Good evening, dear ones. Will you please join me and the IGTNT team as we honor SPC. LASHAWN D. EVANS of Columbia, South Carolina, who died February 15th in Baghdad province, Iraq, in a non-combat related incident. The cause of his death is under investigation.
Will you dear Kossacks kindly take a moment to send a warm thought or prayer to the hundreds of thousands of forgotten or unnoticed souls who have suffered, and continue to suffer, from the insanity of war? This is not their diary but still, we all feel and grieve the pain of a broken human spirit.
Blessings and Light to all who share our world.
As you read this diary, please remember that friends and loved ones of the soldiers honored here may read your comments. Please, whatever our personal feelings about the war may be, may our comments only reflect compassion for their grief and loss. Thank you.
Spc. Lashawn D. Evans
24-year-old Specialist Lashawn "Shawn" Evans joined the Army shortly after graduation from Richland Northeast High School, in hopes of supporting his wife, Cierra and their 4-year-old baby daughter. Cierra Evans enlisted as well; she was also on rotation in Iraq while Spc. Evans' older brother Jamel was serving in Afghanistan. Shawn Evans was a petroleum supply specialist in his second deployment to Iraq, as per a statement released by the 1st Infantry Division public affairs office.
Spc. Evans was assigned to the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kansas. His unit deployed to Iraq in March 2010 and was scheduled to return home in just a few short days. The family was "happy" about Spc. Evans' return to the states, and were planning to fly out en masse to Fort Riley to welcome him home.
VIDEO LINK to WISTV.com news story on the Evans family.
Shawn and Jamel had their beloved grandmother, Mrs. Dorthy Evans, to encourage them during some tough teenage years. School counselor Latonya Freeman remembers, "When I met his grandmother, it was obvious her commitment to Lashawn and his brother."
[When she first met Shawn,] "He was probably in a transitional stage. A very critical time that could have been a student who could have decided not to complete a high school education." Spc. Evans got a second chance when he transferred from Richland to Blythewood Academy, where he was guided by Ms. Freeman. "He made the best of the time he was here. He did well academically. He loved playing basketball. He flourished while he was here, and he went on and got his high school diploma." Spc. Evans returned to Richland to graduate, but he did not forget the lessons and support he had received from Ms. Freeman. "You never know if you'll see them again [but] he came back. He expressed his gratitude, his admiration for me."
VIDEO LINK to Ms. Freeman's WISTV.com news story on her former student.
Friends have left condolences in a Guest Book at the Columbia Heraldonline. The magnificent Patriot Guard Riders have Spc. Evans on their Watch List where members are leaving messages of love and support for the Evans family.
Lashawn Evans is survived by his wife, Cierra; their young daughter; his brother, Jamal; his grandmother, Mrs. Dorthy Evans; many family friends as well as his 1st Attack Recon brethren.
Our hearts are with all who knew and loved Shawn Evans. Please know that we stand beside you at this terrible time of loss.
Our lovely forget-me-nots were a gift to the IGTNT team from dear llbear.
I can't think of a better way to honor the fallen than to contribute to the well-being of their fellow soldiers still on active duty.
The following fine organizations could sure use your support and your donations:
AnySoldier.com, Books for Soldiers, Fisher House, the Military Pets Foster Project, Guardian Angels for Soldier's Pets, Operation Baghdad Pups, Operation Enduring Christmas, an organization that sends holiday presents to the children of our fallen troops, and Helping Udders, an organization that sends cooling vests to the Military Working Dogs stationed with their handlers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind. Click here to see other IGTNT diaries, a series which was begun by i dunno and which is currently maintained by Sandy on Signal, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, noweasels, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, TrueBlueMajority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, maggiejean, JaxDem, and racheltracks.
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. Fallen soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and National Guard whose names have been released by the 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 fallen service member more fully, but still in a timely manner.
PEACE AND BLESSINGS