We have two more of our fallen to honor tonight. Two men who were very different, but who gave their lives while working in service to our nation.
* Sergeant Cesar B. Ruiz from Texas
* Specialist Jonathon M. Sylvestre from Colorado
Sergeant Cesar B. Ruiz
Cesar Ruiz was born in Nava Coahuila, Mexico, and raised in San Antonio. He graduated from Taft High School in Texas. Ruiz joined the Marine Corps in 2002 and married Kimberly the next year. They moved to Hawaii, which was his first duty station.
He served a tour of duty in Afghanistan where he detonated enemy weapons caches. After four years as a Marine, Ruiz decided to leave the military. He and his wife moved back to San Antonio where he worked for his father as a mason. The couple had a son last year and shortly after that, Ruiz was reactivated into the Marine Corps Reserve in New Orleans.
A story at the KENS5 news site tells us:
14 month old Joshua Ruiz had just celebrated his first birthday with his mother and father when his father, Marine Sergeant Cesar Ruiz left for his second tour of duty in Iraq...
Kimberly, who had urged him to get out of the military after his first four years, was apprehensive, however, she says he wanted to be part of the Corps again; he wanted to be a Marine.
Almost a month into his second tour in Afghanistan, Sergeant Cesar Ruiz was killed.
Sergeant Cesar B. Ruiz died October 31st while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Later that same day, two Marines knocked on Kimberly Ruiz’s front door, delivering the news that her 26-year-old husband was dead. Cesar’s mother, Maria Ruiz, was celebrating her birthday when she learned that her son had been killed that same day in a roadside bombing.
According to My San Antonio News site:
"I just want everybody to know he was such a beautiful person," Kimberly said. "He had a really kind heart, and I really believe that he was an angel disguised in a human body.
"I’m just very, very grateful to God that even though he took him away from me so soon ... I had six years of great marriage. He was the love of my life and always will be."
Sergeant Cesar Ruiz is survived by his wife and son, his mother and father, and a large extended family. The funeral is still being planned, but it is known that the Patriot Guard Riders will be attending.
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Specialist Jonathon M. Sylvestre
Jonathon M. Sylvestre was a native of Colorado. His hometown is listed as Colorado Springs, Colorado by the military.
He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Georgia.
Army Specialist Jonathon M. Sylvestre was killed on November 2th in Kut, Iraq. He died from injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was 21 years old.
Unfortunately, we know little else about Specialist Sylvestre. The cause of his death is under investigation and until the case is closed, there will be no further release of information.
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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 here. Also, you could visit:
When our veterans come back home, they need jobs. Look at the programs of Hire Heroes USA and Welcome Back Veterans to see if you can help out. The new KINship Project has also been of help to our veterans and other Kossacks In Need.
About the IGTNT series:
"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, monkeybiz, noweasels, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, JeNoCo, Mediaprof, TrueBlueMajority, JanosNation, Proud Mom and Grandma, Ministry of Truth, and CalNM. 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 diaried 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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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.