Two more have been lost while serving our country. Both men had earned a reputation for loyalty to their friends. Tonight we honor their lives, which were filled with loyalty for our nation:
- Staff Sergeant Estevan Altamirano who was from Texas
- Specialist Ryan J. Cook who was from Florida
Staff Sergeant Estevan Altamirano
In 1981, Estevan Altamirano was born in the county of Hidalgo in Texas. He was a 1999 graduate of Edcouch-Elsa High School. Estevan joined the Army shortly after graduating and re-enlisted twice. He entered active-duty in January 2001 as an armor crewman.
Altamirano completed three tours of duty in Iraq. They were from January 2004 through February 2005, October 2006 through January 2008, and January 2009 through December 2009. He would have had about one year left of service after his latest deployment. He went to Iraq near the end of May. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division (also known as the “Maddogs”), which is based at Fort Hood, Texas, since April 2008.
The sergeant had two sons from his first marriage and a daughter and two stepdaughters with Pamela Gutierrez Altamirano. He lived with his wife and younger children in McAllen, Texas and died this weekend during his fourth tour of duty in Iraq. According to McAllen’s The Monitor site:
“That was my husband,” his wife Pamela Altamirano said. “He was there for everybody. There was not one single soul that he would turn down.”
…The sergeant, who was called “Speedy” by his fellow soldiers, had been a tank gunner and was serving as an armored vehicle commander when he died…
His wife remembers asking her husband not to go to Iraq again. The sergeant had back, ankle and knee injuries from his past tours in Iraq, she said. “He always said, ‘I cannot leave my brothers behind.’”
After a mission, Sergeant Alamirano was clearing a .50-caliber machine gun— removing its ammunition —when the weapon malfunctioned, wounding his face. He died September 18th in Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries sustained from the accident. The military is still investigating the case. He was 30 years old.
Altamirano’s awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, four Army Commendation Medals, four Army Achievement Medals, Valorous Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Award, three Army Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal with four campaign stars, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Non-commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, three Overseas Service Ribbons and a Combat Action Badge.
Those who knew Estevan Altamirano described him as an outgoing family man. Two videos from Telemundo show the
initial report of his death and
interviews with his family members.
Among Altamirano’s survivors are his wife and their children in McAllen; his two sons who live in Colorado; his mother in Edinburg and his father in Edcouch, Texas. His unit held a memorial service for him Tuesday in Iraq, but services in the states have not be announced yet.
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Specialist Ryan J. Cook
Ryan J. Cook was from Florida. His family lived in Fort Walton Beach for more than 20 years. Ryan went to Kenwood Elementary, Pryor Middle School and Choctawhatchee High School in Florida.
Shortly after the death of his grandfather, Ryan, following in that forefather's footsteps, joined the Army. He completed basic and advanced training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He completed a previous tour of duty overseas in Iraq.
Specialist Ryan Cook was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. He was deployed to Afghanistan in April for a one-year tour of duty.
An explosion took the life of Specialist Cook in the Takhar Province of Afghanistan.
Cook died September 18th from injuries suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device (IED). He was 29 years old.
The NW Florida
Daily News site quotes several friends of the specialist:
When Chris Brown got the call early Monday morning telling him that his friend Ryan Cook had been killed in Afghanistan, he was sure there was a mistake. In Brown’s mind, Cook was invincible.
“It couldn’t have been him,” Brown remembers thinking. “He’s huge. There’s no way it could be Ryan. Not only was he strong and knew the ways of the world, but he was lucky.”
...That was the consensus among his grieving friends – Ryan was someone you could count on.
“He was always there for me,” said Dustin Cahill. “He always had my back.” Cahill agreed that his friend had seemed “unstoppable” and that he never believed anything could kill him.
Emerald Coast Funeral Home is handling the funeral arrangements. Ryan had asked to be buried with his grandfather at Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola, but there was not enough room, so his remains will be placed in Beal Memorial Cemetery in Florida, where his parents plan to join him one day.
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Helping our troops:
If you wish to assist our military and their families, consider contributing to Fisher House. Donating to Netroots for the Troops provides care packages that make a real difference in a military person's life. To assist the animal companions of our deployed military, information is available here. Also, you could visit:
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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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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.