Since 2001, 1967 U.S. troops have died while serving in Afghanistan, and since 2003, 4486 U.S. troops have died 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 remember three 82nd Airborne paratroopers who died in Afghanistan:
Sgt. Jacob M. Schwallie, 22, of Clarksville, Tennessee
Spc. Chase S. Marta, 24, of Yuba City, California
Pfc. Dustin D. Gross, 19, of Jeffersonville, Kentucky
Please take a moment below to remember them,
and all those who have lost their lives in these wars.
The US Department of Defense confirmed the deaths of three soldiers:
Sgt. Jacob Schwallie, Spc. Chase Marta, and Pfc. Dustin Gross died May 7, in Ghazni province, Afghanistan. The soldiers were on a patrol in southern Ghazni Province when their Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. They were assigned to Company C, 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
The Army posthumously awarded each paratrooper the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
Sgt. Jacob M. Schwallie, 22, of Clarksville, Tennessee
Sgt. Schwallie served as an assistant team leader with 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.
Jacob Schwallie was native of Clarksville, Tennessee. He graduated from Rossview High School in 2007, and joined the Army.
In honor of Sgt. Schwallie, a group of people from his Stonehenge neighborhood volunteered to place 48 red, white and blue bows and a small American flag on each mailbox in the neighborhood.
“Whenever we heard about this we knew we had to do something about it to let Jacob’s mother know that we love her and care about her and her family and we’ll support her and be here for her through all of this,” Juli Morris said.
“This is a very active military community. My husband is retired military and we have several retired military in this community so that’s another reason to support the military and to show support for Jake and what he did to serve our country,” said Leslie Heimback.
Clarksville Now
Among those Sgt. Schwallie leaves behind are his family and friends, and his men in Company C.
Sgt. Jacob Schwallie is missed. May he rest in peace.
Clarksville Online Clarksville now
Spc. Chase S. Marta, 24, of Yuba City, California
Spc. Chase Marta was assigned as a scout with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne. He was recently promoted from the rank of private first-class to specialist, but hadn't yet told his family.
Chase Marta grew up in Yuba City, California, were his family still lives near Beale Air Force Base. He was on the swim team at Yuba City High School. After graduating in 2006, he attended Butte College and CSU Channel Islands. Then Chase enlisted in the Army in 2010, after considering the Air Force. His family described him as a war history buff, especially the history of the Army.
Spc. Marta had only been in Afghanistan six weeks when he was killed.
He was planning to propose marriage to his girlfriend upon his return from war.
"I am proud of him," said his mother, Karyn Stone. "His friends were all here earlier. I just wanted him to walk through the door."
Family members had been gearing up for the wedding of his sister, scheduled for Memorial Day weekend — when they received the news about Chase.
Still stunned, they gathered to talk about the man they said they will miss very deeply.
The appeal democrat
Friends and family members remembered Chase as sensitive, private, and an enthusiastic cook who insisted on teaching them how to prepare sushi.
The last time family and friends saw him was during Christmas, on leave from Ft Bragg.
They said he was happy he made Airborne status, and happy to be deployed.
The appeal democrat
"He found his niche in the Army. He wanted to do that more than anything else," his sister said.
His mother said Chase finished first in his basic training. "He was a smart kid. He could have picked any profession he wanted," she said.
An outspoken critic of the war in Afghanistan, Stone said she accepted her son's choice right away.
"I am totally against the war, but totally for the armed forces," Stone said.
His sister said she had never given a second thought to the danger her brother was facing.
"You think that everything's going to be fine," she said. "This is just the kind of thing you hear in the news."
Among those Spc. Marta leaves behind are his mother, girlfriend, sister, best friend, and other family and friends.
Spc. Chase S. Marta is missed. May he rest in peace.
Pfc. Dustin D. Gross, 19, of Jeffersonville, Kentucky
Pfc. Gross was assigned as a scout with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.
Last year, Dustin Gross graduated from Montgomery County High School in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. He joined the Army and soon deployed on his first tour, to serve in Afghanistan.
The high school brought in Counselors to the school after the students were notified of his death.
His family, also devastated by the loss of their young soldier-son, released this statement: "We love and are very proud of Dustin. This is very hard for us. We appreciate all the prayers, love and support from our family, friends and the community. We just need to mourn our loss in private at this time."
FayObserver
surfky
The Governor will honor Pfc. Gross by ordering that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on the day of Pfc. Gross’ memorial and burial.
Among those Pfc. Gross leaves behind are his family and friends in Jeffersonville.
Pfc. Dustin Gross is missed. May he rest in peace.
* * *
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.
+ * * * + * * * + * * * + * * * + * * * + * * * + * * * + * * * + * * * + * * * +
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, 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.