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The Department of Defense has announced the deaths of three Marines who were supporting Operation Resolute Support. They died on April 8, 2019 while conducting combat operations in Parwan province, Afghanistan:
Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks
Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines
Staff Sgt. Christopher K.A. Slutman
According to Newsweek, “the three Marines were all infantryman from 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines, a reserve infantry battalion headquartered in Garden City, New York. The Marine reserve unit is a part of the Georgia Deployment Program-Resolute Support Mission, a reoccurring, six-month rotation between U.S. Marines and Georgian Armed Forces.”
Task and Purpose reports that Cpl. Hendricks was an 0331 Infantry machine gunner with a reserve unit based in Garden City, New York. Sgt. Hines and Staff Sgt. Slutman were 0311 Infantry Riflemen with a reserve unit in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
In July of last year, the men deployed to Tblisi, Georgia, where they trained and advised Georgian infantry troops who contribute to the NATO mission. They arrived in Afghanistan in October, and they were expected to be back home within the next few weeks.
They were killed by a car bomb while traveling in a convoy of armored vehicles patrolling the area near Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. military installation in the Parwan province of Afghanistan. Three other U.S. service members and five Afghan civilians were wounded in the attack.
“We feel and mourn the loss of these Americans with their families and loved ones. They volunteered to protect their country. We will continue our mission.” Gen. Scott Miller, Commanding General of Resolute Support and United States Forces – Afghanistan.
"Marine Forces Reserve is deeply saddened to confirm the death of three of our Marines who were killed in an attack...Our focus in the wake of this attack is to support the family, friends and loved ones of our fallen Marines. These Marines are honored for their extraordinary bravery and for their direct contribution to the defense of this nation." Major Roger Hollenbeck, Marine Forces Reserve spokesman
Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks (Marine Corps via Boston Globe)
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Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks
“He loved the service, he loved his country, and he was loved by everyone who knew him.”
Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks, 25, was from Locust Valley, New York. He enlisted in the Marines after graduating from Locust Valley High School in 2012. He specialized as an infantry machine gunner, and this was first combat deployment.
Cpl. Hendriks’s awards include the Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, and Armed Forces Reserve Medal.
His father, Erik Hendriks, said of his son, “He never caused me one problem. I am the proudest dad on earth.”
Hendriks' mother, Felicia, said, “I just want his name out there and where he was from. He loved what he did. And we are so proud of him and his brother [who is also a Marine]. And he always was willing to die for his country. He was actually set to come home in about a month and that’s just the tragic part is that he was supposed to come home. He loved the service, he loved his country, and he was loved by everyone who knew him.”
Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines (Marine Corps via Boston Globe)
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Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines
“He was all around a great guy with an upbeat attitude who loved the Corps through and through.”
Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines, 31, was from York, Pennsylvania, and he joined the Marine Corps in October 2006. The Afghanistan deployment was his second, having previously deployed to Iraq from September 2008 to April 2009.
Sgt. Hines had been selected to be promoted to staff sergeant. His awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, four Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, two Iraq Campaign Medals, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, two Armed Forces Reserve Medals, a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, a Navy Unit Commendation, and a Meritorious Mast.
Several people who served with Sgt. Hines shared their memories of him through social media. Marine Lance Corporal Stefan Krause told how he had “bombarded Hines with questions when he was in is infantry squad. He took me aside and said, ‘Damn Krause, you’re going to become the commandant with the amount of knowledge you will get.’ That stuck with me because he always pushed me to become better in every way possible not only as a Marine but as a person. I was lucky enough to experience a little bit of my USMC career with heroes like SSgt Hines and SSgt Slutman, and I will continue to strive to become that better Marine and person.”
Marine veteran Sam Belli, who served in Hines’ squad, said, “He was all around a great guy with an upbeat attitude who loved the Corps through and through. He never treated you like a subordinate. You were always an equal and friend.”
John Belli, Sam Belli’s brother and also a Marine who had served in the same platoon, said he and Hines hit it off quickly: “I was pretty fresh in the Marines and he was an unbelievable leader, a natural born leader. He was very attentive to his Marines and always put everyone else’s needs first.”
