Since 2001, 1831 U.S. troops have died while supporting the war in Afghanistan, and since 2003, 4483 U.S. troops have died while serving in Iraq.
Day is Done
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 IGTNT remembers two soldiers who died far from home while serving in wartime. Staff Sgt. McCuller's diary was written by CalNM. First Lieutenant Vincent's diary was written by SpamNunn:
Staff Sgt. Ari R. Cullers, 28, of New London, Connecticut and First Lieutenant Dustin D. Vincent, 25, of Mesquite, Texas.
Please take a moment below to remember them,
and all those who have lost their lives in these wars.
Staff Sgt. Ari R. Cullers, 28, of New London, Connecticut
Staff Sgt. Cullers, 28 died October 30, in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. A squad leader and wheeled vehicle mechanic, Cullers was killed by a rocket propelled grenade while repairing a bulldozer.
Staff Sgt. Cullers was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, based in Fort Drum, New York, according to a US Department of Defense press release.
Flags are lowered at half staff in Waterford as the small town mourns another young soldier lost to war. In interviews in local papers, family and friends describe Staff Sgt. Ari Cullers as selfless, brave, proud to serve in the Army.
Ari Cullers grew up west of New London, Connecticut, and played football at Waterford HS before graduating in 2001. Friends and teachers recall Ari as friendly and very likeable.
"Anything he said or did could make you laugh," friend Kerri Flanagan said in The Day. "He just had that bubbly personally."
Flanagan said she saw Cullers shortly before he deployed.
"He seemed to be so proud of what he was doing," said Flanagan. "It was good to see him happy that last time."
Waterford High School principal Donald Macrino told The Day he spoke with Cullers about the difficulties of serving in combat.
"He was very frank about it and he told me it was a very dangerous job," Macrino said. "I understood that and admired him for the work he did. He also said he felt it was his niche and he had to go back.
“He felt as though he was doing something really important and worthwhile,” Macrino said. “And he really dedicated himself to it."
“While it is very sad - very sad - he was doing something I think he felt was very, very important,” Macrino said.
A Ft Drum press release reported that Ari Cullers joined the Army in October 2004, and served overseas at Camp Kyle, Korea. Sgt. Cullers arrived at Fort Drum in December 2008, and deployed to Afghanistan for a year-long tour. He deployed to Afghanistan again with his unit in March 2011.
The Army recognized Staff Sgt. Cullers' service and leadership with numerous awards and decorations including the Army Commendation Medal, four Army Achievement Medals, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, two Army Good Conduct Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal, three Afghanistan Campaign Medals, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Combat Action Badge, and the Driver and Mechanic Badge.
Ari Cullers is the third Waterford High School graduate to be killed in the military since the War on Terror began. In 2003, Marine Cpl. Kemaphoom “Ahn” Chanawongse died in Iraq, and in 2010, Staff Sgt. Edwin Rivera died in Afghanistan.
Also, Waterford native James Greenleaf, Jr. died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City.
“It has hit Waterford very hard,” principal Donald Macrino told the Waterford Patch. “That’s a lot for a small town.”
Macrino said the school will somehow memorialize Cullers, the way it memorialized Rivera and Chanawongse.
“I think it is always important to include the kids in Waterford, even if they didn’t know Ari,” Macrino said. “He is part of the extended Waterford High School family, he’s an alumni, he’s a graduate, and I feel as though we will have to appropriately memorialize him, as we did with Ahn and we did with Edwin.”
Among those Staff Sgt. Cullers leaves behind are his mother, his father, and his brother, and his friends from Waterford.
Staff Sgt. Ari Cullers is missed. May he rest in peace.
First Lieutenant Dustin D. Vincent
As the last of the U.S. troops pack to leave and hand over their operating bases to Iraq, one soldier, 1st Lt. Dustin D. Vincent, 25, of Mesquite, Texas, was killed in an attack on his unit. Lieutenant Vincent, 25, of Mesquite, Texas, died Nov. 3, in Kirkuk province, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, KS.
He graduated from Mesquite High School in 2005, according to his Facebook page. He is survived by his wife.
http://www.defense.gov/...
Lieutenant Vincent was detailed to a unit that was working with the Iraqi Army and civil authorities to ready their country to take over full responsibility for security and management of their infrastructure.
Dustin Vincent at work
This was his first deployment. A short timer, he was scheduled to return home in December.
Dustin Vincent comes home (Dover AFB)
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Photos Uploaded with ImageShack.us
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, thefatladysings, Ekaterin, 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.