Army Staff Sgt. Robin L. Towns Sr., 52, of Upper Marlboro, Md., died Oct 24 in Bayji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations. He was assigned to the 275th Military Police Company, 372nd Military Police Battalion, Washington, D.C. National Guard.
HE LOVED GOD, HIS FAMILY, AND HIS FRIENDS
Besides his wife, Sheila, and their blended family of six children, there were few things that Staff Sgt. Robin L. Towns Sr. of Upper Marlboro loved more than entertaining, watching football and barbecuing.
He was known for his cookouts. During games between the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles, Towns, 52, delighted in donning his Eagles jersey and serving guests his signature barbecued chicken and ribs. Family members and friends said they couldn't stand it when he rooted for the Eagles, but they loved his barbecue so much they never complained.
On Wednesday, Towns was killed in Iraq, nine days after he was deployed there as a member of the D.C. National Guard's 275th Military Police Company.
Towns was the second member of the D.C. National Guard killed in Iraq. D.C. National Guard spokeswoman 1st Lt. Loneshia Reed was in shock Friday after learning of Towns' death. Towns was her squad leader.
"He was wonderful man, a wonderful leader, and a wonderful friend," Reed said.
At a gathering yesterday at Sanctuary at Kingdom Square in Capitol Heights, family and friends remembered Towns, who had worked as a corrections officer from December to May, when he left for training. He also worked as a security guard and armored car driver for Dunbar Armored.
Jeff Logan, assistant chief of the Prince George's Department of Corrections, said that though he had been at the department for a short time, "he was on his way to be an asset to the department."
His sister-in-law Joyce Wise said, "He was passionate about everything that he did."
The Rev. Anthony Maclin, pastor of Sanctuary at Kingdom Square, said Towns "loved to serve God, and he had a passion for his brothers and sisters, especially those who serve in the military."
As a guardsman, Towns worked several natural disasters, including hurricanes Katrina and Isabel. He received the Maryland State Active Duty Medal, the Army Achievement Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.) called Towns's death "a senseless tragedy."
"It reaffirms that it is time to bring our troops home," he said. "While President Bush says that the violence is decreasing, for this family the violence is very real."
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Maryland's Seventy-Sixth Hero
The Department of Defense announced the death of Army Spc. Ari D. Brown-Weeks, 23, of Abingdon, Md. who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. He died Sept. 10 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered from a non-combat related vehicle rollover. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
HE WAS A FAITHFUL FRIEND WHO EXCELLED ACADEMICALLY AND ATHLETICALLY
Spc. Ari Brown-Weeks, 23, a military radio operator from Abingdon, Md., was killed in the Sept. 10 accident in western Baghdad. The seven soldiers were members of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade, based at Fort Bragg, N.C..
He joined the 82nd Airborne Division in December and was deployed to Iraq in the first wave of the surge of troops into the country in January, a month after getting married. His father, Jon Weeks of Leyden, Mass., said he was scheduled to return home in November.
Brown-Weeks was the only child of Weeks and Karyn Brown. His parents told The Republican in Springfield, Mass., that their son was good at sports and academics and liked to write poetry.
“He loved his family above all and was loyal to the end with his friends. He loved being around people and always needed to be where the action was,” Weeks said.
His decision to enlist was influenced by the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, his father said.
“He believed they were fighting terrorists there so they won’t come here,” Weeks told The Recorder in Greenfield, Mass. “He did believe that. But he also could see firsthand that a lot of what was going on wasn’t working.”
“Specialist Brown-Weeks, was a true American hero,” said Capt. Patrick Koucheravy, a spokesman with the 82nd Airborne Division, in Fort Bragg, N.C. “He will be sorely missed by everyone who had the honor to serve with him.”
HE WAS A FAITHFUL FRIEND WHO EXCELLED ACADEMICALLY AND ATHLETICALLY
Spc. Ari Brown-Weeks, 23, a military radio operator from Abingdon, Md., was killed in the Sept. 10 accident in western Baghdad. The seven soldiers were members of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade, based at Fort Bragg, N.C..
He joined the 82nd Airborne Division in December and was deployed to Iraq in the first wave of the surge of troops into the country in January, a month after getting married. His father, Jon Weeks of Leyden, Mass., said he was scheduled to return home in November.
Brown-Weeks was the only child of Weeks and Karyn Brown. His parents told The Republican in Springfield, Mass., that their son was good at sports and academics and liked to write poetry.
“He loved his family above all and was loyal to the end with his friends. He loved being around people and always needed to be where the action was,” Weeks said.
His decision to enlist was influenced by the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, his father said.
“He believed they were fighting terrorists there so they won’t come here,” Weeks told The Recorder in Greenfield, Mass. “He did believe that. But he also could see firsthand that a lot of what was going on wasn’t working.”
“Specialist Brown-Weeks, was a true American hero,” said Capt. Patrick Koucheravy, a spokesman with the 82nd Airborne Division, in Fort Bragg, N.C. “He will be sorely missed by everyone who had the honor to serve with him.”
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Maryland's Seventy-Fifth Hero
Army Sgt. Princess C. Samuels, 22, of Mitchellville, Md.; assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died Aug. 15 in Taji, Iraq, when the enemy attacked using indirect fire.
SHE LIVED UP TO HER NAME
Samuels, who had served in the U.S. Army since 2004, was a graduate of Charles Flowers High School in Springdale, where she served in the ROTC.
‘‘She was very unique,” said Victor Jones, Samuels’ husband of one year. ‘‘She was a great person with a big heart who everybody loved.”
The couple, who met in high school, married in April 2006.
Nicknamed ‘‘Noodle” because of her thin frame, Samuels joined the Army in 2004, following in Jones’ footsteps. She had been assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division based in Fort Hood, Texas, where she worked with the U.S. Border Patrol before being stationed in Iraq, her husband said. She later became an imagery specialist in military intelligence.
Off-duty, Samuels lived up to her first name. Friends and family said the 22-year-old sported a wardrobe full of pink clothing and had a pet poodle in Texas whose ears she dyed pink.
A Department of Defense statement reported that Samuels was killed by ‘‘indirect” enemy fire. Officials would not elaborate.
Former friends joined together online this week, where a group was formed on the social networking Web site Facebook.com to honor her memory.
‘‘What’s a prince, with no Princess Samuels?” was the title Jones chose for the group. He said friends have come together to support each other.
