Please join us tonight in paying tribute to yet two more young men who gave their last full measures for their country this week, Riley Gallinger-Long and Joe Cunningham.
“As no man is born an artist, so no man is born an angler”
- Izaak Walton
Hospitalman Riley Gallinger-Long, 19, of Cornelius, Ore., died Aug. 11 while conducting a dismounted patrol in the Marjah district, Helmand province, Afghanistan. Gallinger-Long was assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 1, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
http://www.defense.gov/...
I remembered that quote by Izaak Walton while writing this diary, as my Dad used to tell me that, all the time. Certain skills and traits just can't be learned, like fishing, devotion to your Country and family, or just being good natured and always ready to flash a crooked smile, like that avid angler, Riley Gallinger-Long.
Hospitalman Riley Gallinger-Long with his wife, Hope, in happier times
The 19-year-old Navy hospital corpsman from Oregon who died in Afghanistan last week was a newlywed, an avid fisherman, and a born patriot with a trademark crooked smile.[snip] Gallinger-Long's brother, 26-year-old Zack Gallinger-Long of Hillsboro, said his brother was shot in the lower back while tending to a wounded Marine. Zack Gallinger-Long said his brother was a Forest Grove fire cadet in high school and hoped the military would prepare him for a future as a fire chief or emergency medical technician. "He was born on the Fourth of July, so he was already a patriotic guy from day one," Zack Gallinger-Long said. "He wanted to go there; he wanted to do that job."
Gallinger-Long's twin brother, stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois, expects to be deployed to Afghanistan after he finishes training, Zack Gallinger-Long said. On the day his brother died, Wyatt Gallinger-Long was celebrating his graduation from the second of three required training programs. "I can't think of a single time he got into a fight or argument," Brown said. "He was very upbeat." Brown said Gallinger-Long loved the outdoors and spent nearly all of his free time fishing in Hagg Lake or Gales Creek. "If we weren't in class, we were fishing pretty much all the time," Brown said.
Gallinger-Long joined the Navy in August 2010 and was assigned to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. He married Hope, his high school sweetheart, in March. The pair lived at Camp Lejeune until Gallinger-Long was deployed in July.
http://www.oregonlive.com/...
Riley Gallinger-Long will be buried in Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. His family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in his memory to the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps severely injured service members during their transition to civilian life.
2nd Lt. Joe L. Cunningham
2nd Lt. Joe L. Cunningham, 27, of Kingston, Okla., died Aug. 13 at Laghman province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma Army National Guard, Stillwater, Okla.
http://www.defense.gov/...
Joe Cunningham graduated from Kingston (TN) High School in 2003. He previously worked in the Marshall County Sheriff's Office, and had expressed a desire to join the Oklahoma Highway Patrol one day. The unit motto of the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is "Semper Anticus", or "Ever Forward". It's clear that Joe Cunningham was an "ever forward" type of guy, always seeking fulfillment in the service of others.
“Second Lieutenant Cunningham actually enlisted barely two months after we were attacked on 9/11,” Lt. Col. Max Moss, an Oklahoma National Guard spokesman, said in a news release. After earning the rank of sergeant and demonstrating outstanding character and leadership potential, he was selected to attend Officer Candidate School. “He will be greatly missed by all of us in uniform that knew him, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends as they cope with his loss.” [snip] He was previously deployed to Iraq in 2005-2006 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant last year.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/...
Joe Cunningham comes home
Information about Joe Cunningham's family or his funeral arrangements were not available at the time of the publication of this diary. Please feel free to tell us more about him, in the comments.
Please join us in prayer for Riley Gallinger-Long and Joe Cunningham, and those who loved them.
What is excellent,
as God lives, is permanent.
Hearts turn to dust,
hearts love remains.
Hearts love will meet the again.
- Emerson
About "I Got the News Today" (IGTNT)
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended 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. 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 series, which was begun by i dunno, is 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, Proud Mom and Grandma, Wide Awake in Kentucky, CalNM and Maggie Jean.
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.
If that's not clear, read this: http://www.dailykos.com/...