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I Got The News Today (IGTNT) , which is the oldest continuous series on Daily Kos, provides members of this community a forum 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.
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~ Logo Credit to llbear with gratitude
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Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of Heaven,
Blossom the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in Evangeline
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.
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Tonight we honor the lives, service and sacrifice of two Soldiers and two Marines:
Spc Gerald R. Jenkins, 19 of Circleville, Ohio
Staff Sgt Kenneth K. McAninch, 28 or Logansport, Indiana
Lance Cpl Francisco R. Jackson, 24 of Elizabeth, New Jersey
Staff Sgt Joshua J. Cullins, 28 of Simi Valley, California
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Spc Gerald R. Jenkins
Spc. Gerald R. Jenkins, 19, of Circleville, Ohio, died Oct. 20 in Maquan, Zhari district, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
Jenkins joined the Army in October 2008 at age 17 after having earned his high school equivalency certificate and was assigned to the 1st Brigade Special Troop Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell.
Roger Jenkins, Gerald's father had this to say:
"God apparently had other plans for him,"
~Source
Gerald's parents divorced when he was 8 and he was raised and home schooled by his father since then.
"Me and him have been together the last 11 years on our own," Mr. Jenkins said.
~Source
Gerald Jenkins thrived in the Army. He had been in Afghanistan for only five or six weeks, his father said, when he called home and said he had rejoined the Army for six more years.
Spc Jenkins was due home on November 1st for 2 weeks leave.
His awards and decorations include: Army Achievement Medal; Army Commendation Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Army Service Ribbon and Combat Action Badge.
Jenkins is survived by his father, Roger D. Jenkins and mother Carla K. McNamara, a half-brother, Shane Jenkins, and a half-sister, Maranda Wooten.
A memorial service will be held in Afghanistan. Fort Campbell holds a monthly Eagle Remembrance Ceremony to honor fallen Screaming Eagles. The next ceremony will be held Nov. 10 at 4 p.m.
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Staff Sgt Kenneth K. McAninch
Army Staff Sgt. Kenneth K. McAninch died Thursday from wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. The fire fight broke out in the Yahya Khel district of Afghanistan died of a gunshot wound Oct. 21, while McAninch’s unit was trying to recover a vehicle damaged in a blast from an improvised explosive device.
"Kenny" attended Lewis Cass Junior-Senior High School and enlisted in the U.S. Army’s delayed entry program in early 2005 and reported for active duty in March of that year.
Lewis Cass Principal Bill Isaacs had this to say about Kenny:
"He was one of those kids who always worked hard to get things done."
Adding that he was saddened by McAninch's death, Principal Isaacs also said:
"It reminds us of the contributions and sacrifices these soldiers are making for us."
~Source
One of McAninch's former teachers signed his guest book with this:
I had Kenny when he was a student at Columbia Middle School. I can still remember some of the one-on-one conversations we had. He was such a sweetheart . . . I enjoyed having him in my class. May God bless Kenny and his family. He was in an honorable profession and will be remembered for what he gave to his country.
McAninch’s awards and decorations include the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Mobilization Device and Combat Infantryman Badge.
McAninch is survived by his wife, Shawnna R. McAninch; his children, Jeremiah McAninch, Braxton McAninch, Brayden McAninch, Colby Dugan and Shyanne Adam; and by his parents, Marvin McAninch of Logansport and Cheryl Nance of Peru.
The Fort Campbell announcement noted that a memorial service would be held in Afghanistan. Fort Campbell holds a monthly Eagle Remembrance Ceremony to honor fallen Screaming Eagles. The next ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. Nov. 10.
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Lance Cpl Francisco R. Jackson
Francisco immigrated from the Dominican Republic at a young age and grew up in downtown Elizabeth where he attended William F. Halsey House, part of Elizabeth High School, before transferring to Union County Vocational-Technical Schools in March 2002. He chose to enlist last year because he planned to become an engineer and had hopes that the Marines would guide him to a better life. Francisco’s grandfather served in the Dominican Republic military.
A field artillery cannoneer, Jackson was on his first combat deployment when he was killed by an improvised explosive device on Tuesday. He had been assigned to the 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton in California, and already had been awarded a Purple Heart.
The day before his death he phoned home says his cousin, Evelyn Cordoba:
"He said, ‘I’ll be home very soon. I want to see you." "We were so happy to hear from him."
~Source
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued the following statement regarding the death of Lance Cpl. Francisco R. Jackson of Elizabeth, NJ:
"The death of Lance Corporal Francisco Jackson is a true tragedy. He gave his life while serving our country, and Maria and I will be forever grateful for his selfless sacrifice. On behalf of all Californians, we extend our sympathies to Francisco’s loved ones during this difficult time."
~ Source
Jackson leaves behind a wife and son as well as two sisters and a brother.
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Staff Sgt Joshua J. Cullins
Joshua attended Royal High School in 2000 and he enlisted in the Marines immediately following graduation. He was active duty until 2007 when he joined the LAPD, then became a reservist in 2008.
He had served two tours of duty in Iraq and was serving his second tour of duty as an explosive ordinance disposal technician.
In July Cullins suffered a concussion from the explosion of a 15 pound bomb. His fellow LAPD police officers participated in making a music video to buoy his spirits and welcome him back home soon:
~Source
Cullins' LAPD boss, Capt. Daryl Russell said:
"There are no words to express how we feel."
"I'm so sad this has happened to a kid who really had a bright future with this Police Department," Russell said. "This is a total loss to this city and this country."
Captain Russell added that Cullins returned to the field in Afghanistan as quickly as doctors would allow.
"He'd put in his time and could have had a desk job," Russell said. "He continued wanting to be out with his fellow Marines, doing the job every day he strapped on his boots."
~Source
City flags flew at half-staff Thursday to honor a Los Angeles police officer killed while serving in Afghanistan.
~Source
Cullins is survived by his father, Jim and step-mother Barbara Cullins; and brothers, Cooper, 12 and Donovan, 16.
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About the IGTNT series:
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"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 which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, noweasels, monkeybiz, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, JeNoCo, Mediaprof, TrueBlueMajority, JanosNation, Proud Mom and Grandma, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, Ms Wings, maggiejean, racheltracks, and me, JaxDem. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but are an important service to those who have died, and show our community’s respect for them.
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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POW/MIA: Afghanistan & Iraq
Two U.S. soldiers are currently listed as captured or Duty Status -- Whereabouts Unknown as of December 1, 2009.
Spc. Ahmed K. Altaie 41
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Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl 23
Never forgotten - please keep good thoughts and prayers for these two men.
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Retroactive Stop Loss Benefits submission deadline extended to December 3rd. Details available here.
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Helping Our Troops
There would be no finer way to honor the fallen than to contribute to programs that assist our active duty military. Here are a few suggestions:
Fisher House - Provides a "home away from home" for military families to be close to a loved one during hospitilization for an illness, disease or injury.
Netroots For The Troops - raises money for the assembly, mailing and delivery of care packages to American military in war zones, and to provide assistance to military families in the United States.
Welcome Back Veterans - created to inspire Americans to give back to our returning veterans and their families and assist in particular with PTSD.
Books for Soldiers - purchases and ships books to our troops deployed in war zones.
Any Soldier - provides "contacts" for you to send greetings, care packages, etc. to any Soldier, Airman, Marine, Sailor or Coast Guardman.
Guardian Angels for Soldiers' Pets - establishing a network of foster families providing a loving and healthy home environment for the pet(s)of deployed military personnel until they can be reunited with their owner.
Wounded Warrior Project - To raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured service members aid and assist each other and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members.