‘‘I know I miss her, but I am never going to forget about her,” Jones said this week. ‘‘I’ve lost her. But I have her at the same time, because she’ll always be with me.”
SHE LIVED UP TO HER NAME
Samuels, who had served in the U.S. Army since 2004, was a graduate of Charles Flowers High School in Springdale, where she served in the ROTC.
‘‘She was very unique,” said Victor Jones, Samuels’ husband of one year. ‘‘She was a great person with a big heart who everybody loved.”
The couple, who met in high school, married in April 2006.
Nicknamed ‘‘Noodle” because of her thin frame, Samuels joined the Army in 2004, following in Jones’ footsteps. She had been assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division based in Fort Hood, Texas, where she worked with the U.S. Border Patrol before being stationed in Iraq, her husband said. She later became an imagery specialist in military intelligence.
Off-duty, Samuels lived up to her first name. Friends and family said the 22-year-old sported a wardrobe full of pink clothing and had a pet poodle in Texas whose ears she dyed pink.
A Department of Defense statement reported that Samuels was killed by ‘‘indirect” enemy fire. Officials would not elaborate.
Former friends joined together online this week, where a group was formed on the social networking Web site Facebook.com to honor her memory.
‘‘What’s a prince, with no Princess Samuels?” was the title Jones chose for the group. He said friends have come together to support each other.
‘‘I know I miss her, but I am never going to forget about her,” Jones said this week. ‘‘I’ve lost her. But I have her at the same time, because she’ll always be with me.”
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Maryland's Seventy-Fourth Hero
Army Pfc. Brandon M. Craig, 25, of Earleville, Md.; assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.; died July 19 in Husayniyah, Iraq, of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device.
HE WANTED TO IMPROVE HIS LIFE
Pfc. Brandon M. Craig, 25, of Earleville, died in Husayniyah, Iraq, of wounds from a makeshift bomb, the Department of Defense said in a news release.
Craig, an infantryman, was posthumously promoted to corporal, said Joe Hitt, a spokesman for Fort Lewis, Wash., where Craig was stationed.
Craig enlisted in the Army in February 2006 and underwent basic training at Fort Benning, Ga. His unit was deployed to Iraq this April for a 15-month tour, Hitt said.
Craig’s parents told WBAL-TV that they last saw him on his 25th birthday, shortly after he was shipped to Iraq. They said he joined the Army because he wanted to improve his station in life. He leaves behind a wife.
“The service made a big difference in Brandon,” said his father, Danny Craig. “It turned him into a true man.”
HE WANTED TO IMPROVE HIS LIFE
Pfc. Brandon M. Craig, 25, of Earleville, died in Husayniyah, Iraq, of wounds from a makeshift bomb, the Department of Defense said in a news release.
Craig, an infantryman, was posthumously promoted to corporal, said Joe Hitt, a spokesman for Fort Lewis, Wash., where Craig was stationed.
Craig enlisted in the Army in February 2006 and underwent basic training at Fort Benning, Ga. His unit was deployed to Iraq this April for a 15-month tour, Hitt said.
Craig’s parents told WBAL-TV that they last saw him on his 25th birthday, shortly after he was shipped to Iraq. They said he joined the Army because he wanted to improve his station in life. He leaves behind a wife.
“The service made a big difference in Brandon,” said his father, Danny Craig. “It turned him into a true man.”
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Maryland's Seventy-Third Hero
Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert E. Dunham, 36, of Baltimore; assigned to 1st Brigade Transition Team, and attached to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; died May 24 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Russell K. Shoemaker.
HE REALLY LIKED WHAT HE DID
Sgt. 1st Class Robert Dunham, who grew up in the Park Heights community in west Baltimore, was killed in Iraq when the Humvee he was riding was hit by an explosive device near Baghdad, his family said.
Dunham, 36, had been serving in Iraq since January, according to his brother, Charles Dunham of Parkville.
“I believe he really liked what he did,” Charles Dunham told The (Baltimore) Sun. “He loved to serve. He was a giving person, real loving, and the Army was good to his family.”
Sgt. Dunham had been concerned about the danger in Iraq, particularly after a truck in a convoy he was in recently was heavily damaged by an improvised explosive device, his brother said.
Dunham graduated in 1988 from Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School, where he studied industrial electronics, his brother said. He was an honors student who loved playing basketball in community leagues.
He joined the Army the same year he graduated and trained at Fort Dix, N.J., to work with communications equipment.
He served in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm, in Bosnia and in Somalia and had received Special Forces training before his latest tour in Iraq, his brother said.
HE REALLY LIKED WHAT HE DID
Sgt. 1st Class Robert Dunham, who grew up in the Park Heights community in west Baltimore, was killed in Iraq when the Humvee he was riding was hit by an explosive device near Baghdad, his family said.
Dunham, 36, had been serving in Iraq since January, according to his brother, Charles Dunham of Parkville.
“I believe he really liked what he did,” Charles Dunham told The (Baltimore) Sun. “He loved to serve. He was a giving person, real loving, and the Army was good to his family.”
Sgt. Dunham had been concerned about the danger in Iraq, particularly after a truck in a convoy he was in recently was heavily damaged by an improvised explosive device, his brother said.
Dunham graduated in 1988 from Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School, where he studied industrial electronics, his brother said. He was an honors student who loved playing basketball in community leagues.
He joined the Army the same year he graduated and trained at Fort Dix, N.J., to work with communications equipment.
He served in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm, in Bosnia and in Somalia and had received Special Forces training before his latest tour in Iraq, his brother said.
Maryland's Seventy-Second Hero
Army Sgt. Casey W. Nash, 22, of Essex; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died May 18 in Tahrir, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Sgt. Anselmo Martinez III and Spc. Joshua G. Romero.
HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE THERE ANYMORE
Several weeks ago, Army Spc. Casey W. Nash came home on leave from Iraq to visit his family in Essex and Middle River.
He watched sports with his father, worked on his sister's car and drove his beloved red-and-white Chevrolet S-10 Xtreme pickup truck. A quiet man, the 22-year-old said little about his time in the combat zone, but he did make this point: Six months into his second tour of duty in Iraq, he was ready to leave the Army and return home for good.
That visit was the last time his family saw him.
"He just didn't want to be there anymore," his father, Lewis Nash, said yesterday, tears welling in his eyes.
"They pushed him and pushed him, and he kept telling them no," his father said.
