Three soldiers have died recently in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- Specialist Daniel (Lucas) Elliott who was from North Carolina
- Sergeant First Class Kenneth B. Elwell who was from Pennsylvania
- Private First Class Tyler M. Springmann who was from Maine
Specialist Daniel (Lucas) Elliott
Daniel L. Elliott, who was know as "Lucas" by his family, was from Youngsville, North Carolina. Elliott would have celebrated his 22nd birthday this past Monday.
Lucas Elliott who served five years in the military, was on his second tour in Iraq as an Army Reserve military police specialist. He was an MP assigned to the 290th Military Police Brigade, 200th Military Police Command in Cary, North Carolina.
The family's local ABC station, WTVD interviewed his mom:
"Those boys and girls need our prayers," Patti Elliott said. "They have gone through a terrible experience seeing one of their brothers fall and they still have to go on with their mission. So, our thoughts and prayers are with them."
Patti Elliott has made troops fighting the nation's wars her mission. She has dedicated herself to helping families grieve over loved ones lost while fighting overseas. She was featured in an ABC11 Armed Forces Salute last year.
"I know what to say to families in situations like this," she said. "I know what they go through. I know what resources to refer them to, but its hard to take your own medicine, though."
Specialist Elliott was serving in Basra, which is in southern Iraq, on July 15th. The vehicle he was riding in was hit by an IED. Elliot was killed and four other soldiers were injured in the explosion.
Among those left behind by the death of Specialist Elliott are his mother, Patti and brother, Bradley Elliott. The family celebrated his homecoming and birthday with his favorite meal, barbeque ribs, and celebrated his life.
Lucas Elliott will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The date of his service has not yet been set.
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Master Sergeant Kenneth B. Elwell
Kenneth Elwell grew up in Pennsylvania. He listed his hometown as Holland, PA and graduated in 1997 from Council Rock High School in Newtown. He joined the US Army in October of that same year.
Elwell served at Fort Riley, Kansas; in South Korea and at Fort Benning, Georgia before arriving at Fort Wainwright in March. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division based at Fort Wainwright in Alaska after his promotion to Sergeant First Class.
The 33-year-old had completed previous deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq and Bosnia. His unit began its one-year deployment to Afghanistan in May. He'd planned on this being his last deployment since he wanted to spend more time home with his wife and children.
An article in the Buck County Courier-Times states:
Elwell was a deep-voiced man who was quiet but at the same time was "full of the devil," his mother said with a smile.
"He was the quiet joker," added his brother Scott.
When Elwell came home to visit, his mother would tease him.
"I used to say, ‘You might be a sergeant, pal, but I'm the general.' And he'd smile out of the corner of his mouth.'"
Elwell was among two soldiers killed by a roadside bomb while on patrol in Afghanistan's Kandahar province on July 17th. Also killed was PFC Tyler M. Springmann. Seven other soldiers were wounded in the blast. Sergeant 1st Class Elwell was posthumously promoted to master sergeant.
The US Army master sergeant is survived by his mother, Janice; his wife of eight years, Kristin; his son Nicholas, 4; and daughter, Elise, 6. His father died when he was a baby.
His family is making arrangements through the Fluehr funeral home in Richboro to have the Master Sergeant buried in Arlington Cemetery.
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Private First Class Tyler M. Springmann
Tyler M. Springmann was from Hartland, Maine. He had lived in Maine as a child, but attended high schools in Texas and Connecticut before coming back to Maine. Moving around left Springman with a heavy course load in his senior year, but he overcame all obstacles to graduate with his class at Nokomis Regional High School in Newport.
He joined the Army shortly after graduating in 2010. According to an article in the Bangor Daily News, Springmann always had a smile on his face and loved words. He was fluent in sign language and was taking carpentry classes at the Tri-County Technical Center in Dexter:
Spingman was always quick with a joke, even under adverse circumstances, said Guay. During a carpentry competition in Augusta, Springman was driving screws into sheet rock when something happened that would make most people scream.
“He held up his hand and it had a screw sticking out of both sides of his finger.” said Guay. “All he said was, ‘It could have been worse. I could have hit the bone.’ He was just as calm as could be.”
Springman was determined to join the military right out of high school, said Guay, who has family members who have served and been injured in combat zones in the past.
“I told him that in this area of Maine there’s not a lot of options for young people,” said Guay. “When he told me he had committed [to the Army], I said, ‘I’ll support you but I’m not excited about it and I can’t encourage you to do it.’ He told me he respected what I said but that this was what he really wanted to do. He was very level-headed about wanting to serve his country.”
Springmann was one of the two soldiers killed by a roadside bomb while on patrol in Afghanistan's Kandahar province on July 17th. Also killed was Sergeant First Class Kenneth Elwell. Seven other soldiers were wounded in the blast.
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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 is maintained by Sandy on Signal, Monkeybiz, Noweasels, Blue Jersey Mom, Chacounne, Twilight Falling, Joyful, SisTwo, Spam Nunn, True Blue Majority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, Maggie Jean, Jax Dem, Kestrel 9000, & TheFatLadySings. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but show our community’s respect for those who have died.
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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