IGTNT: “I Got The News Today” began in 2004 by user “i dunno”; it the second oldest continuous series on Daily Kos. Its purpose is to honor, respect and remind us of the sacrifices made by our troops and to provide community members a venue to pay their respects to those who have died as a result of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as serving in Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Operation Inherent Resolve, Operation Resolute Support, Operation Joint Guardian, Operation Octave Shield, and Operation Spartan Shield. The IGTNT title is a reminder that far too often the family of an active-duty service member receives the heartbreaking news that their beloved has died. You may click here to see the entire series.
Staff Sergeant Timothy Luke Manchester
The Department of Defense has announced the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Spartan Shield. Staff Sgt. Timothy Luke Manchester, 34, of Austin, Texas, died Jan. 20, 2021, in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, in a non-combat related incident. The incident is under investigation. Manchester was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 36th Infantry Division, Camp Mabry, Texas. ~ DoD News Release
Timothy Manchester was born in Lompoc, CA and grew up in Buellton, CA, both are situated in Santa Barbara County in the scenic Santa Ynez Valley. Manchester attended Jonata Elementary and Santa Ynez Valley Union High School. Tim was an athlete in both baseball and cross country in high school. However, it was baseball that he truly loved as he harbored a dream to one day coach the sport.
“We as a Pirate family mourn the loss of alumnus Tim Manchester, who passed away while serving his country in Kuwait. All of our prayers go out to the Manchester family.” ~ Santa-Ynez Pirate Baseball Facebook Page
In 2005, according to ArcNews, Tim Manchester participated in a high school project that used satellite imagery to discover the lost aqueduct of Santa Ines Mission which had been buried for more than 100 years. The project and its discovery was hailed as “The best example of the use of historical research, geophysics, and archaeology to solve a particular problem that I have ever seen!" by Dr. Robert Hoover, Professor Emeritus, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Sadly, Timothy Manchester was not the only brave member of the 2005 graduating class to lose his life in a heroic manner. During high school Manchester was close friends with Sean Misner who died along with 18 other members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots who were overrun by flames on June 30, 2013 while fighting a fire in Arizona. ~ News Source
Timothy Manchester enlisted in the Marines in 2005 following high school graduation. After basic training he was sent to Monterey, California to the Defense Language Institute (DLI) where he studied Arabic. Manchester then served as a Middle East Cryptologist Linguist on two back-to-back deployments to Iraq in 2008 and 2009. Tim was serving at the US Embassy in Cairo in 2011 during the Egyptian revolution. His final assignment in the Marine Corps was again at DLI in California in 2014.
Upon entering the Texas Army National Guard in April 2018, Staff Sgt Manchester first served with the 636th Military Intelligence Battalion as a Cryptologic Linguist then in 2020 he transferred to the 36th Infantry Division HHBN which deployed in October to Kuwait for their standard 10 month rotation. Their mission, as part of Operation Spartan Shield, was to support military cooperation, logistics and humanitarian assistance efforts.
“We are devastated by the loss of one of our own. In this profession, we always know in the back of our mind that this is a possibility, but we hope it never comes to pass. The entire Texas Military Department sends our deepest condolences to Staff Sgt. Manchester’s family and loved ones he leaves behind. We are also keeping his fellow service members in our thoughts and prayers who are still overseas mourning the loss of their brother in arms.” ~ MG Tracy R. Norris, the Adjutant General of Texas
The Santa Ynez Pirate Baseball Facebook page also reported that due to the pandemic there would be no formal funeral service for Manchester. However, the public was invited to gather and view the memorial procession of his motorcade returning from Vandenberg Air Force Base and heading to Solvang Veteran’s Memorial Hall. Following the procession, a small private service with SSgt. Manchester’s family was held at a nearby cemetery. Photos of the procession can be viewed here.
Staff Sgt Timothy Luke Manchester’s awards and decorations with the US Marine Corps, the US Army and the Texas Army National Guard include: Joint Service Commendation Medals (two); Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal; Navy/Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon; Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medals (three); Meritorious Unit Commendation (Navy); Sea Service Deployment Ribbons (two); Army Commendation Medal (five); National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with two Campaign Stars; Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal; Army Good Conduct Medal (two); Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (two); Iraq Campaign Medal with two Campaign Stars; Army Service Ribbon; Joint Meritorious Unit Award; Overseas Service Bar (indicates the recipient has served six months overseas in a theater of war); Texas Outstanding Service Medal; Texas Federal Service Medal; Meritorious Service Medal, Posthumous; National Defense Service Medal,Posthumous; Armed Forces Service Medal w/M device, Posthumous; Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, Posthumous.
Manchester is survived by his parents Timothy and Cheryl; his siblings Jon Paul, Caleb, and Laura; and his nephews Quinn and Tristan.
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Rest in peace, Staff Sgt. Timothy Luke Manchester, you have served with honor and will be greatly missed.
About The IGTNT Series
I Got the News Today is now publishing monthly, on or near the end of each month. Thankfully, our casualties are much fewer in number than when the series first began which allows our writers to spend a bit more time to find and tell their stories. The team of diarists for IGTNT are: i dunno, Sandy on Signal, noweasels, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, SisTwo, SpamNunn, TrueBlueMajority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, maggiejean, JaxDem, Ekaterin, Joy of Fishes, and SARBill. From the beginning, this community has made this series a place of solemn respect for the fallen by expressing their condolences with kind words and images. Those who mourn these men and women have, on occasion, contacted IGTNT to express their gratitude and appreciation. This series would have never flourished without those of you in the community, many of which have supported us from the beginning. We thank you.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service member(s) mentioned here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.