Family connections run deep in the neighborhood. Cousins live across the street, and Nash attended Victory Villa Elementary, Middle River Middle, and Eastern Technical, as his father had done.
While he was in high school, Casey Nash moved with his mother, Sandra Nash, and sister, Sara Nash, to a home in Essex. Yesterday, his pickup and yellow motorcycle were parked in front of that house. A yellow ribbon was tied to the tree.
An uncle, Tony Edge, said that Specialist Nash's mother was too upset to comment. Yesterday was her birthday, he added.
Relatives said that they were surprised when Nash announced that he was joining the military and offered little explanation for his choice.
He sent back photos from Iraq of giant spiders that he had caught in a jar and a tipped Humvee from which he had escaped. He told his father that he once pulled a buddy out a burning Jeep.
During his most recent visit, Specialist Nash stayed in his basement bedroom in his mother's home that he had outfitted with a stereo, refrigerator and video game console.
He played pool with his father and another uncle, Fred Nash, and hung out with his girlfriend, whom he had dated since high school.
While he was visiting, he was shaken when he found out that some buddies in Iraq had been killed.
"He was upset because he felt like he had let them down," his father said.
He had told his father that he was frustrated that his military service had been extended. He had hoped to pursue a career with computers after leaving the Army or join the ironworks company where his father is a supervisor.
Lewis Nash, 46, said that the military has provided little specific information about how his son died, whether the casket could be open or closed for the funeral, or even when his body would arrive.
Specialist Nash had been slated for a promotion to sergeant, but the paperwork had been held up. Yesterday, military representatives told his family that the promotion had been approved, his father said.
Army Specialist Casey W. Nash was killed in action on 5/18/07.
HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE THERE ANYMORE
Several weeks ago, Army Spc. Casey W. Nash came home on leave from Iraq to visit his family in Essex and Middle River.
He watched sports with his father, worked on his sister's car and drove his beloved red-and-white Chevrolet S-10 Xtreme pickup truck. A quiet man, the 22-year-old said little about his time in the combat zone, but he did make this point: Six months into his second tour of duty in Iraq, he was ready to leave the Army and return home for good.
That visit was the last time his family saw him.
"He just didn't want to be there anymore," his father, Lewis Nash, said yesterday, tears welling in his eyes.
"They pushed him and pushed him, and he kept telling them no," his father said.
Family connections run deep in the neighborhood. Cousins live across the street, and Nash attended Victory Villa Elementary, Middle River Middle, and Eastern Technical, as his father had done.
While he was in high school, Casey Nash moved with his mother, Sandra Nash, and sister, Sara Nash, to a home in Essex. Yesterday, his pickup and yellow motorcycle were parked in front of that house. A yellow ribbon was tied to the tree.
An uncle, Tony Edge, said that Specialist Nash's mother was too upset to comment. Yesterday was her birthday, he added.
Relatives said that they were surprised when Nash announced that he was joining the military and offered little explanation for his choice.
He sent back photos from Iraq of giant spiders that he had caught in a jar and a tipped Humvee from which he had escaped. He told his father that he once pulled a buddy out a burning Jeep.
During his most recent visit, Specialist Nash stayed in his basement bedroom in his mother's home that he had outfitted with a stereo, refrigerator and video game console.
He played pool with his father and another uncle, Fred Nash, and hung out with his girlfriend, whom he had dated since high school.
While he was visiting, he was shaken when he found out that some buddies in Iraq had been killed.
"He was upset because he felt like he had let them down," his father said.
He had told his father that he was frustrated that his military service had been extended. He had hoped to pursue a career with computers after leaving the Army or join the ironworks company where his father is a supervisor.
Lewis Nash, 46, said that the military has provided little specific information about how his son died, whether the casket could be open or closed for the funeral, or even when his body would arrive.
Specialist Nash had been slated for a promotion to sergeant, but the paperwork had been held up. Yesterday, military representatives told his family that the promotion had been approved, his father said.
Army Specialist Casey W. Nash was killed in action on 5/18/07.
Maryland's Seventy-First Hero
Army Pfc. Jonathan V. Hamm, 20, of Baltimore; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died May 17 in Baghdad, of wounds sustained when his forward operating base received indirect enemy fire.
HE WAS TRYING TO CHANGE HIS LIFE
Pfc. Jonathan V. Hamm’s aunt, Eleanor S. Swan, said he left for Kuwait 10 days after the funeral of his mother. Frances S. McCullough, 52, died in February from breast cancer.
His father died in 2000 of liver failure, which Swan said sent the boy into a destructive lifestyle for a time. Another aunt, retired city police officer Leah Hamm, told The (Baltimore) Sun he was caught in a “spiral of not going to class and hanging with the wrong people.”
But she said she had an advice-filled, challenging conversation with him. After that, “he took it upon himself to change his life,” she said. Family members said the young man known as “Hammie” or “Hamm” decided to join the Army. He failed the Army test once, but took it again and passed.
Hamm had been in Iraq for about a month when he died Thursday in Baghdad.
HE WAS TRYING TO CHANGE HIS LIFE
Pfc. Jonathan V. Hamm’s aunt, Eleanor S. Swan, said he left for Kuwait 10 days after the funeral of his mother. Frances S. McCullough, 52, died in February from breast cancer.
His father died in 2000 of liver failure, which Swan said sent the boy into a destructive lifestyle for a time. Another aunt, retired city police officer Leah Hamm, told The (Baltimore) Sun he was caught in a “spiral of not going to class and hanging with the wrong people.”
But she said she had an advice-filled, challenging conversation with him. After that, “he took it upon himself to change his life,” she said. Family members said the young man known as “Hammie” or “Hamm” decided to join the Army. He failed the Army test once, but took it again and passed.
Hamm had been in Iraq for about a month when he died Thursday in Baghdad.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Maryland's Seventieth Hero
Army Staff Sgt. Jay E. Martin, 29, of Baltimore, MD. died Apr. 29 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat operations. Also killed were Army Sgt. Alexander J. Funcheon, 21, of Bel Aire, Kan. and Army Pfc. Brian A. Botello, 19, of Alta, Iowa.
HE WAS A SHINING STAR
The two Army officers, sharp in their uniforms, arrived Sunday afternoon at Dwight Martin's home in a quiet, leafy neighborhood in West Baltimore.
Mr. Martin was blocks away, at a neighbor's house, cutting grass as a favor when his niece called his cell phone. He knew.
