Since 2001, there have been 1363 American troops killed while serving in Afghanistan, and since 2003, 4427 American troops killed while serving in Iraq.
The IGTNT (I Got The News Today) title is a reminder that nearly everyday, somebody gets the news that a friend, former classmate, or beloved family member will not be coming home from war.
Tonight we remember a Marine officer killed in action in Afghanistan:
1st Lt. James R. Zimmerman, 25, of Aroostook County, Maine
Please take a moment below to remember him and our other fallen brothers and sisters.
The Department of Defense confirmed the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom:
1st Lt. James R. Zimmerman, 25
of Aroostook County, Maine
1st Lt. Zimmerman was killed during combat action on November 2 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Zimmerman was a platoon commander assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, I Marine Expeditionary Force Forward, I Marine Expeditionary Force Forward of the 2nd Marine Division, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
"He was a great kid, just a real nice young man that everyone enjoyed being around."
James Zimmerman grew up in rural northern New England. His family lives near the small towns of Houlton and Smyrna Mills, Maine, located near the US-Canadian border at New Brunswick.
In Houlton, James' and his family's lives centered around the Greater Houlton Christian Academy, a private pre-kindergarten through grade 12 Christian school. Now the school and the community are mourning the sudden loss of a young man who wanted to make his family proud.
According to the Bangor Daily News,
Students at GHCA were told of Zimmerman’s death shortly after the
school day began. Teachers were told before the start of the school day.
James Zimmerman’s father is the assistant head of the school.
His mother is a nurse with Visiting Nurses of Aroostook and works
with music students at the school.
Zimmerman’s sister is a fifth-grade teacher, and his brother-in-law
teaches fourth grade at the school.
He also has a brother, named Christian Zimmerman.
James Zimmerman started taking steps to join the military in high school after talking at length with a local military veteran.
"All he ever wanted to do was to be in the military
and be a Marine," said a family friend.
"He believed it was his calling."
James Zimmerman joined the Marine Corps in March 2003, and also graduated from Greater Houlton Christian Academy in 2003.
In the years after, he attended and graduated from the University of Maine, and got married.
Zimmerman was promoted to first lieutenant in May 2010, and deployed to Afghanistan in June.
"James was so outgoing and likeable; he had a great sense of humor. He also was very athletic and would take on any challenge that was put to him. We all knew that he would accomplish any goal that he set out to do."
"He wanted to make [his family] proud, and he did," said the family friend.
"The price he paid was the ultimate price that anyone could give to this country.
Everyone at the school is just so upset over this.
It really impacts people when it hits home like this, in such a small town.
His death hits very close to home."
Among those 1st Lt. Zimmerman leaves behind are his wife, his mother and father, his brother, his sister and brother-in-law, his marine platoon, and his friends at GHCA.
1st Lt. James Zimmerman is missed. REST IN PEACE.
sources: GHCA, Bangor Daily News, 2nd Marine Division, wcsh news
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Photos Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Thanks to Timroff for our faithfully lighted candle IGTNT logo;
and Thanks to llbear for our beautiful forget-me-nots IGTNT logo.
(Other Photos by CalNM)
Helping our troops: If you wish to assist our military and their families, consider Operation Helmet, or Fisher House. Sponsoring a deployed service member at TroopCarePackage.com can provide letters or care packages that make a real difference in a military person's life. To assist the animal companions of our deployed military, information is available at guardian angels for soldierspet.
When our veterans come back home, they need jobs. Look at the programs of Veterans Green Jobs and Welcome Back Veterans. Encourage a Vet, 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, JaxDem, 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.