Tonight we pay tribute to three men who gave their all for their country - Sgt. 1st Class David J. Todd Jr., a soldier who died recently in Afghanistan; Sgt. 1st Class George Stanciel, a soldier who died recently in Iraq; and Sgt. Nickolas Lee Hopper, a marine who died nearly a year ago of wounds he received in Iraq but who was mistakenly not formally identified as a casualty of the war in Iraq until last Friday.
DAVID J. TODD JR.: "You will for ever be missed"
On Friday the Department of Defense announced:
Sgt. 1st Class David J. Todd Jr., 36, of Marrero, La., died Aug. 20 in Bala Morghab, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his unit was attacked by enemy forces using small arms fire. He was assigned to the Afghan Regional Security Integration Command-West, Herat, Afghanistan.
According to theTimes-Picayune, Todd was a native of San Antonio, Texas, and joined the army in 1991. During his military career he had been stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana; Fort Knox, Kentucky; Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; and Fort Hood, Texas and had done two ours in Iraq. A cavalry scout, he served as an ROTC instructor at Tulane University from 2003 to 2007 before volunteering for a military transition team and transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas, for 60 days of training for that endeavor. The Fort Riley website states that the mission of military transitions teams is "to prepare small teams of American Soldiers, Airmen and Sailors to advise, teach, mentor and coach their Iraqi or Afghan counterparts." These transition teams embed with Afghan army units. Shortly after finishing transition team training, Todd shipped out to Afghanistan and was on patrol when he was shot.
Todd is married and a father. His family was planning his funeral and declined to comment to the press. He is expected to be buried with full military honors.
A local news video clip about Todd is here.
His sister-in-law left this comment online at Good Soldiers:
David you were my brother in law that i barely knew but I thank you for taking care of my sister and my niece. You will be truly missed and i will do all that i can to help her in her time of need. I will make sure she is taken care of and that she gets everything that you both have earned and deserve. Thank you so much for you what you have given this country and thank you for reminding why I am also serving our country on the home front in the Navy. You will for ever be missed. I'll watch out for Maddie and your other children please dont worry we will all help them through this. Love you David.
May he rest in peace.
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GEORGE STANCIEL: "My mentor, my battle buddy, my friend"
On Friday the Department of Defense also announced:
Sgt. 1st Class George Stanciel, 40, of Greenwood, Miss., died Aug. 19 at Forward Operating Base Gary Owen, Iraq, of wounds suffered when the base came under mortar attack. He was assigned to the 370th Engineer Company, 54th Engineer Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade, Bamberg, Germany.
Little information was available online about George Stanciel as of tonight, but the Greenwood Commonwealth reports that both he and his wife were career soldiers in the army.
Some memorial comments that have been posted online give us a sense of the kind of person he was. From legacy.com:
George was not only a NCO to me, he was my friend, someone who listens to my issues & helped guide me through each step of the way. My condolences goes out to the Stanciel Family. I am deeply sorry for your loss. George, Rest in Peace my friend. You will be greatly missed.
***
My mentor, my battle buddy, my friend. You will be missed and it was a honor serving with you.
And from Good Soldiers:
SFC Stanciel was assigned to the Forward Support Company, 54th Engineer Battalion. He was not known only as a NCO in the company, but a great friend to many. George, you'll be greatly missed. I guess I will never understand it was you who got to leave us.
***
SFC Stanciel, it's so hard not having you around. Trying to get use to it is so difficult to do. I know you are not far from us, watching over us, yet at the same time it's so hard to accept that you are physically gone from us. Why did it had to be you? Why? I may never understand why. But I know GOD has other plans for you, plans that he knew one of his angel is able to handle, so he picked you. I miss you George. I hope you know you will never be forgotten.
May he rest in peace.
***
NICKOLAS LEE HOPPER: "The most compassionate, kind, generous person that I ever knew"
The Department of Defense made this announcement on Friday:
Sgt. Nickolas Lee Hopper, 27, of Montrose, Ill., died Sept. 8, 2007 from wounds received while supporting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq, on June 20, 2005.
Hopper’s final autopsy concluded his death was a result of wounds received in Iraq; however, Hopper was not previously identified as an OIF casualty. He was assigned to the 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, Marine Air Control Group-28, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Cherry Point, N.C.
Nearly a year has passed since this marine died, and we're sorry that our tribute to him was delayed for so long. "All the internal procedures for classifying him as an OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) casualty were completed, but it took us a little while to realize we hadn't issued a pubic notification," Maj. Dave Nevers, a Marine spokesman at the Pentagon, told the News & Observer.
Nickolas Hopper was born in Illinois and also attended high school and college in his home state. In a released by the family in October 2007, his mother said, "Nick was the most compassionate, kind, generous person that I ever knew. He was a loving father and a devoted husband." She noted that her son had enlisted in the marines in 1991: "His younger brother was a Marine and loved it. Nick saw his brother succeed and wanted to do it as well."
As the Effingham Daily News reported in 2007:
Hopper had been seriously wounded June 17, 2005, when a land mine exploded while he was providing security for a convoy. He had jumped off the vehicle he was riding on to assist somebody trapped in a vehicle after a previous land mine explosion when another mine exploded, causing serious arm and leg injuries. Mrs. Hopper said her son had been in nearly continuous pain since the explosion.
<snip>
Sgt. Hopper had been on intermittent light duty since the explosion. Among other things, he had developed a plan for convoy safety based on his own field experiences. He was awaiting a medical discharge. "He was hoping to be out this fall [2007]," Mrs. Hopper said.
Two years after Hopper was wounded, his mother "thought we were home free." On his last visit home, though, she could see that he was in pain. After his death, she said, "I am a mother who is thankful that God has taken him out of his pain. I know he is happy and content. God is with Nick and he is taking better care of him than we could."
Hopper's military honors include a Combat Action Ribbon, a Purple Heart, a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, a National Defense Medal, an Iraqi Campaign Medal, two Good Conduct Medals, and a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. He is survived by his wife, Natividad; his son, Andrew; and his parents, brother, and grandparents. At the request of his family, the Patriot Guards provided escorts and a flag line and participated in the funeral, which was held on September 21, 2007. Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich ordered that U.S. and Illinois flags be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on that day.
May he rest in peace.
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As of this writing, 4,146 members of the U.S. armed services have been confirmed killed in action in Iraq, one is missing or captured; and 314 other coalition forces have died. In Afghanistan, 580 U.S. forces and 363 other coalition forces have died. (The Department of Defense news releases can be found here.) More than 30,300 U.S. servicemen and women have been wounded in Iraq, and the suicide rate among servicemen and women is high. The death toll among Iraqis is unknown, but is at least in the more than 80,000 and probably in the hundreds of thousands. At least 149 journalists have been killed in Iraq during the war.
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. The series, which was begun by i dunno, is currently maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, noweasels, MsWings, greenies, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, moneysmith, labwitchy, joyful, SisTwo, a girl in MI, SpamNunn, JeNoCo, mediaprof, Pager, and me, roses. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but, we believe, an important service to those Americans who have died, and to our community’s respect for and remembrance of them. If you would like to volunteer, even once a month, please contact Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, or noweasels.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and families of the service members chronicled here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.