"She said there were two and dressed in full uniform," Mr. Martin said. "It was a parent's worst nightmare. They don't come unless there's a death."
Sergeant Martin, 29, was the third alumnus of Forest Park and its Junior ROTC program to die at war. Within two weeks in August 2005, two members of the Class of 2000 died in combat -- Army Spc. Toccara Renee Green in Iraq and Army Staff Sgt. Damion G. Campbell in Afghanistan.
"When the city is just full of so much sadness, he was just a shining star," said one of Sergeant Martin's sisters, Lark Adams, 25, of Reservoir Hill. "He followed the rules. He did what he was supposed to. He was an example to everyone."
Family and friends described him yesterday as a typical kid who loved Star Wars and playing Mortal Kombat on a television in his grandmother's kitchen. When an aunt brought him to Disney World, there wasn't a ride he wouldn't get on. But in other ways, they recalled him as remarkable.
Even as a young boy, he talked military. Playing hide-and-go-seek in his West Baltimore neighborhood in the Dickey Hill Forest Apartments, he created strategies, said a childhood friend, Dwight Taylor-Peay. He commanded the others to serve as "lookouts." He warned of "an ambush."
Later, as the boys grew into young men, Sergeant Martin preached to friends the importance of college, Mr. Taylor-Peay said. Sergeant Martin, who also ran track at Forest Park, attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. He left after a year, realizing he could never be a pilot because he didn't have 20/20 vision.
"Jay was always ... positive, ambitious, militant," said Mr. Taylor-Peay, 28, of York, Pa. "He was always your good conscience. Just fooling around, playing a prank on somebody that went too far, Jay was always the civilized one. He had a good sense of humor, but at the same time he was serious. He was about his business."
Sergeant Martin worked reconnaissance and was often on the go, his family said, able to call or e-mail only a few times since he left for Iraq in October. In an e-mail to Mrs. Martin-Graham, he told his aunt, "I don't stay in one spot too long, we're on top of buildings setting up."
His sister, Lark Adams, recalls him sharing how much violence he saw in Iraq. "He told me that this is the most gunfire I've ever seen in my life. He just kept on saying, 'I've never seen anything like this. I've never seen anything like this.' But he said, 'We're catching the bad guys.'"
Sergeant Martin had been scheduled for a two-week break from Iraq in April, but -- in a move typical of his nature -- his family said he allowed a fellow soldier whose wife just had a baby to take his place.
HE WAS A SHINING STAR
The two Army officers, sharp in their uniforms, arrived Sunday afternoon at Dwight Martin's home in a quiet, leafy neighborhood in West Baltimore.
Mr. Martin was blocks away, at a neighbor's house, cutting grass as a favor when his niece called his cell phone. He knew.
"She said there were two and dressed in full uniform," Mr. Martin said. "It was a parent's worst nightmare. They don't come unless there's a death."
Sergeant Martin, 29, was the third alumnus of Forest Park and its Junior ROTC program to die at war. Within two weeks in August 2005, two members of the Class of 2000 died in combat -- Army Spc. Toccara Renee Green in Iraq and Army Staff Sgt. Damion G. Campbell in Afghanistan.
"When the city is just full of so much sadness, he was just a shining star," said one of Sergeant Martin's sisters, Lark Adams, 25, of Reservoir Hill. "He followed the rules. He did what he was supposed to. He was an example to everyone."
Family and friends described him yesterday as a typical kid who loved Star Wars and playing Mortal Kombat on a television in his grandmother's kitchen. When an aunt brought him to Disney World, there wasn't a ride he wouldn't get on. But in other ways, they recalled him as remarkable.
Even as a young boy, he talked military. Playing hide-and-go-seek in his West Baltimore neighborhood in the Dickey Hill Forest Apartments, he created strategies, said a childhood friend, Dwight Taylor-Peay. He commanded the others to serve as "lookouts." He warned of "an ambush."
Later, as the boys grew into young men, Sergeant Martin preached to friends the importance of college, Mr. Taylor-Peay said. Sergeant Martin, who also ran track at Forest Park, attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. He left after a year, realizing he could never be a pilot because he didn't have 20/20 vision.
"Jay was always ... positive, ambitious, militant," said Mr. Taylor-Peay, 28, of York, Pa. "He was always your good conscience. Just fooling around, playing a prank on somebody that went too far, Jay was always the civilized one. He had a good sense of humor, but at the same time he was serious. He was about his business."
Sergeant Martin worked reconnaissance and was often on the go, his family said, able to call or e-mail only a few times since he left for Iraq in October. In an e-mail to Mrs. Martin-Graham, he told his aunt, "I don't stay in one spot too long, we're on top of buildings setting up."
His sister, Lark Adams, recalls him sharing how much violence he saw in Iraq. "He told me that this is the most gunfire I've ever seen in my life. He just kept on saying, 'I've never seen anything like this. I've never seen anything like this.' But he said, 'We're catching the bad guys.'"
Sergeant Martin had been scheduled for a two-week break from Iraq in April, but -- in a move typical of his nature -- his family said he allowed a fellow soldier whose wife just had a baby to take his place.
Maryland's Sixty-Ninth Hero
Army Staff Sgt. Marlon B. Harper, 34, of Baltimore; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died April 21 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when he came in contact with enemy forces using a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire during combat operations.
HE WAS A GREAT, GREAT PERSON
Harper’s military awards include the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.
Harper was the father of three, his wife, Stacy, told The Washington Post on April 23. Harper was originally scheduled to return home in October, but then his tour was extended until January 2008, she said.
“He was a great, great person,” Stacy Harper said. “He died doing what he loved.” She and the couple’s children — son Dominic, 12, and twin daughters Jessica and Jennifer, 10 — live in Florida near her parents while Harper was in Iraq. He kept in touch with letters, e-mails and, when possible, telephone calls.
HE WAS A GREAT, GREAT PERSON
Harper’s military awards include the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.
Harper was the father of three, his wife, Stacy, told The Washington Post on April 23. Harper was originally scheduled to return home in October, but then his tour was extended until January 2008, she said.
“He was a great, great person,” Stacy Harper said. “He died doing what he loved.” She and the couple’s children — son Dominic, 12, and twin daughters Jessica and Jennifer, 10 — live in Florida near her parents while Harper was in Iraq. He kept in touch with letters, e-mails and, when possible, telephone calls.
