These hearts were woven of human joys and cares,
Washed marvellously with sorrow, swift to mirth.
The years had given them kindness. Dawn was theirs,
And sunset, and the colours of the earth.
These had seen movement, and heard music; known
Slumber and waking; loved; gone proudly friended;
Felt the quick stir of wonder; sat alone;
Touched flowers and furs and cheeks. All this is ended.
~ Rupert Brooke
Spc. Julian L. Berisford, 25, of Benwood, West Virginia
Spc. Berisford died Nov. 4 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.
He was due home next week for his daughter’s first birthday.
The father and husband is now being remembered by family and friends as a hero who loved life.
"It's like our heart has been torn out," said Berisford's cousin, Randi Jo Chavanak. "The only thing he said before he left was that he was going to do things right for families like ours. He was going to fight for families."
(snip)
Calling Berisford a loving husband to his wife, Gina, whom he married on New Years' Eve in 2007, Chavanak said his family was his joy.
(snip)
"He was so proud - just the proudest soldier there was," Chavanak said. "He was a hero."
(snip)
Julian's classmate and friend, Matthew VanFossen, also called the soldier a hero.
"I'm very proud of him," VanFossen said. "He was just a great person, and he just had a daughter and he just loved her. It's just very sad."
Source ~ Times Leader
He had asked his wife, Gina, to hold their daughter back just a little, so that he could see her first steps.
As the (television) interview was conducted, Berisford’s 11 month-old daughter Maya held on to her daddy book. It includes pictures of her father, who bravely served his country and paid the ultimate sacrifice.
(snip)
Gina last spoke to him Oct. 21 and remembers his last words. He told her to hold little Maya back so he could be there for her very first steps.
Berisford was supposed to come home in two weeks. His tour of duty was scheduled to be completed in February.
Source ~ WVNS TV
Video
"Did you hear about Julian?"
"He was a jokester and a fun-loving guy and always smiling," is how Cathy Jones remembers Julian Berisford.
(snip)
Jones, whose son is also deployed on active duty in the Army, said she received the news from her older son on Wednesday night, eerily just after a conversation about Julian.
"I was in a class and we were talking about the 'Fatheads' you can buy for your wall.
Somebody said Julian's family had a Fathead of him on the wall so the little girl could see her daddy," Jones tells MetroNews. "An hour later, I got a call from my oldest son and he said, 'Did you hear about Julian?' I knew what he was going to say when he said, 'Did you hear about...'"
Jones is the school nurse at John Marshall High School where Berisford graduated in 2007 along with her son.
(snip)
"I know his family and my heart goes out to them. His mom was so proud of him."
Source ~ Metro News
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Beckley, West Virginia, offered this prayer for Spc. Berisford on their website.
Photo ~ WTOV Steubenville
Spc. Berisford joined the Army in August 2007 and initially served at bases in the South. Twelve months later, he was a paratrooper assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) at Fort Richardson. He deployed to Paktika Province in eastern Afghanistan in March with C Company of one the brigade's battalions, the 3-509th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
Spc. Berisford is survived by his wife, Gina, whom he married on New Year’s Eve, 2007, and by their daughter, Maya.
Thank you, Spc. Berisford. Godspeed. Your mission is done.
Staff Sgt. Amy C. Tirador, 29, of Albany, New York
Staff Sgt. Tirador died Nov. 4 in Kirkush, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. She was assigned to the 209th Military Intelligence Company, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash. The incident is under investigation.
Someone else will have to play Taps.
Staff Sgt. Amy Seyboth Tirador was remembered Friday as a determined soldier who was passionate about her job, family and hometown. She is the first woman soldier in the (New York) Capital Region to die in Iraq.
The 29-year-old Albany native grew up with sports and music at South Colonie High School, and had played Taps on her trumpet at the funerals of family members who were veterans of World War II, her father Gerard Seyboth recalled.
Tirador also played the instrument in church and excelled in softball and lacrosse. She grew up to become an Army medic, and helped save the life of a soldier while taking arms fire in Iraq during an attack on an American convoy. She also volunteered to return to Iraq in August as an Arabic-speaking interrogator, a job she would not talk about, her father said.
(snip)
Tirador's father said Army casualty officers told him his daughter died from a gunshot wound.
He said the unexpected loss had left the Seyboth family deeply proud and upset. "I wish that she didn't sign up to go again," an emotional Gerard Seyboth said. "She got through the first tour. Why did you have to go again?"
Tirador's husband, Mickey Tirador, who was stationed in Iraq on his third tour of duty, (accompanied ) his wife's body on a flight to Dover Air Force Base.
(snip)
Flags flew at half-staff Friday at Colonie Central High School, where Amy Tirador graduated from in 1998.
(snip)
"What I remember the most about her, and what makes this especially tragic, is her spirit," said Karen MacWatters, a music teacher who taught Tirador how to play the trumpet. "For a kid who was so young, she knew how to live. In the last couple of days, we all talked about that, how together she was."
