“Taps” is sounded nightly by the U S military to indicate that it is “lights out”. It is played on bugle or trumpet during flag ceremonies and at the conclusion of most military funerals. The tune in its present form was arranged by Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield.
When "Taps" is sounded at a funeral, it is customary for serving members of the military or veterans to salute. The corresponding gesture for civilians is to place the right hand over the heart.
All is Well, Safely Rest:
Sgt 1st Class Johnathan B. McCain
Spc Calvin M. Pereda
I Got The News Today (IGTNT) , which is among the oldest continuous series on Daily Kos, provides members of this community a venue to pay their respects to those who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The IGTNT title is a reminder that nearly every day the family of an active duty service member receives the terrible news that their beloved has died.
Since 2003 we have suffered the loss of 4484 American lives and a total of 4802 Coalition Forces in Iraq. Since 2001 we have suffered the loss of 1836 American lives and a total of 2806Coalition Forces in Afghanistan.
Sgt. 1st Class Johnathan B. McCain, 38, of Apache Junction, Ariz., died Nov.13, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered after encountering an improvised explosive device while on mounted patrol.
Spc. Calvin M. Pereda, 21, of Fayetteville, N.C., died Nov. 12, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered after encountering an improvised explosive device while on dismounted patrol.
Both soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
~ DoD News Release ~ DoD News Release
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Sgt. 1st Class Johnathan B. McCain, 38, of Apache Junction, Arizona
Johnathan McCain grew up in Chandler, Arizona and was a graduate of Chandler High School. He was an avid bow hunter and a talented artist.
McCain enlisted in the Army in 1992. He served in Kaiserlautern, Germany; Fort Hood, Texas and Fort Bragg, N.C. Sgt. 1st Class McCain arrived at Fort Wainwright in October 2000.
Sgt 1st Class McCain served two combat tours in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His first was August 2005 to November 2006. His second was September 2008 to September 2009. He survived a mortar attack in one of his deployments to Iraq and was awarded the Purple Heart.
Sgt McCain's father, Bob McCain said:
It just killed me he had to deploy a third time. He was totally 100 percent in love with the military and his country. He felt what he was doing was needed.
Mother-in-law, Marjorie McKinney said her daughter LeAnne and Johnathan had just recently celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary. The couple had four children.
Bob McCain said his son would combine his passions by drawing animals and nature scenes, including an eagle and a bighorn sheep. He also would draw scenes commemorating his military service and military emblems.
His work was featured in a 2009 military publication with a photo showing him autographing a print he drew for fellow soldiers in Iraq. He took photos of mosques in the towns of Baqubah and Khan Bani Sa'ad and surrounded them with military vehicles and helicopters.
He loved the outdoors and he loved to express himself on paper.
Sgt 1st Class Johnathan McCain had a mere 18 months until he was eligible for full military retirement. He was planning on teaching college level military classes and already had an offer from Idaho State University.
At the time of his death, Sgt 1st Class McCain was serving as an infantry platoon sergeant. He deployed with his 4,000-Soldier unit to Afghanistan for a one-year tour in April. The brigade is training Afghan soldiers and police.
Since the April deployment, a total of 17 soldiers from the Stryker Brigade have died in combat.
McCain is the 39th Arizona soldier to be killed in Operation Enduring Freedom.
~ Source ~Source ~ Source
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Spc. Calvin M. Pereda, 21, of Fayetteville, North Carolina
Calvin Evangelista Pereda and two of his brothers were all serving in the U.S. Army at the time of his death. Born in Guam, the third of five brothers, Calvin and his family moved in 2000 to North Carolina. Their birthplace remained important to all of the boys and Calvin will be buried in Guam as will his brothers when their time comes.
We all have a connection because all my brothers -- we were all raised there on Guam. We all kept Guam close to us at all times. ~ Chaz Pereda, Calvin's older brother
Calvin graduated from high school in 2008 and began taking online college courses while working as a bank teller.
Older brother, Chaz Pereda remembers his brother:
He was a very outgoing person. He loved to have fun. He loved all kinds of music, as far as country, rock 'n' roll. He liked some hip hop but his favorite music was Chamorro music.
We always were outside playing, always climbing trees, and ... I mean we just always liked to have fun. We did a lot of crazy things, like riding four-wheelers and riding bikes.
Mae Paulino, Spc Pereda's aunt said:
He spoke to his mom the night before he died that he was coming home Thanksgiving Day to Texas and he was looking forward to being with the other brothers.
Rosaries are being said nightly at 7:30pm at the family's residence in Mataguak, Yigo.
Calvin's uncle, Robert Lizama, the mayor of Yigo, Guam - Pereda's birthplace - said the death is the 41st for the Mariana Islands since the U.S. began the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the third from Yigo, a village of about 20,000 in northern Guam.
We honor our fallen soldiers by placing black ribbons with bows on the power poles along Marine Corps Drive to recognize that we honor him for the ultimate sacrifice that he made while serving in the war zone. We want to pay homage, of course, to one of our sons of Guam.
~Source ~ Source ~ Source
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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, noweasels, monkeybiz, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, SisTwo, SpamNunn, TrueBlueMajority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, maggiejean, Kestrel9000, TheFatLadySings, Ekaterin and me, JaxDem. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but are an important service to those who have died, and show our community’s respect for them.
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.
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Any Soldier – (Marine, Sailor, Airman or CoastGuardsman) Provides detailed information on sending care packages or cards and letters to deployed service members.
Books For Soldiers - View requests for and send troops books, DVDs, games and relief supplies.
Fisher House – Provides a “home away from home” for military families to be close to a loved one during hospitalization for an illness, disease or injury.
Homes For Our Troops – Building specially adapted homes for our severely injured veterans at no cost to the veterans.
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans – The VA estimates 107,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. There are ways to get involved or donate at the link.
Netroots for the Troops (NFTT) – This non-profit raises money for the assembly, mailing and delivery of care packages to American military in war zones.
Special Operations Warrior Foundation - Provides full scholarship grants and educational and family counseling to the surviving children of special operations personnel who die in operational or training missions and immediate financial assistance to severely wounded special operations personnel and their families.
Veterans Green Jobs - Helps transition veterans into their communities and find career opportunities in environment sustainable sectors of our economy.
Welcome Back Veterans - Committed to providing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) treatment to our veterans and their families in a public/private partnership
Wounded Warrior Project - Their vision is to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded warriors in this nation's history.
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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.