Maryland's Sixty-Eighth Hero
Army 1st Lt. Gwilym J. Newman, 24, of Waldorf, Md.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died April 12 in Tarmiyah, Iraq, of wounds sustained from enemy small-arms fire while on dismounted patrol.
HE WAS A PROUD FATHER, EAGER SOLDIER
His son was born on his birthday, and 1st Lt. Gwilym J. Newman could not have been more proud. The baby, who will turn 2 on April 27, was given his father's name -- which is Welsh for William -- and looked a lot like him.
This April, the family is in mourning: The proud father and Army officer who spent his high school years in Waldorf was killed Thursday after he came under small-arms fire while on patrol in Tarmiyah, Iraq, according to the Pentagon. Newman would have turned 25.
"He had a very, very good sense of humor, and family was the most important thing to him," said his sister, Brittany Newman.
"He was ready to go," she said. "He wanted to go with his guys and make sure they were okay and be there with them."
In December, Newman was quoted in an Army news story about his unit's work in Tarmiyah -- catching insurgents who set up roadside bombs in the darkness. It was work that he and other soldiers thought would help save troops.
"He was very big on holidays because it was all about family," his sister said, also recalling him as "a goofy guy. He could make anyone smile when they were upset. He could just cheer you up."
Now, his young son, Gwilym Alexander, "is looking more and more like him," she said.
HE WAS A PROUD FATHER, EAGER SOLDIER
His son was born on his birthday, and 1st Lt. Gwilym J. Newman could not have been more proud. The baby, who will turn 2 on April 27, was given his father's name -- which is Welsh for William -- and looked a lot like him.
This April, the family is in mourning: The proud father and Army officer who spent his high school years in Waldorf was killed Thursday after he came under small-arms fire while on patrol in Tarmiyah, Iraq, according to the Pentagon. Newman would have turned 25.
"He had a very, very good sense of humor, and family was the most important thing to him," said his sister, Brittany Newman.
"He was ready to go," she said. "He wanted to go with his guys and make sure they were okay and be there with them."
In December, Newman was quoted in an Army news story about his unit's work in Tarmiyah -- catching insurgents who set up roadside bombs in the darkness. It was work that he and other soldiers thought would help save troops.
"He was very big on holidays because it was all about family," his sister said, also recalling him as "a goofy guy. He could make anyone smile when they were upset. He could just cheer you up."
Now, his young son, Gwilym Alexander, "is looking more and more like him," she said.
Maryland's Sixty-Seventh Hero
Army Sgt. Edelman L. Hernandez, 23, of Hyattsville, Md.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died April 11 in Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, while on combat patrol. The incident is under investigation.
HE WAS A DECORATED SOLDIER WHO WAS NOT ALLOWED TO COME HOME
Sgt. Edelman L. Hernandez, 23, of Hyattsville, Md., was on a foot patrol last Wednesday near Babyal Village when he lost his footing and fell into a deep section of the river. Other members of his unit immediately began a search to locate Hernandez. His body was recovered Thursday morning at some distance downstream, according to a release from Fort Drum.
Military officials announced Hernandez’s death last week, but provided no details.
In Lanham, the family of Sgt. Edelman L. Hernandez, of Hyattsville, grieves.
A Hyattsville native, Hernandez joined the Army in April 2003, after completing boot camp at Fort Benning, Ga. That October he was assigned to Fort Drum's 10th Mountain Division.
He deployed to Iraq with his battalion, the "Chosin Battalion," in December 2003 and served there until the following September.
During that deployment, he earned a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal, among other awards.
In February, Hernandez completed another year's combat service in Afghanistan and a four-year commitment to the Army, but he was not allowed to go home.
His unit was ordered by the Pentagon in late January to stay in the combat zone another 120 days.
HE WAS A DECORATED SOLDIER WHO WAS NOT ALLOWED TO COME HOME
Sgt. Edelman L. Hernandez, 23, of Hyattsville, Md., was on a foot patrol last Wednesday near Babyal Village when he lost his footing and fell into a deep section of the river. Other members of his unit immediately began a search to locate Hernandez. His body was recovered Thursday morning at some distance downstream, according to a release from Fort Drum.
Military officials announced Hernandez’s death last week, but provided no details.
In Lanham, the family of Sgt. Edelman L. Hernandez, of Hyattsville, grieves.
A Hyattsville native, Hernandez joined the Army in April 2003, after completing boot camp at Fort Benning, Ga. That October he was assigned to Fort Drum's 10th Mountain Division.
He deployed to Iraq with his battalion, the "Chosin Battalion," in December 2003 and served there until the following September.
During that deployment, he earned a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal, among other awards.
In February, Hernandez completed another year's combat service in Afghanistan and a four-year commitment to the Army, but he was not allowed to go home.
His unit was ordered by the Pentagon in late January to stay in the combat zone another 120 days.
Maryland's Sixty-Sixth Hero
Army Sgt. Thomas L. Latham, 23, of Delmar, Md.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.; died March 11 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee.
HE SERVED IN BOTH AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ
Thomas Lee "Tommy Lee" Latham of Delmar died Sunday, March 11, 2007, in Iraq. He was 23.
He was born in Prince Georges County, the son of Thomas James and Barbara Ellen Collins Latham.
He married Rachel Leanne Guy-Latham April 16, 2005, at Salisbury.
Tommy Lee was a 2002 graduate of Wicomico High School.
He joined the U.S. Army in May 2002 and had recently been promoted to the rank of sergeant.
He had served in Afghanistan and was currently in Iraq with company C of the 10th Mountain Division Brigade Combat Team.
He attended Emmanuel Wesleyan Church, where he had been involved with the youth group.
He loved hunting, fishing, just being outdoors and spending time with his wife and children.
HE SERVED IN BOTH AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ
Thomas Lee "Tommy Lee" Latham of Delmar died Sunday, March 11, 2007, in Iraq. He was 23.
He was born in Prince Georges County, the son of Thomas James and Barbara Ellen Collins Latham.
He married Rachel Leanne Guy-Latham April 16, 2005, at Salisbury.
Tommy Lee was a 2002 graduate of Wicomico High School.
He joined the U.S. Army in May 2002 and had recently been promoted to the rank of sergeant.
He had served in Afghanistan and was currently in Iraq with company C of the 10th Mountain Division Brigade Combat Team.
He attended Emmanuel Wesleyan Church, where he had been involved with the youth group.
