Unable are the loved to die. For love is immortality. ~Emily Dickinson
I Got the News Today (IGTNT) is a diary series intended to honor service members who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The title is a reminder that almost every day a military family gets the terrible news about a loved oneI Got The News Today (IGTNT) , which began in April of 2004, is one of the oldest continuous series on Daily Kos and provides members of this community a venue to pay their respects to those who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The IGTNT title is a reminder that nearly every day the family of an active duty service member receives the terrible news that their beloved has died.
The beautiful forget-me-nots were created by llbear.
Since 2003 there have been 4486 US casualties in Iraq and since 2001 there have been 2235 US casualties in Afghanistan. Source.
Tonight we honor:
Warrant Officer Sean W. Mullen, 39, of Dover, Del.
Staff Sgt. Job M. Reigoux, 30, of Austin, Texas
2nd Lt. Justin L. Sisson, 23, of Phoenix, Ariz.
Spc. Robert A. Pierce, 20, of Panama, Okla.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Warrant Officer Sean W. Mullen, 39, of Dover, Del., died June 2, in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Mullen attended Caesar Rodney High School and Delaware Technical and Community College before joining the Maryland National Guard in 1993. He enlisted in the Army in 1995 and trained as a special forces medic before completing warrant officer school last year.
Mullen, who was born in Allentown, Pa., is survived by his widow, Nancy, his parents and an older sister.
Source
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Job M. Reigoux, 30, of Austin, Texas, died June 1, in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with a rocket propelled grenade. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
Staff Sgt. Job Reigoux, 30, was a graduate of now-closed Echelon Charter School in Austin.
He joined the Army at age 19 right after high school graduation.
“We're trying to cope you know. We're trying to be strong because that's what he would want," said Reigoux’s sister Carmen who lives in south Austin.
Reigoux leaves behind a wife and two children ages nine and four.
Reigoux will be buried in Austin. Funeral arrangements are still pending.
Source
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
They died June 3, in Tsamkani, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when their unit was attacked by a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. The soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Killed were:
2nd Lt. Justin L. Sisson, 23, of Phoenix, Ariz.
The last time Phyllis Sisson chatted with her son Justin it was on Facebook about the food that he missed — her homemade banana bread and Special K bars.
He had just received a package from her that included peanut butter and tea.
“He was really happy about that food,” the Phoenix resident said Tuesday. “He was at a very remote base and only got supplies once a month.” He had been there for two months.
snip
Since he was a boy growing up in Kansas, Justin knew he wanted to join the army. Both his grandfathers were in the Army and the family can trace its military history back to the Revolutionary War, Phyllis said. Phyllis and Kevin moved to Phoenix in 2007.
“Justin always had a sense of pride of being an American,” she said. “He loved his country.”
Justin also leaves behind his brother, Ryan, 25, of Phoenix.
Source
Spc. Robert A. Pierce, 20, of Panama, Okla.
Pierce joined the Army in April 2011, serving in South Korea before arriving at Fort Campbell in August 2012. His Army awards include a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, according to the military's news release.
He is survived by his wife Christian Pierce, mother and stepfather Lonnetta and Rusty Cooper of Hartford, AR, father and stepmother Randy and Zandra Pierce of Panama, OK, sister Jessica Daugherty, two brothers Kyle Dart of Fort Smith, AR and Randall Pierce of Van Buren, AR, Maternal Grandparents Joyce and Lonny Dart of Hooks, TX, Paternal Grandparents Pat and Roughneck Pierce of Panama, OK, Aunt Sherry Bishop of Panama, OK and Mother-in-law and father-in-law Shelly and Steve Cox of Huntington, AR.
Some of Pierce’s family members will travel to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to escort his body home, according to his brother Kyle Dart.
“At this time, we just want to be together and go see our hero home,” Dart said.
Source Source
Click here to read the series as begun by i dunno, and maintained by Sandy on Signal, noweasels, Blue Jersey Mom, Chacounne, Twilight Falling, Sis Two, Spam Nunn, CalNM, Wide Awake in KY,
maggiejean, Jaxdem, Kestrel9000, TheFatLadySings, and Ekaterin
If you would like to contribute to the series, even once a month, please contact Sandy on Signal or noweasels.
To see what these tributes mean to those who have lost a loved one in Iraq or Afghanistan, please read Sandy on Signal’s story about meeting the father of a soldier at NN10.
The IGTNT logo was created by Timroff.
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.