Tonight we honor the lives and sacrifices of two naval officers, Lt. Florence B. Choe and Lt. Francis L. Toner, IV, whose deaths in Afghanistan were announced on Saturday evening. On March 28th, the Department of Defense made the following announcement:
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two sailors who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Lt. Florence B. Choe, 35, of El Cajon, Calif., and Lt. j.g. Francis L. Toner IV, 26, of Narragansett, R.I., died March 27 when an Afghan National Army soldier opened fire on personnel assigned to Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan at Camp Shaheen, Mazar-E-Sharif, Afghanistan.
Please follow me below the fold to learn more about the lives and sacrifices that these two sailors made for our country.
While the initial announcement indicated that Lt. Choe and Lt. Toner were killed by a member of the Afghan army, later reports revealed that the two sailors were killed by an insurgent dressed up as a member of the Afghan National Army.
The incident prompted condolences from Afghan Minister of Defense Abdul Rahim Wardak. He said he was "saddened and deeply regretful this tragedy occurred" and that the incident was under full investigation. ~source
Lt. j.g. Francis L. Toner IV was known to his friends as Frankie. He was a 2001 graduate of Westlake High School in Ventura County, CA. As a high school student, Frankie had been a running back on his school's championship football team. His football coach, Jim Benkert, described him as " one of the best our society has to offer. He is, he was, one of those special kids who come around once in a lifetime." ~source
Frankie Toner chose to attend the Merchant Marine Academy in Long Island, NY, in part, so that he could continue to play football in college. He was a lifelong sports enthusiast, and even tried to teach the Afghan troups that he worked with to play baseball.
"He’d send us these videos and it was kind of funny, because they thought you were supposed to hit people with the ball," [his aunt, Linda Moosekian,] said. ~source
Although Lt. Toner trained and served as an engineer, while he was in Afghanistan he was part of the blended military units that were training Afghan soldiers. Toner also helped distibute shoes and clothing to Afghan children.
Lt. Frankie Toner was scheduled to come home on leave on Wednesday. He is survived by his wife, Brooke, his father and stepmother, Frank and Sharon Toner, his mother, Becky Toner, and his siblings, Amanda, John, and Michael. He will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
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There is little published information available about Lt. Florence B. Choe. She was a Navy hospital administrator who was assigned to the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. She had been in Afghanistan for several months at the time of her death. According to Stars and Stripes, members of her family have gathered at her home, but they have declined to speak to the media.
Lt. Choe was a native of San Diego. She was born in the Naval Medical Center there; she graduated from Monte Vista High School; and she received her Master's degree of San Diego State University. She and her husband, Lt. Commander Chong "Jay" Choe, both worked at the Naval Medical Center there.
Last July, Lt. Florence Choe volunteered to go to Afghanistan to work as a mentor in an Afghan hospital. She was conducting physical training at the time of her death.
"She was respected and admired by everyone that knew her and certainly our condolences go out to the family," said Naval Medical Center spokeswoman Sonja Hanson. "It's a great loss." ~source
A fellow service member who worked with Lt. Choe wrote the following tribute:
My condolences to Lt. Choe's family. I knew Lt Choe from our time together at Camp Spann and I'm honor (sic) to call her my friend. Lt., you are a TRUE AMERICAN HERO and you will Never Be Forgotten.
In addition to her husband, Lt. Florence Choe is survived by her three-year-old daughter, Kristin.
I will update this diary as more information becomes available.
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May Lt. Florence B. Choe and Lt. Francis L. Toner IV rest in eternal peace. Thank you for your selfless service to our country. Poppies are the universal symbols of remembrance.
RIP, and may your families find comfort in your memories.
About "I Got the News Today" (IGTNT)
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor service members who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; its title is a reminder that almost every day a military family gets the terrible news about a loved one. 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.
Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, noweasels, greenies, blue jersey mom, chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, JeNoCo, and MediaProf.
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.