He loved hunting, fishing, just being outdoors and spending time with his wife and children.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Maryland's Sixty-Fifth Hero
Army Spc. Jonathan D. Cadavero, 24, of Takoma Park, Md.; assigned to the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Feb. 27 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed were Cpl. Lorne E. Henry Jr. and Sgt. Richard A. Soukenka
HE HAD A CARING HEART
"My son did not die in vain." — Nadia Cadavero
Army Spc. Jonathan D. Cadavero called his sister from Baghdad a week before he was killed while proudly serving his country in Iraq.
"I have no regrets. I would do it all over again, and I love being an American soldier." Kristia Cavere recalls her brother's words clearly.
On February. 27, 2007 Jonathan, was killed in a roadside bombing while attending to his job as a medic. He was only twenty-four years old. He was a true and faithful servant to his country.
Jonathan was a born-again Christian who shared his faith by living his life before others. He loved people, and within him was a caregiving spirit.
The job of a medic requires a special breed of person. Jonathan [had] a huge, loving heart to share with suffering humanity.
He was a wonderful husband, son, brother, and friend to countless others. He adored his beautiful wife, Michelle, who he married this past Thanksgiving. They planned to have a big church wedding upon returning from Iraq. At age nineteen, Michelle Cadavero is a military policewoman with the 10th Mountain Division in Baghdad. She is currently home on leave with her family in the States.
Jonathan's father explained that his son "had his life all mapped out with his wife. He planned to attend graduate school when he returned home."
HE HAD A CARING HEART
"My son did not die in vain." — Nadia Cadavero
Army Spc. Jonathan D. Cadavero called his sister from Baghdad a week before he was killed while proudly serving his country in Iraq.
"I have no regrets. I would do it all over again, and I love being an American soldier." Kristia Cavere recalls her brother's words clearly.
On February. 27, 2007 Jonathan, was killed in a roadside bombing while attending to his job as a medic. He was only twenty-four years old. He was a true and faithful servant to his country.
Jonathan was a born-again Christian who shared his faith by living his life before others. He loved people, and within him was a caregiving spirit.
The job of a medic requires a special breed of person. Jonathan [had] a huge, loving heart to share with suffering humanity.
He was a wonderful husband, son, brother, and friend to countless others. He adored his beautiful wife, Michelle, who he married this past Thanksgiving. They planned to have a big church wedding upon returning from Iraq. At age nineteen, Michelle Cadavero is a military policewoman with the 10th Mountain Division in Baghdad. She is currently home on leave with her family in the States.
Jonathan's father explained that his son "had his life all mapped out with his wife. He planned to attend graduate school when he returned home."
Maryland's Sixty-Fourth Hero
Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Manuel A. Ruiz, 21, of Federalsburg, Md.; assigned to 2nd Medical Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Feb. 7 in a helicopter crash in Anbar province, Iraq. Also killed were Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (Petty Officer 1st Class) Gilbert Minjares Jr., Marine Capt. Jennifer J. Harris, Marine 1st Lt. Jared M. Landaker, Marine Sgt. Travis D. Pfister, Marine Cpl. Thomas E. Saba and Marine Sgt. James R. Tijerina.
HE WAS A TALENTED ARTIST
His mother, Lisa Ruiz, described him as a “very outgoing” man who loved running. He attended Colonel Richardson High School in Federalsburg, joined the Navy three years ago and was just two weeks into his second tour in Iraq, she said.
“I spoke with him last week,” she said. “He was saying how much he loved his job, what he was doing.”
At Ruiz’s former high school, the news of his death was met with an immediate, stricken silence when it was announced over the school intercom the morning of Feb. 8. Many students at the small Eastern Shore school enter the service after they graduate and several others have friends and relatives who are shipping out to Iraq, school officials said.
“He was just a wonderful young man who was excited when he graduated to be going to serve his country,” said Christine Handy-Collins, the school’s principal.
Ruiz, who graduated in 2003, had been back to the school several times in his dress whites on recruiting tours, said Marjorie Scott, his former art teacher.
“The kids really respected him,” she said.
But she remembered the young man they called “Manny” most for his talent as an artist.
“When Manny would pick up a pencil and he would draw, there was so much feeling, so much emotion, so much power in his drawing — he could make a pencil and paper sing,” Scott said.
He planned to continue his studies at the Art Institute of Washington after the service, Scott said. And on a visit last spring, he showed her photos of a mural he was painting on his barracks wall in Iraq.
“So you see, he carried his talent not just through school but in the service,” she said.
HE WAS A TALENTED ARTIST
His mother, Lisa Ruiz, described him as a “very outgoing” man who loved running. He attended Colonel Richardson High School in Federalsburg, joined the Navy three years ago and was just two weeks into his second tour in Iraq, she said.
“I spoke with him last week,” she said. “He was saying how much he loved his job, what he was doing.”
At Ruiz’s former high school, the news of his death was met with an immediate, stricken silence when it was announced over the school intercom the morning of Feb. 8. Many students at the small Eastern Shore school enter the service after they graduate and several others have friends and relatives who are shipping out to Iraq, school officials said.
“He was just a wonderful young man who was excited when he graduated to be going to serve his country,” said Christine Handy-Collins, the school’s principal.
Ruiz, who graduated in 2003, had been back to the school several times in his dress whites on recruiting tours, said Marjorie Scott, his former art teacher.
“The kids really respected him,” she said.
But she remembered the young man they called “Manny” most for his talent as an artist.
“When Manny would pick up a pencil and he would draw, there was so much feeling, so much emotion, so much power in his drawing — he could make a pencil and paper sing,” Scott said.
He planned to continue his studies at the Art Institute of Washington after the service, Scott said. And on a visit last spring, he showed her photos of a mural he was painting on his barracks wall in Iraq.
“So you see, he carried his talent not just through school but in the service,” she said.
Maryland's Sixty-Third Hero
Marine Cpl. Jennifer M. Parcell, 20, of Bel Air, Md.; assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 3, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan; died Feb. 7 while supporting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq.
SHE DIED WHILE PARTICIPATING IN THE "LIONESS" PROGRAM OF CULTURAL SENSITIVITY
A photograph on Marine Cpl. Jennifer Parcell’s MySpace profile shows the 20-year-old landing support specialist wearing a white sweater, a grin stretched across her face. The Bel Air, Md., native shared random thoughts about her life in Okinawa, Japan, her words captured in a bright pink font. Scrawled across the top of her page next to her photo is the phrase “Going to be chillin’ in Iraq for awhile.”
