and was a state qualifier in wrestling, his father said. He also played baseball and ran cross-country in high school. He joined the Army ROTC program after graduating high school and earned his nursing degree in 2003 from the University of Akron. He then served a four-year stint as a nurse in the U.S. Army doing a tour in Iraq.
After being discharged from the Army in 2007, McClimans worked as a trauma nurse in the Akron and Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, areas.
McClimans re-enlisted through the U.S. Army Reserve a little more than a year ago to get additional money for schooling to become a nurse anesthetist.
Captain McClimans' father, Mike McClimans of Jamestown, Ohio was awakened by a phone call on Saturday morning:
He said to me, "Mr. McClimans, I'm Maj. Scott North and I am outside your door."
McClimans knew what the call meant.
I said, You've got to be kidding me. He said, "No sir, Im not."
North was there to inform him that McClimans' son, Capt. Joshua McClimans, 30, a registered nurse serving with the U.S. Army Reserve, had been killed in action in Afghanistan.
Capt. McClimans apparently had left his living quarters to begin a 12-hour shift at a hospital when he was killed by an incoming missile.
Capt McClimans' grandmother, Jamestown Mayor Esther McClimans said Joshua had been in Afghanistan for two months. He faced the horrors of war on the battlefield and stateside, spending a year as a trauma nurse in Iraq and later working at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, she said.
He was a very dedicated soldier, he loved serving his country.
"He was funny," she said. "He could make you really howl."
As a trauma nurse in Iraq, Joshua McClimans tended to patients who were not expected to live, Esther McClimans said. In one of his last e-mails to her, Esther McClimans said he wrote about caring for a young child who was badly burned.
"It was very disturbing to him," she said. "I don't know how Josh handled it. He was never one to complain or whine."
Capt. McClimans leaves behind a son, Max, 6; a stepdaughter, Emily, 13; his ex-wife, Amanda; his mother, Cindy; his father, Mike; two sisters, Jen, 35, and Crystal, 27; his grandmother, Esther McClimans; and other relatives.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
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~ Source ~ Source
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Sgt. 1st Class Bradley S. Hughes, 41, of Newark, Ohio
Sgt. 1st Class Bradley S. Hughes, 41, of Newark, Ohio, died April 24 of a non-combat incident, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 528th Sustainment Brigade, Fort Bragg, N.C. ~ DoD News Release
Bradley Hughes graduated from Newark High School in 1988, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1989 and enlisted in the Army in 1994.
Hughes was an armament maintenance sergeant and had previously served in Germany and Korea before deploying to Afghanistan in December. Previously, he had been deployed twice to Iraq.
Hughes' father, Larry Hughes of Granville, said the family did not want to talk to the media until after his daughter-in-law had a chance to bring his son's body home. He said she had flown to Delaware yesterday to meet the plane carrying Hughes body back to the United States, which had not arrived as of this afternoon.
Jennifer Kinney has watched her childhood friend, Bradley Hughes, serve his country with honor and integrity for the last 22 years.
He was a true American and a very giving person. He never complained about his numerous deployments; he took it as his responsibility.
Even as a young teen, Hughes talked about joining the military and serving his country, Kinney said.
He knew pretty early on that was the path he was going to take.
Although he loved serving his country, Hughes had planned to retire from the Army in December to spend more time with his family.
He was really looking forward to his last deployment so he could start the next phase of his life. He and Leslie had a big vacation planned.
Kinney said she will never forget Hughes' love for his family, the outdoors and the Ohio State Buckeyes. But most of all, she'll remember his positive attitude.
Regardless of the situation he would always find the silver lining. He would always see the good in every situation.
Another childhood friend, Brad Thompson, would often visit Hughes when he came to Licking County. He said he always was amazed by how much Hughes loved his job.
He obviously had a passion for his country and wanted to fight for it.
Anyone that knew him was privileged to know him. He was always a really good guy.
Sgt 1st Class Bradley S. Hughes is survived by his parents; his wife, Leslie and two step-sons.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
~Source ~ Source
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Sgt. David P. Day, 26, of Gaylord, Michigan
(and wife Nicole)
Sgt. David P. Day, 26, of Gaylord, Mich., died April 24 while conducting combat operations in Badghis province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Special Operations Regiment, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Lejeune, N.C. ~ DoD News Release
David Day graduated from Gaylord High School in 2003 and enlisted in the Marine Corps later that same year.
Teachers, coaches, friends and classmates remember David as an honor student, a multi-sport athlete and Marine for life, but many will remember him as the guy who drove his classmates to school in a big, white van.
That's how a lot of people will remember Dave, kidded Steve Dreffs, Day's close high school pal and neighbor, who was willing to ride the van to school early and work out in the weight room just to avoid their hour-long bus ride.
Dreffs added:
He was going to be a Marine and he was going to be the toughest one he could be.
Sgt. Day's toughness showed in his record. He put in 7 1/2 years in the service, had two tours in Iraq, one tour in Afghanistan, was named Team Leader of the Year for the 3rd Recon Battalion and completed Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) training instruction on how to defeat one of the enemy's deadliest weapons, the improvised explosive device (IED).
Don Day, Sgt. Day's father said his son had served two previous tours of duty in Iraq.
"He would have been coming home in late June," Day's father said, with a catch in his voice. "But now ... you can't help but wonder when you have a son overseas if he's going to make it home all right."
"He was happy with the group he was with (in Afghanistan) and had extended his original enlistment when he was in Iraq. He was happy in the military serving his country. Whether or not he would have made it his career? I think he would."
David Day is survived by his mother, Kathy; his father, Don and his wife, Nicole.
Funeral arrangements are pending but the Day family has indicated they will share their plans with the Gaylord community.
~Source ~ Source
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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, noweasels, monkeybiz, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, TrueBlueMajority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, maggiejean, racheltracks, kestrel9000 and me, JaxDem. 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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POW/MIA: Afghanistan & Iraq
Two U.S. soldiers are currently listed as captured or Duty Status -- Whereabouts Unknown as of December 1, 2009.
Spc. Ahmed K. Altaie 41
and
Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl 23
Never forgotten - please keep good thoughts and prayers for these two men.
On December 8th new photos were published of Pfc Bowe R. Bergdahl in captivity. The article and images can be seen here.
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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.