Marine Joseph Triola said, “He was a really, really good guy and devoted to what he did. [He] was a tough guy. You know, times we were out in the field where it was cold and wet, we might be hungry. Most of us might complain a little bit, but you wouldn’t hear from him.”
Staff Sgt. Christopher K.A. Slutman (Marine Corps via Boston Globe)
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Staff Sgt. Christopher K.A. Slutman
“He was a really good guy and family man.”
Staff Sgt. Christopher K.A. Slutman, 43, was from Newark, Delaware. He joined the Marine Corps in November 2005, and he served as an 0311 Infantry Rifleman. He had previously deployed to Iraq from May 2008 to April 2009 and to Mozambique from July to August 2010.
Staff Sgt. Slutman’s awards include four Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the two Iraq Campaign Medals, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, two Armed Forces Reserve Medals, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, a Navy Unit Commendation, four Certificates of Commendation, and a Letter of Appreciation.
Both Staff Sgt. Slutman and Sgt. Hines were assigned to a unit based in Harrisburg, Pa. They were friends and squad leaders together and news of their deaths left family and friends in their hometowns reeling. A mutual friend and Marine veteran, Kyle Moyer, said, “They were very close since…a lot of people in our unit were from the East Coast. I just really hurt for their families. I’m really sad. If their families need anything, myself and other Marines, we’ll be willing to do anything to help them… Christopher, he was a very caring person. He was older than everyone else, so we called him ‘the old man.' He was always grounded. He never let things bother him. He was a really good guy and family man.” Moyer added that Staff Sgt. Slutman and Sgt. Hines expected back in the U.S. in just over a week.
On the home front, Chris Slutman was a member of the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department in Prince George County in Maryland, which he joined in February 2000 and achieved the rank of captain. Slutman was also a member of the Fire Department of the City of New York, where he served in the Bronx as a member of Ladder 27. In 2014, he received the Fire Chiefs Association Memorial Medal for rescuing an unconscious woman from a burning apartment building.
“Through this trying time, we will remember Chris for the father, husband, brother, son, and friend that he was, the moral character he displayed daily, and the courage and conviction to serve his fellow Americans, both at home and abroad. We ask for your thoughts and prayers for his firehouse brothers, his fellow Marines, his friends – but most of all, his family.” Fire Chief Oleg Pelekhaty, Kentland Volunteer Fire Department, Maryland
“Firefighter Slutman bravely wore two uniforms and committed his life to public service both as a New York City Firefighter and as a member of the United States Marine Corps. The hearts and prayers of the entire Department are with his loved ones and with the families of his fellow service members who lost their lives in service to our nation.” New York Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro
Chris Slutman’s parents learned of their son’s death from the Marine Corps on Monday night. His father, Fletcher Slutman, said, “When I turned the porch light on and opened the door, and I saw in uniform, I said, ‘This is not good.’ He said, ‘Can we come in?’ I said, ‘Yes,’ came and sat at the table. He said, ‘Do you want to get your wife?’ And I really didn’t want to until I learned more. I shook my head no and he shook his head yes. So, I called my wife in and then we went through everything and he explained everything.”
In addition to his parents, Chris Slutman is survived by his wife and three daughters.
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The remains of Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks, Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines, and Staff Sgt. Christopher K.A. Slutman arrived at Dover Air Force Base on Thursday evening. Pictured, a U.S. Marine Corps carry team transfers the remains of Staff Sgt. Slutman during a dignified transfer, April 11, 2019, at Dover Air Force Base (U.S. Air Force photo by Roland Balik)
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[They leave] a white
Unbroken glory, a gathered radiance,
A width, a shining peace, under the night.
~ Rupert Brooke
Sources: DoD, Newsweek, Stars and Stripes via Popular Military, CBS Philadelphia, Task and Purpose, Boston Globe, Stars and Stripes, NBC New York, Penn Live, NBC News, Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations
I Got the News Today is a diary series 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. 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.