The last day she logged in was Jan. 29.
Parcell was killed in Iraq’s Anbar province a few weeks shy of her return to Okinawa. The noncommissioned officer, whose MySpace profile noted her love of the TV show “Desperate Housewives,” joined a unit Feb. 1 responsible for searching Iraqi women at military checkpoints.
Six days later, Parcell was killed when an Iraqi woman she was searching detonated an explosive vest.
The day after Parcell’s death, her friend Michelle Wolff said goodbye.
“Even though you can’t read this, I just wanted to say that I love you and I miss you like crazy,” wrote Wolff, 23. “You are my bestest! I always remember the good times we had, and all the stupid stuff we did together. You will always be in my heart and mind. R.I.P. Jen!!”
[And about herself, she wrote:]
"I think that I'm overall a pretty small person. I love to have fun doing nothing at all. Specailly [sic] just chillen with good friends. I love Yoga! But mostly I lay around and watch movies. Yes I am in the Marine Corps, but its a lot of fun sometimes."
SHE DIED WHILE PARTICIPATING IN THE "LIONESS" PROGRAM OF CULTURAL SENSITIVITY
A photograph on Marine Cpl. Jennifer Parcell’s MySpace profile shows the 20-year-old landing support specialist wearing a white sweater, a grin stretched across her face. The Bel Air, Md., native shared random thoughts about her life in Okinawa, Japan, her words captured in a bright pink font. Scrawled across the top of her page next to her photo is the phrase “Going to be chillin’ in Iraq for awhile.”
The last day she logged in was Jan. 29.
Parcell was killed in Iraq’s Anbar province a few weeks shy of her return to Okinawa. The noncommissioned officer, whose MySpace profile noted her love of the TV show “Desperate Housewives,” joined a unit Feb. 1 responsible for searching Iraqi women at military checkpoints.
Six days later, Parcell was killed when an Iraqi woman she was searching detonated an explosive vest.
The day after Parcell’s death, her friend Michelle Wolff said goodbye.
“Even though you can’t read this, I just wanted to say that I love you and I miss you like crazy,” wrote Wolff, 23. “You are my bestest! I always remember the good times we had, and all the stupid stuff we did together. You will always be in my heart and mind. R.I.P. Jen!!”
[And about herself, she wrote:]
"I think that I'm overall a pretty small person. I love to have fun doing nothing at all. Specailly [sic] just chillen with good friends. I love Yoga! But mostly I lay around and watch movies. Yes I am in the Marine Corps, but its a lot of fun sometimes."
Maryland's Sixty-Second Hero
Army Command Sgt. Maj. Roger W. Haller, 49, of Davidsonville, Md.; assigned to the 70th Regiment, Regional Training Institute — Maryland, Maryland Army National Guard, Reisterstown, Md.; died in Baghdad on Jan. 20 when the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter he was in crashed. Also killed were Col. Brian D. Allgood, Staff Sgt. Darryl D. Booker, Sgt. 1st Class John G. Brown, Lt. Col. David C. Canegata, Command Sgt. Maj. Marilyn L. Gabbard, Col. Paul M. Kelly, Staff Sgt. Floyd E. Lake, Cpl. Victor M. Langarica, Capt. Sean E. Lyerly, Maj. Michael V. Taylor and 1st Sgt. William T. Warren.
HE WAS ALWAYS FIXING OTHER PEOPLE'S PROBLEMS
A high-ranking soldier in the Maryland Army National Guard who taught classes at the guard’s training academy at Camp Fretterd was one of 12 soldiers killed when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed northeast of Baghdad, family members said Jan. 23.
His family was notified the evening of Jan. 21 that he was killed in the previous day’s crash, said his daughters, Morgan Haller and Kathryn Haller, both of Cambridge.
“He was so excited. He still asked us if it was OK. I said, ‘It’s something you love, I’m not going to tell you no,’” Morgan Haller said. “We knew what the consequences were in him being over there. When you grow up in a military life your whole life, you know those things can happen, and you’re better prepared for it than most people.”
“He just said he was going over there to fix other people’s messes, and that’s about it,” Morgan Haller said. “He always went to places to fix other people’s problems.”
HE WAS ALWAYS FIXING OTHER PEOPLE'S PROBLEMS
A high-ranking soldier in the Maryland Army National Guard who taught classes at the guard’s training academy at Camp Fretterd was one of 12 soldiers killed when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed northeast of Baghdad, family members said Jan. 23.
His family was notified the evening of Jan. 21 that he was killed in the previous day’s crash, said his daughters, Morgan Haller and Kathryn Haller, both of Cambridge.
“He was so excited. He still asked us if it was OK. I said, ‘It’s something you love, I’m not going to tell you no,’” Morgan Haller said. “We knew what the consequences were in him being over there. When you grow up in a military life your whole life, you know those things can happen, and you’re better prepared for it than most people.”
“He just said he was going over there to fix other people’s messes, and that’s about it,” Morgan Haller said. “He always went to places to fix other people’s problems.”
Maryland's Sixty-First Hero
Army Spc. Eric T. Caldwell, 22, of Salisbury, Md.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died Jan. 7 in Iraq of wounds sustained when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small-arms fire.
HE BELIEVED IN WHAT HE WAS DOING
As family and friends of a fallen soldier escorted his casket to a nearby hearse Monday, more than 60 men and women gathered on the grounds of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church to wave American flags and pay their respects.
“He died doing what he believed in,” his father, Brian A. Caldwell of Pennsylvania, said earlier this month.
Following the service, Caldwell’s body was taken to Arlington National Cemetery for interment.
As pallbearers carried the casket from the sanctuary, Salisbury resident Chris Lewis saluted the man who served his country for more than two years.
“I came to pay my respects to a person who helped make it possible for me to live my life each day as I know it,” the 33-year-old said Monday. “Being here lets the family know that people are here for them and that we respect what their son did.”
HE BELIEVED IN WHAT HE WAS DOING
As family and friends of a fallen soldier escorted his casket to a nearby hearse Monday, more than 60 men and women gathered on the grounds of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church to wave American flags and pay their respects.
“He died doing what he believed in,” his father, Brian A. Caldwell of Pennsylvania, said earlier this month.
Following the service, Caldwell’s body was taken to Arlington National Cemetery for interment.
As pallbearers carried the casket from the sanctuary, Salisbury resident Chris Lewis saluted the man who served his country for more than two years.
