I Got The News Today (IGTNT) is among the oldest continuous series on Daily Kos and 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.
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For the Fallen
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
~ Laurence Binyon (1869 - 1943)
Honoring and Remembering:
2nd Lt Travis A. Morgado
Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan J. Wilson
Since 2001 we have lost 1982 American troops in Afghanistan and a total of 3011 American and coalition forces.
Amazing Grace and Taps
Performed at Arlington National Cemetery
Day is done...Gone the sun
From the lake...
From the hills...
From the sky.
All is well...Safely rest
God is nigh.
Fading light....Dims the sight
And a star....Gems the sky....Gleaming bright
From afar....Drawing night
Falls the night.
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2nd Lt. Travis A. Morgado, 25, of San Jose, California
2nd Lt. Travis A. Morgado, 25, of San Jose, Calif., died May 23 in Zharay, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his patrol with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. ~ DoD Press Release
Growing up, Travis Morgado lived with his mother, Andrea Kessler, in Edmonds,Washington and traveled to San Jose in the summers to live with his father, Joe Morgado.
After graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in civil engineering, Morgado decided to enlist in the Army because he was eager to help people and to give something back to his country.
According to his mother:
He said he felt like he was so lucky and so many people weren't. He wanted to do something to help, to contribute.
Morgado entered the Army in November 2010, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant through the Officer Candidate School (OCS) in May 2011. Following OCS, 2nd Lt. Morgado went on to attend the Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course at Fort Benning, GA, as well as the U.S. Army Airborne School, and the Ranger Course.
He was assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in March 2012 and embarked upon his first deployment on March 20th, just a week before his 25th birthday.
At his mother's home where Morgado grew up, Kessler was surrounded by Morgado's many friends.
People are telling stories, remembering him, crying, looking at photo albums. They're talking about how they would get together and play basketball tournaments. They would have games, all their friends would come to play right here at the local park.
He was just the best person growing up," she said. "He was growing up to be such a good person.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord issued this statement:
On behalf of the entire Joint Base Lewis-McChord military and civilian community, we extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of 2nd Lt. Morgado.
2nd Lt Travis A. Morgado's awards and decorations include National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Ribbon, NATO Medal, Parachutist Badge, and Ranger Tab.
2nd Lt Travis Morgado is survived by his mother, Andrea Kessler; his father, Joe Morgado; his brother, Eric; his brother, Carlos; a stepbrother and two stepsisters.
~ Source ~ Source ~ Source
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Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan J. Wilson, 26, of Shasta, California
Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan J. Wilson died on Sunday, May 20th, due to complications associated with a medical condition. He was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom as an intelligence specialist assigned to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command headquarters in Bahrain.
Ryan was a 2004 graduate of Shasta High School where he excelled on the football field as a defensive tackle and competed in the shot-put and discus for the track team.
Varsity football coach, Aaron Gingery said Ryan was a hard worker who always did his best on the field.
His effort was second to none and he kept working at it and getting better. When he told me his goal was to enter the military I think that was a sense of pride for him because he knew based on his experience at Shasta he could succeed at doing something very physically demanding.
Coach Gingery said he spoke to Ryan a few times after he joined the Navy and Ryan was always positive about his experiences.
There was nothing that he would shy away from. He was going to finish it all and when he did it was to the best of his ability.
PO1 Wilson joined the Navy in 2004 and reported to the Naval Forces Central Command in August 2011.
In March Petty Officer Wilson was named U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Sailor of the Quarter and recognized for:
... the exemplary performance of his duties as indications and warnings leading petty officer on the maritime operations center watch floor, from October to December 2011.
A letter of commendation, which accompanied Wilson's Sailor of the Quarter award, reads in part:
"Your enthusiastic leadership emphasized the responsibility of Sailors to mentor junior personnel, eliminate communication problems, enhance career development, and inspire senior petty officers to assume leadership roles."
Wilson's supervisor, Chief Intelligence Specialist Jeremy Embree, said Wilson was selected based on his merits and professionalism.
Petty Officer First Class Wilson was part of a group of sailors who met and spoke with American studies students from the University of Bahrain in and effort to increase cultural understand and he volunteered to tutor elementary school children at the Department of Defense Dependents School (DODDS) in Bahrain.
Wilson is the 3,000th death among coalition forces in the Afghanistan war.
Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan J. Wilson is survived by his wife and a son as well as his parents, Jim and Tracie Wilson.
Funeral arrangements are being made at Allen & Dahl Funeral Chapel in Redding.
~ Source ~ Source ~ DoD Press Release
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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.
USA Together - "It's like craigslist for Wounded Warriors". Brings together injured service members who need assistance as they recover, with the people who want to help them.
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.