Since 2001, 1664 U.S. troops have lost their lives while serving in Afghanistan, and since 2003, 4474 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 honor and remember a young Marine and a
young Soldier who were killed in action in Afghanistan:
Lance Cpl. Travis M. Nelson, 19, of Pace, Florida
Pfc. Douglas L. Cordo, 20, of Kingston, New York
Please take a moment below to remember them,
and all those who have lost their lives in these wars.
* Thank you to noweasels for writing the tribute to Lance Cpl. Nelson.
Lance Cpl. Travis M. Nelson, 19, of Pace, Florida
Lance Cpl. Nelson, died Aug. 18 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The son of two veterans, Lance Cpl. Nelson had wanted to be a Marine since he was nine years old.
"We have good moments and sometimes we don't think we're going to make it," says (Lance Cpl. Travis) Nelson’s mother Beckie. The Marines are known as the few and the proud and the Nelson family says Travis wanted to be a part of that elite group more than anything. His passion for the Marines started just after 9-11, when Travis was barely nine years old. From there his life was set on a path to military service. His family says the young lance corporal loved all things outdoors and would never hesitate trying to make people laugh with a practical joke--anything that would end in a smile.
Source ~ WKRG
He had been in Afghanistan for a month, on his first deployment, and had celebrated his 19th birthday just weeks before he was killed.
Travis attended Bratt Elementary School from the first through fifth grades and Ernest Ward Middle School through the seventh grade. His family then moved to Pace, where he attended Pace High School.
Travis grew up in a military family. Friends said Thursday night that they remember a young Travis always had two things on his mind — fishing and growing up to join the military.
"He had the military in his blood growing up," said close family friend Janet Little Cooper of Bratt, who watched Travis grow up with her son. "That’s what he always wanted. He never faltered on that."
(snip)
His parents, Beckie and Scott Nelson, moved back to Bratt about a year ago. His sister, Anna, will begin the sixth grade Monday at Ernest Ward Middle School. Travis was engaged to Madeline Cates of Pace; She had recently moved to Bratt to live with the Nelson family to await Travis’ return from Afghanistan.
Source ~ North Escambia.com
He is "a hero to me," his father said.
"We have very mixed emotions," said Scott Nelson, who lives in the Bratt community in north Escambia County. "In one sense, you are very proud of the man he was. In another sense, we are very hurt and lost."
(snip)
"He wanted to be there for his country," Scott Nelson said. "He knew the risk. He was willing to accept the risk. We talked for hours about it. I never discouraged it. I encouraged him to live his dream."
Source ~ Pensacola News Journal
Lance Cpl. Nelson was engaged to marry Madeline Cates, a 2008 graduate of Pace High School, from which Nelson graduated in 2010. Ms. Cates, who lives with her fiance’s parents, cannot stop weeping.
Cates has been staying at the home of Nelson’s parents since he has been away. She moved into Nelson’s room to feel closer to him, Cates’ mother, Gina Perry, 46, said.
"She can’t eat or sleep or stop weeping," Perry said. "It’s been horrible as a mother to see your child hurt so bad, and I can’t help. And she just can't believe that he’s not coming home."
Source ~ Pensacola News Journal
Lance Cpl. Travis Nelson is from Bratt, a rural, one-stoplight town in Escambia County, not far from Pensacola.
The Bratt Crossroads Mini-mart is at the intersection of County Roads 99 and 4.
There's a cotton field across the street, and rain falling in the distance.
And, at the store, Austin Cooper is talking about his memories of Travis Nelson.
They graduated from the same middle school.
(snip)
He said he heard from his mother that Travis had been killed.
Cooper said, "It kind of hit me like a freight train. You know, because I never saw it coming. I never saw it coming. He was the kind of guy who made a career out of the Marines. I never thought that he would be one who would get shot, or die, or anything like that. I saw him doing it for years, coming home, and being fine. I never expected this: never."
(snip)
(Pete) Amerson watched Travis Nelson and Austin Cooper grow up as part of his youth group at the First Baptist Church of Bratt.
(snip)
Amerson said, "You see his pictures now, in the military, and, in most of his pictures, he's smiling. He's just a happy fellow. He has a really good heart. He loved the military? He did love the military. I've got pictures when we went to the Naval Air Station, and, in fact, Austin is in the pictures, and they're giving a salute: 10 years old. Travis wanted to do that for a long time, so, I'm glad that, if he had to go, I'm glad he went doing what he loved to do."
Source ~ WKRG
Guestbook
Lance Cpl. Nelson is survived by his parents, Scott and Beckie, and by his fiancé, Madeline Cates.
Thank you, Lance Cpl. Nelson. Godspeed. Your mission is done.
Pfc. Douglas L. Cordo, 20, of Kingston, New York
Pfc. Douglas Leonard Cordo was mortally wounded on August 19 in the village of Shah Joy in Zabul province, Afghanistan. Pfc. Cordo was driving a Stryker troop transport vehicle on a mounted patrol with two other soldiers when it hit an improvised explosive device, killing him and wounding the two passengers.
Pfc. Cordo was an infantryman assigned to the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based in Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
Source
"It was like my heart was just yanked out of my body," she said.
"I was numb."
The mother of the Kingston soldier killed Friday in Afghanistan described her son as an "awesome kid" with a incredible sense of humor and plans of joining the state police.
Tracy Karson has been soothed by visits from family and friends, and Facebook posts by her son's friends and members of his unit.
Karson broke down when she saw officers approaching her Hurleyville home at about 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
"It was like my heart was just yanked out of my body," she said.
"I was numb."
Pfc. Cordo's father, Douglas Cordo Sr., also received the news Friday, when officers arrived at his house in Ballston Spa.
"Of course I bawled my eyes out," he said. "It seems like a piece of me is gone."
Source
Pfc. Cordo joined the Army in March 2010 and arrived in Alaska that July.
Cordo was on his first deployment and part of the 4,000-Soldier brigade sent to Afghanistan in mid April 2011 for a one-year tour.
The current deployment is the third for Fort Wainwright’s Stryker brigade. The brigade’s first deployment was to Iraq in 2005, and then again to Iraq in 2008.
A memorial ceremony will be held at Fort Wainwright to honor Pfc. Cordo. He is the eighth soldier killed since the Stryker brigade began its deployment in mid-April.
Source Source
"He was the funniest kid you would ever meet," his mother said.
"He just loved life."
Douglas Cordo grew up in Kingston, on the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. He played Little League and Babe Ruth baseball. He also played junior varsity football before graduating from Kingston High School in 2009.
Then he briefly attended Ulster County Community College before joining the Army.
"He was the funniest kid you would ever meet," his mother said.
"He just loved life."
They last talked by instant message on Wednesday, when he joked about getting a skull tattoo.
"He was such an awesome kid," she said. "I am so proud to be his mother."
Source
Gov. Cuomo has directed that the flags on all state buildings be lowered to half-staff in honor of and in tribute to NY state's service members and those stationed in New York who are killed in action or die in a combat zone.
"On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend my deepest sympathies to the friends, family, and fellow soldiers of Private First Class Cordo," Gov. Cuomo said.
"We will mourn the loss of this New York soldier and we will remember his dedication to our nation."
Source
Among those Pfc. Cordo leaves behind are his mother and father, and other family and friends, and his fellow troops in the Stryker brigade.
Pfc. Douglas Cordo is missed. May he rest in peace.
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Thanks to Timroff for our faithfully lighted candle IGTNT 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.
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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, Ekaterin, TheFatLadySings, and me, 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.