For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: "It might have been!"
John Greenleaf Whittier
DOD Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Dec. 8 in Balkh province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an insurgent attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.
Killed were:
Sgt. James A. Ayube, II, 25, of Salem, Mass.
Spc. Kelly J. Mixon, 23, of Yulee, Fla.
The soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.
Sgt James A Ayube, II
What might have been ... that is what haunts the young widow of Sgt. James A. Ayube, II, who was killed by an insurgent with an IED on December 8th, in Balkh province, Afghanistan. "It was his dream to have children," said Lauren Ayube, 24. "I thought
we were too young, but started opening up to the idea. I wished there was more time. It’s my one regret."
Sgt and Mrs. Ayube met when he was a nineteen year old student at Bunker Hill Community College, in Salem, Massachuesetts and she was an 18 year old student at the same institution. Married two year after they met, Sgt. Ayube earned a degree in sociology. Mrs Ayube remembers: "I only had four years with him," she said. "But they were the best four years of my life."
A combat medic with Company H, 2nd Stryker, Cavalry Regiment stationed at the Rose Barrack in Vilseck, Germany, Sgt. Ayube was 25 years old.
The last time Sgt Ayube saw his wife in person was in late June, when he shipped off for Afghanistan, but the miracle of modern technology meant they were able to connect with each other via Skype every day. "Even though we were miles apart, we started and ended our days
together," she said. "I talked to him the morning he died. I was falling asleep, but we talked for 15 minutes. He said ‘I love you,
babe.’ And the last time I saw his face he was smiling."
"My husband died doing what he loved," Lauren Ayube said. "He was proud of being a soldier and that he provided for
his family through what he did. He felt it was his duty to serve and wanted to finish the war with his guys to make sure everyone got home
OK."
In addition to his wife, Sgt. Ayube is survived by his mother, Christina, his father, James Ayube, Senior, his twin brother, Alex and his sister Ashleigh.
His community is in mourning. Yesterday, the Salem City flags flew at half-staff in tribute."It’s a devastating loss to the town," said Michael Sosnowski, the Ayube twins’ old scoutmaster, Michael Sosnowski, now a Salem City Councilor, "Bottom line, we
lost a really good young man. This hits home."
With six months left on his tour of duty, Sgt. Ayube dreamed of returning home and starting a family with his wife. What might have been ...
Spc. Kelly J Mixon
Born to drum and to cook, Spc. Kelly J Mixon, an Army specialist from Yulee, Florida, was killed, along with a fellow Army member, by an insurgent with a IED on December 8th, in Balkh province, Afghanistan.
In high school, as a member of the band, Spc, Mixon was taught how to play the drums by Fernandina Beach High School drumline instructor, Bob Jenkins, "Over the next four years he was the best student I ever had." Drumming became a major part of Spc Mixon's life, and his skill increased to the point that he became a member of the D-Line, the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars' official drumline.
Along with drumming, Spc. Mixon loved to cook. After his deployment, he planned to enroll in culinary school.
Mr. Jenkins remembers him as "looking for a big adventure. He always liked to do everything the best he could."
Ryan Teston, a friend, remembers Spc Mixon as "not afraid to be himself in front of everybody."
On his last trip home, for Thanksgiving, Spc. Mixon visited friends and family, cooked up a batch of chicken wings, and sat in with the current band at his former high school. "When I saw him, he was the happiest I’d seen him in many a long time," said Mary Sikes, who works in Fernandina Beach High School’s guidance department and saw Mixon over Thanksgiving.
Ginny Mixon, Spc. Mixon's aunt, related that "Everyone was scared" when Mixon left to finish his deployment, "But he was doing what he wanted to do."
In addition to his aunt, and other members of his family, Sgt. Mixon leaves a young bride whom he married just before shipping out on this deployment.
Spc. Mixon's drums and knives are silent. What might have been ...
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind. 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.
Since 2001, there have been 1419 American troops killed in Afghanistan. Since 2003, there have been 4429 American troops killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom and 11 killed in Operation New Dawn. Please take a moment to honor their sacrifice.
All of the U.S. fatalities can be seen here and here. They all had loved ones, families and friends. The DoD news releases are here. I Got the News Today is intended to honor, respect and remind. Click the IGTNT tags below for previous diaries.
Click the IGTNT tags to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by monkeybiz, noweasels, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, Spam Nunn, True Blue Majority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, Maggie Jean, Jax Dem, Kestrel 9000, csas, Sandy on Signal, and me, Rachel Tracks.
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.