Since the start of 2010, we've lost over 25 service members to war in Afghanistan, and 4 in Iraq. Since the wars started, there have been 972 killed in Afghanistan, and 4374 in Iraq. Tonight we remember four more lost to war:
Capt. Paul W. Peña, 27, of San Marcos, TX, died Jan. 19, in Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan
Lance Cpl. Jeremy M. Kane, 22, of Towson, MD, died Jan. 23, in Helmand province, Afghanistan
Staff Sgt. Thaddeus S. Montgomery II, 29, of West Yellowstone, MT, died Jan. 20 at Korengal Outpost, Afghanistan.
Pfc. Gifford E. Hurt, 19, of Yonkers, NY, died Jan. 20, in Mosul, Iraq
Please take a moment below to remember them and reflect upon their sacrifice.
Capt. Paul W. Peña, 27, of San Marcos, Texas, died Jan. 19, 2010 in Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Capt. Peña was commander of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
According to my San Antonio news, Capt. Paul Peña's mother knew she'd lost her only son when two soldiers, including a chaplain, came to her front door.
"Cecilia told me the first thing she saw was the cross on his uniform and she knew he was the Army chaplain, and she knew why they were there," her friend said. "Our worst fears came true."
In a release, his regiment commander, Lt. Col. Guy Jones, said Peña "knew his example was for more than just here and now.... Paul was an outstanding leader and always made it a point to connect with his soldiers."
Paul Peña was born in San Marcos, Texas in 1982 and was interested in leadership, service, and an Army career at a young age. He was a member of the Junior ROTC at the San Marcos Baptist Academy's class of 2000. The school's National Honor Society chapter named Paul "best all around student" and his classmates voted him "most likely to succeed." In addition to Junior ROTC, Peña was a long-time Boy Scout. He built a disc golf course at San Marcos Baptist Academy for his Eagle Scout project.
Peña graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 2004, and then went through Airborne and Ranger school. While with the 509th Infantry Regiment at Fort Richardson, Alaska, he served a 14-month tour as a platoon leader in Iraq that began in October 2006. He was awarded the Bronze Star for heroic or meritorious achievement or service. After that, he was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Peña's awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with two Bronze Oak Leaf clusters, the Valorous Unit Award, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Parachutists Badge and the Ranger Tab.
Capt. Paul W. Peña is survived by his mother, aunts, uncles, cousins, many friends and Army family. He will be missed. REST IN PEACE.
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Lance Cpl. Jeremy M. Kane, 22, of Towson, Md., died Jan. 23 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was a scout assigned to 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif. The details of LCPL Kane's death are under investigation; apparently his unit came under attack by a suicide bomber during a foot patrol. Several other marines were wounded; also killed in the attack was Petty Officer 2nd Class Xin Qi, 25, of Cordova, Tenn.
As reported by NJ.com,"Jeremy Kane was a 2006 graduate of Cherry Hill High School-East. His family said he was deeply affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks and joined the Marine reserves on Sept. 11, 2006, shortly after enrolling at Towson University in Maryland. Kane eventually transferred to Rutgers-Camden, where he could live at home in Cherry Hill and be closer to his family." Jeremy's father, an Army veteran, died 18 months ago, leaving him somewhat conflicted about deploying to Afghanistan, as he wanted to care for his grieving mother and brothers. Still, he was proud to serve his country on his first tour.
In addition to fulfilling his call to duty, Kane had nearly completed a degree majoring in criminal justice and political science. newjerseynews room reported that a friend from Rutgers, Army veteran Bryan Adams wrote about Kane via Facebook:
'"Jeremy was an outstanding role model and representative for military and veteran students at Rutgers-Camden...." Adams fondly remembered Kane as a person with a "vibrant personality" who truly cared about his fellow brothers and sisters in arms. Adams went on to say that, "Jeremy was a stellar student and an active member of Veterans for Education."'
Lance Cpl. Jeremy M. Kane is survived by his mother and brothers. He will be missed. REST IN PEACE.
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Staff Sgt. Thaddeus S. Montgomery II, 29, of West Yellowstone, Mont., died Jan. 20 at Korengal Outpost, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo. A Fort Carson spokesperson said Saturday the department has retracted its initial press release that stated Staff Sgt. Thaddeus S. Montgomery, 29, died in a non-combat related incident. The department now is saying it will not release whether his death was or was not combat related. It issued an updated release that states the circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
The Colorado Springs Gazette reported that Thaddeus Montgomery's mother said he enjoyed the Army and she described her son as a soldier whose main concern was watching out for his platoon.
"He was the kind of guy who was always there for others," she said. "He wouldn’t let morale get down. He’d ask family members to send care packages for his guys and he’d send lists of everybody else’s needs."
Montgomery is a former Decatur, Alabama resident and attended St. Ann's School and Decatur High School. His friend, Lucy Schrimster, told the newspaper he was popular and well-liked, saying, "if you could have seen his smile, you'd have known why." Montgomery loved the outdoors and set out to travel the world after leaving high school. He worked at Yellowstone National Park for two years before joining the Army.
Staff Sgt. Montgomery served two tours in Iraq, from August 2003 - August 2004, and October 2006 - December 2007. He also served a tour of duty in Korea. Montgomery deployed to Afghanistan on June 7, 2009. For interesting reading material, Montgomery asked the editor of Arizona Highways to send copies of the magazine to his troops, and wrote a wonderful thank you letter when boxes of magazines arrived. Robert Stieve, editor of Arizona Highways, wrote a moving and heartfelt remembrance to his friend Thaddeus on facebook.
Staff Sgt. Montgomery's awards and decorations include Army Commendation Medals, Army Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Citation, Army Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal w/ Campaign Star, Iraq Campaign Medal w/ two Campaign Stars, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbons, NATO Service Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, and Expert Infantry Badge.
Staff Sgt. Thaddeus S. Montgomery is survived by his mother, his 3-year-old son, Thaddeus Montgomery III, of Cullman, Ala., his fiancée, his father, a sister, and his brother. He will be missed. REST IN PEACE.
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Pfc. Gifford E. Hurt, 19, of Yonkers, N.Y., died Jan. 20, in Mosul, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related accident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery Regiment, 214th Fires Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Sill, Okla. The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation; apparently he died in a vehicle accident.
Pfc. Hurt was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery Regiment, 214th Fires Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, as a multiple launch rocket system crewman, deployed as part of Task Force Leader. The 14th Field Artillery Regiment operates a U.S. light multiple rocket launcher mounted on a five-ton truck. He enjoyed serving in the military and was described as being articulate in expressing pride in his Army heritage.
According to newsok, Tulsa,a memorial service for Pfc. Hurt is being planned at Fort Sill. a funeral in North Carolina is set for Friday, the one-year anniversary of his enlistment.
Pfc. Gifford E. Hurt is survived by family members who watched the transfer of his body from the aircraft at Dover Air Force Base, Del. He will be missed. REST IN PEACE.
Photos and messages for Pfc. Hurt are found here.
(photos by CalNM, and here; Thanks to Timroff for our IGTNT logo.)
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.
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.
About the IGTNT series: I Got the News Today is 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. All of the U.S. casualties can be seen here. The DoD news releases are found here. Published photos of the returning fatalities are found on the Dover AFB page. 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 972 American troops killed in Afghanistan. Since 2003, there have been 4374 American troops killed in Iraq. They all had loved ones, families and friends.
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, 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.