Since 2001, 1577 U.S. troops have lost their lives while serving in Afghanistan, and since 2003, 4471 U.S. troops have lost their lives while serving in Iraq.
The IGTNT (I Got The News Today) series is a reminder that nearly every day, somebody gets the heartbreaking news that a friend, former classmate, or beloved family member will not be coming home from war.
Tonight we remember three soldiers and husbands who died far from home in Afghanistan:
Staff Sgt. Joshua A. Throckmorton, 28, of Battle Creek, Michigan
Spc. Jordan C. Schumann, 24, Port Saint Lucie, Florida
Spc. Preston J. Suter, 22, Sandy, Utah
Please take a moment below to remember them,
and all those who have lost their lives in these wars.
The Department of Defense announced the July 5th deaths of three soldiers in Paktia province, Afghanistan:
Staff Sgt. Joshua A. Throckmorton, Spc. Jordan C. Schumann,
and Spc. Preston J. Suter
The three American soldiers and an Afghani interpreter lost their lives when a Humvee they were riding in on patrol drove over a roadside bomb. The soldiers were assigned to the 709th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, based in Hohenfels, Germany.
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Staff Sgt. Joshua A. Throckmorton, 28, of Battle Creek, Michigan
Staff Sgt. Throckmorton was the married father of three daughters. He previously had spent 15 months in Iraq and was deployed to Afghanistan in April for a year-long tour.
Ten years ago Joshua Throckmorton was an honors student at Battle Creek High School and a team leader on the Bearcat football team. His former coach said Joshua was one of the smaller players on the offensive line, but a leader and consummate team player.
Joshua graduated from Battle Creek Central High School in 2001 and joined the Army shortly afterward.
His grandfather remembers Joshua as a young man willing to help, often volunteering with him to assist the local American Legion post.
Staff Sgt. Throckmorton's wife, Leslie, called him, "an amazing man.
He loved his children to death. They were his world.
His family meant everything to him."
"He was a soldier doing his job and he couldn’t wait to get home," she said.
"He was a great person. He was the best."
Among those Staff Sgt. Throckmorton leaves behind are his wife and three children, his mother and father, grandparents, brother and other family.
Staff Sgt. Joshua Throckmorton is missed. May he rest in peace.
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Spc. Jordan C. Schumann, 24, Port Saint Lucie, Florida
Spc. Schumann's wife Sarah is expecting the couple's first child in September, a son.
Jordan Schumann was born and raised in Port Saint Lucie. The Schumann family kept Jordan busy with activities at Westside Baptist Church. An energetic and mischievous youngster, Jordan graduated St. Lucie West Centennial High School in 2006.
After high school graduation, Schumann earned an EMT certification from Brevard Community College in 2008. He served his community as a volunteer firefighter and EMT, and planned to become a firefighter after the Army.
His mother said her son lived life like it was his last day.
"He probably lived 50 years in his 24 years," she said.
Jordan enlisted in the Army as a way to help people and earn money for school, according to his family.
Spc. Schumann was making plans to attend officer's school and to become a trauma nurse in the Army. He had grown more serious about making the best of his military experience when he learned he was going to be a father.
Spc. Schumann and his wife lived were he was stationed in Germany. He and Sarah named their son Tristan Alexander in anticipation of his birth in September.
"He couldn't wait to hold his son in his arms."
"He's going to live on in his son who is going to be born in two months,
and that boy will know his dad was a great man," his brother said.
Among those Spc. Schumann leaves behind are his wife and unborn son, his parents and brother, all of Port St. Lucie; and a sister, of Fort Benning, Georgia.
Spc. Jordan Schumann is missed. May he rest in peace.
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Spc. Preston J. Suter, 22, Sandy, Utah
Spc. Suter met and married his wife, Nicole, in Germany in April, before deploying.
Preston Suter grew up in Sandy, Utah and played on the varsity basketball team at Alta High School where he graduated in 2007.
Preston had been pursuing a degree in criminal investigation at Snow College when he joined the military a little more than two years ago to serve his country and help pay for his education.
His sister Samantha called him a strong man who's military service and goal of becoming a police officer fit his personality. The two were very close and she organized a candlelight vigil in her brother's honor at Alta High School.
"He was an awesome kid," said his mother. "He was so loveable."
"It's the worst thing in the world to bury your child," she said.
"He was going to come home on leave with Nicole and instead he came home in a box."
Prior to his tour in Afghanistan, Suter had been stationed in Germany, where he met and married Nicole.
His mother met Nicole for the first time at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware where they traveled to receive Spc. Suter's remains. She described Nicole as a "sweetheart" and said Suter loved his wife very much.
Spc. Suter's grandmother is also mourning the sad loss.
"I thought, 'Boy, he's going to make some fantastic citizen when he comes back,' "
she said. "I just never suspected he wouldn't be coming back alive."
"He will be missed greatly."
Spc. Suter leaves behind his wife in Germany, and his parents, sister, and grandmother in Utah.
Spc. Preston Suter is missed. May he rest in peace.
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Thanks to Timroff for our faithfully lighted IGTNT candle logo.
Other photos by CalNM and linked sources
Helping our troops: If you wish to assist our military and their families, consider Operation Helmet, or sponsoring a deployed service member at TroopCarePackage.com. Fisher House provides housing for families of injured troops and veterans who are recovering in hospitals, and Guardian angels for soldierspet assists the animal companions of our deployed military.
When our veterans come back home, they can find support at Welcome Back Veterans. Our recently returned veterans need jobs, and Veterans Green Jobs is now hiring for positions and filling training sessions. VGJ corps retrains veterans as leaders in forest and resource conservation, green construction, and energy efficient upgrades of homes in rural areas. Encourage a Veteran, and see if you can help out.
About the IGTNT series: I Got the News Today is intended to honor, respect, and remember the fallen, and to remind us that each casualty has family and friends who received the terrible news that their loved one has died at war.
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. The US Department of Defense news releases are found at defense gov/releases. Icasualties lists the names of those killed, and shows the number of wounded. Published AP photos of the returning war fatalities are found on the Dover AFB page. Click the IGTNT tags below for previous diaries in 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, Wide Awake in Kentucky, Ms Wings, maggiejean, racheltracks, ccasas, JaxDem, and CalNM. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but are an important service to those who have died, and show our community’s respect for our fallen brothers and sisters.
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.