(snip)
Amy Tirador was a member of the National Honor Society and a Regents graduate, finishing with a class ranking of 59 in a class of 384, school officials said. She was a four-year member of the school band and played trumpet in the school orchestra.
She attended the state College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse before joining the Army in 1999, her father said.
Amy Tirador deployed to Iraq in 2004 with the Army's First Infantry Division. She provided medical support for escorts on convoys, a dangerous job in an environment of roadside bombs and snipers.
"She had no problems with it," her father recalled. Amy Tirador returned happy, and her family threw a welcome back party in the Joseph E. Zaloga Post 1520 on Everett Road.
Source ~ Albany Times Union
Colonie, New York is in mourning.
The flag outside Colonie Central High School flies at half staff, a tribute to the life of Amy Seyboth Tirador.
(snip)
"I used to write to her, send her packages and everything. Its just been such a devastating thing because she was a lovely girl, such a fun loving girl, a wonderful person," says neighbor Nancy Petkiewitz.
(snip)
Four years ago, NewsChannel 13 was three as family and friends welcomed Amy home on leave, surprising her with a party.
"It's not like home, I can tell you that much. Its hot, its poverty, and it makes you feel good to come back home," said Seyboth that day.
(snip)
"She's local, its going to hit home pretty good," says lacrosse coach, Suzanne Pedone.
Pedone says Seyboth also helped start up the girl's lacrosse program her junior year, a natural leader both on the field and off it.
"She surprised me one day on the sideline. I turned around and she was there in her uniform, standing very proudly," said Coach Pedone.
Source ~ Channel 3 WNYT
Video of Staff Sgt. Tirador’s arrival home four years ago.
Her husband, Mickey, is on his third deployment to Iraq. He accompanied his wife's coffin home.
The South Colonie Central School District community is mourning the death of 1998 Colonie Central High School graduate Amy Seyboth Tirador who was reported to have died from non-combat related injuries in Iraq on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
(snip)
According to a release sent out by the school district, Tirador had enlisted in the Army in 1999 and had lived in Washington for the last few years. She leaves behind her husband, Mickey, who is also serving in Iraq, whom she met while serving in the Army in Germany. The two were married for two years.
"This is a terrible loss for our South Colonie family and our thoughts and prayers are with Amy’s husband and her family," said Superintendent of Schools Jonathan Buhner.
During her time at Colonie Central High School, Seyboth Tirador was a member of the National Honor Society and a Regents graduate. She graduated the high school with a 90 average and ranking 59th in a class of 384 students, the district said.
She was also a member of the school Key Club and a four-year member of the school band, playing trumpet in the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Orchestra.
"I think what I remember most about Amy was her incredible spirit," said band director Karen Macwatters. "She was such a highly spirited person. When I heard this tragic news, that was what I thought of immediately, her bright smile."
(snip)
"I heard that she had gone on to the military and I knew it was a terrific choice just because of her spirit and her passion for life," Macwatters said. "I will miss her very, very much."
Source ~ Spotlight News
Staff Sgt. Tirador was assigned to the 209th Military Intelligence Company, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash. The brigade deployed to Iraq in August, 2009. This was her third deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Her first deployment was to Turkey from February through April 2003 and the second deployment was to Iraq from February 2004 through February 2005.
Staff Sgt. Tirador is survived by her husband, Mickey, by her parents, Girard and Colleen, by his sister, Colleen, and by her brother, Evan.
Thank you, Staff Sgt. Tirador. Godspeed. Your mission is done.
________________________________________________________________________
Remember them. Honor their sacrifice.
To date, 4359 members of the United States military have lost their lives in Iraq. The death toll thus far in 2009 is already 136. More than 31,000 members of the military have been wounded, many grievously. The Department of Defense Press Releases, from which the information at the start of each entry in this diary was drawn, can be seen here. The death toll among Iraqis is unknown, but is at least 200,000 and quite probably many times that number.
To date, 916 members of the United States military have lost their lives in Afghanistan. The death toll thus far for 2009 is 286. 597 members of the military from other countries have also lost their lives.
Slide Show ~ The Final Salute
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About the IGTNT series:
(Our beautiful logo was created by kossack Timroff. Thank you, Timroff.)
The purpose of the I Got the News Today series is 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.
Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and is currently maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, 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, and me, noweasels.
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As you read this diary, please consider that the families and friends of those profiled here also may read it and that many members of our community have served in Iraq or Afghanistan or have loved ones currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the very proud daughter of a Navy pilot, and the granddaughter of a Marine pilot and a submariner ~ all of whom rest beneath our nation‘s flag ~ I hope that the comments tonight will demonstrate our respect for the sacrifices of our fallen military and our compassion for their families. Please reserve your political comments for appropriate diaries; this is not one of them.