Since 2001, 1774 U.S. troops have lost their lives while serving in Afghanistan, and since 2003, 4475 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.
~ Photo Credit Timroff
The Department of Defense has announced the deaths of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom:
Spc. Chazray C. Clark, 24, of Ecorse, MI
Sgt. Garrick L. Eppinger Jr., 25, of Appleton, WI
Staff Sgt. Michael W. Hosey, 27, of Birmingham, AL
Please follow me below the fold for their stories.
Spc. Chazray C. Clark, 24, of Ecorse, MI, died Sept. 18 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.
(Facebook photo)
Spc. Clark's remains arrived Monday afternoon at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
(DoD photo)
He joined the Army in September 2009 and began his first deployment to Afghanistan this February. On his Facebook page, this brave young man wrote: (source)
The task ahead of you is never as great as the power behind you, that's what I'm about. I'm tryin to do something with my life and nothing going to stop me. I AM AN AMERICAN SOLDIER!!!!
He is survived by his mother, several siblings, his wife Christina and his son Robbie.
(Facebook photo)
His wife Christina wrote: (source)
My Best Friend, My Lover, My Rock, My Future, My Everything, My Husband, Specialist Chazray Clark My Hero, gave his life today for The United States of America! Chaz I love you so much, you are my everything, My heart is bleeding. I love you and I will never let go....Chaz and I have been together almost 8 years, He is a Man, a Real Man with Ambitions and goals. A Brave and Heroic Man, who Loved his Family and did all he could for them....
Rest in peace, Spc. Chazray C. Clark.
Sgt. Garrick L. Eppinger Jr., 25, of Appleton, WI, died Sept. 17 in Parwan province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 395th Ordnance Company, 687th Combat Sustainment Support Brigade, 646th Regional Support Group, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, Wausau, WI.
He was one of more than 100 Army Reservists from the Appleton-based 395th Ordnance Company who headed to Fort Hood, Texas, in July for training before deploying to Afghanistan. (source)
An Appleton North High School graduate, Sgt. Eppinger joined the Army after he finished high school in 2005. He was one month into his third overseas deployment; he served in Iraq in 2005 and 2009.
After serving in the active military, he returned home to the Fox Valley and joined the reserves, studying political science and business at Fox Valley Technical College while working at a convenience store before deployment to Afghanistan. (source)
Sgt. Eppinger was the youngest of five children. His four sisters flew to Dover AFB on Monday to meet his body.
(DoD photo)
His parents are Navy veterans; his mother Linda last spoke to her son Friday morning.
He stayed in contact with his family via Facebook. He kept up on news of the Green Bay Packers and played fantasy football. His mother last chatted with him on Thursday. It was morning in Wisconsin and early evening in Afghanistan.
"I got a chance to say hi. We talked for a while and then he said, 'I've got to go to work now,' " she said, adding that he worked a night shift. (source)
Saturday morning, two men in uniform knocked on his parents' front door to inform them of their son's death.
The local newspaper, the Post-Crescent, featured Sgt. Eppinger and his family in their July 3 edition.
....Eppinger had given his 20-month-old daughter, Lenorea, a teddy bear — the same treasured bear Garrick Sr. had given to him 20 years earlier when he was deployed to Southwest Asia on the dawn of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
"I have a small, little fear inside me that my daughter will not remember me when I get home,” Eppinger told The P-C at the time. “She is 100 percent the most important thing in my life.”
Lenorea, now 22 months old, lives with her mother. (source)
(Facebook photo)
Rest in peace, Sgt. Garrick L. Eppinger Jr.
This tribute to Staff Sgt. Michael W. Hosey was written by Sandy on Signal:
Staff Sgt. Michael W. Hosey, 27, of Birmingham, AL , died Sept. 17 in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
Staff Sgt. Michael Hosey's facebook photo album is titled "Middle East Vacation" in it, he shows Army life in Afghanistan with beautiful photos of local farmers, fellow soldiers, Afghani children, dogs, goats and lambs. The photos may be seen Facebook.
Erin Kinnaird, a high school friend of Staff Sgt. Michael Kosey, spoke to the Birmingham News:
"No matter how the class was going he could put a smile on your face," said Erin Kinnaird, who graduated with Hosey from Clay-Chalkville High School in 2001.
On days students were allowed to dress up in costumes in high school, Hosey would wear military uniforms, Kinnaird said. "He had always wanted to be in the military," she said.
Staff Sgt. Michael Kosey joined the Army after high school. He became a communications intelligence specialist and graduated from the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center at Presidio of Monterey in Monterey, California.
In 2005, Staff Sgt Hosey was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, at Fort Lewis.
Hosey's military education included the Defense Language Institute-Korean, Warrior Leader Course, Airborne School, Survival Evasion Resistance Escape School, and the Advanced Leader Course.
Awards and decorations include: Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Good Conduct Medal with bronze clasp (two Loops), the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal (with Campaign Star), the Iraq Campaign Medal (with Campaign Star), the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Non-commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon with the Numeral 2, the Army Service Ribbon, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Medal.
Staff Sgt. Hosey was posthumously awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal. He is survived by his mother, Condi Hosey and father Michael Fred.
Rest in peace, Staff Sgt. Michael W. Hosey.
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, SisTwo, SpamNunn, TrueBlueMajority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, maggiejean, Kestrel9000, TheFatLadySings, JaxDem, and me, Ekaterin. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but are an important service to those who have died, and show our community’s respect for them.
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 site. 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, CalNM, TheFatLadySings, and me, Ekaterin. 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.
If you would like to contribute to the series, even once a month, please contact Sandy on Signal.
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.