“I came to pay my respects to a person who helped make it possible for me to live my life each day as I know it,” the 33-year-old said Monday. “Being here lets the family know that people are here for them and that we respect what their son did.”
Maryland's Sixtieth Hero
Army Capt. John R. Dennison, 24, of Ijamsville, Md.; assigned to the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Nov. 15 as a result of small arms fire in Balad, Iraq.
HE ALWAYS KNEW THE RIGHT THING TO DO
John Ryan Dennison was a shining light in the Class of 2000 at Urbana High School in Frederick County -- an excellent student, a football player, a wrestler. Yesterday, the school's teachers and administrators reeled from the news that he was killed Wednesday in Iraq.
"When you lose a young life, it somehow diminishes all of us," said Principal George M. Seaton.
John Ryan Dennison, 24, was promoted posthumously to Captain. He had been in Iraq since summer.
History teacher Norm Crosby, who wrote a recommendation in support of Dennison's application to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, said he was a natural leader. "He was a young man who always knew the right thing to do, whether that was cracking a joke or calling attention to something. He had a presence about him," he said.
Chemistry teacher Michelle Shearer said Dennison's smiling personality had a magnetic quality. "There isn't anybody who didn't like Ryan Dennison," she said.
HE ALWAYS KNEW THE RIGHT THING TO DO
John Ryan Dennison was a shining light in the Class of 2000 at Urbana High School in Frederick County -- an excellent student, a football player, a wrestler. Yesterday, the school's teachers and administrators reeled from the news that he was killed Wednesday in Iraq.
"When you lose a young life, it somehow diminishes all of us," said Principal George M. Seaton.
John Ryan Dennison, 24, was promoted posthumously to Captain. He had been in Iraq since summer.
History teacher Norm Crosby, who wrote a recommendation in support of Dennison's application to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, said he was a natural leader. "He was a young man who always knew the right thing to do, whether that was cracking a joke or calling attention to something. He had a presence about him," he said.
Chemistry teacher Michelle Shearer said Dennison's smiling personality had a magnetic quality. "There isn't anybody who didn't like Ryan Dennison," she said.
Maryland's Fifty-Ninth Hero
Army Pvt. Michael V. Bailey, 20, of Waldorf, Md.; assigned to the 4th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, New York; died Oct. 27 from non-combat related injuries in Salerno, Afghanistan. This incident is under investigation.
HE WAS MUCH MORE THAN A SOLDIER
To those who knew Bailey, he was much more than a soldier.
He was a fun-loving child who turned into a good man, said the Rev. Harry Seawright, pastor of the Union Bethel A.M.E. Church in Brandywine, which Bailey had attended. His funeral services were also held there, drawing more than 200 mourners.
"He was a nice-(mannered) young man, and that's what I remember him as," said Seawright, who knew Bailey since he baptized him as a 2-year-old.
Bailey "grew up in the church" but drifted away as "all young men do" over the last five to six years, Seawright said.
But he still vividly remembers him singing in the children's choir.
In Afghanistan, Bailey's voice carried not hymns, but directions.
He worked as a radio and computer operator for the 25th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team in the command center in Salerno, coordinating the military's artillery barrages, said Lt. Col. Paul Fitpatrick, a spokesman for the Army in Afghanistan.
Following his death, he was posthumously awarded the Army Commendation Medal for "engaging in every mission with accuracy and professionalism," Fitzpatrick said. In particular his commanding sergeant commended him for his assistance in ensuring the success of "bold" raids by the military against insurgents.
Bailey's "quick and professional performance" Aug. 24 helped cover the escape of U.S. forces pinned down by Taliban insurgents, Fitzpatrick said. U.S. forces killed an estimated 25 enemy soldiers in that raid, Fitzpatrick said.
That life in Afghanistan bore little resemblance to the one he'd known in Southern Maryland, friends say.
Harold Young, a friend who would solicit Bailey's help tuning up his Ford Mustang, recalled him fondly. He said Bailey liked cars and loved his red Yamaha motorcycle.
He "wasn't really a serious guy," said Young, an operations engineer from Waldorf. "He was just a funny type of guy but knew when it was time to get serious," Young said.
Young said he didn't agree with his friend's decision to join the Army. But he understood what compelled his friend to join.
"He wanted to belong to something," Young said. "Besides being Michael, he had to stand for something," said Young, who said he's known Bailey for more than two years.
"The brother was always looking to help anybody," Young said.
Bailey's mother, Darlene Bailey, of Waldorf, said that she and her husband, Vincent, did not want to talk about the death of their son.
"I just buried my son," she told a caller. "Now is not a good time."
HE WAS MUCH MORE THAN A SOLDIER
To those who knew Bailey, he was much more than a soldier.
He was a fun-loving child who turned into a good man, said the Rev. Harry Seawright, pastor of the Union Bethel A.M.E. Church in Brandywine, which Bailey had attended. His funeral services were also held there, drawing more than 200 mourners.
"He was a nice-(mannered) young man, and that's what I remember him as," said Seawright, who knew Bailey since he baptized him as a 2-year-old.
Bailey "grew up in the church" but drifted away as "all young men do" over the last five to six years, Seawright said.
But he still vividly remembers him singing in the children's choir.
In Afghanistan, Bailey's voice carried not hymns, but directions.
He worked as a radio and computer operator for the 25th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team in the command center in Salerno, coordinating the military's artillery barrages, said Lt. Col. Paul Fitpatrick, a spokesman for the Army in Afghanistan.
Following his death, he was posthumously awarded the Army Commendation Medal for "engaging in every mission with accuracy and professionalism," Fitzpatrick said. In particular his commanding sergeant commended him for his assistance in ensuring the success of "bold" raids by the military against insurgents.
Bailey's "quick and professional performance" Aug. 24 helped cover the escape of U.S. forces pinned down by Taliban insurgents, Fitzpatrick said. U.S. forces killed an estimated 25 enemy soldiers in that raid, Fitzpatrick said.
That life in Afghanistan bore little resemblance to the one he'd known in Southern Maryland, friends say.
Harold Young, a friend who would solicit Bailey's help tuning up his Ford Mustang, recalled him fondly. He said Bailey liked cars and loved his red Yamaha motorcycle.
He "wasn't really a serious guy," said Young, an operations engineer from Waldorf. "He was just a funny type of guy but knew when it was time to get serious," Young said.
Young said he didn't agree with his friend's decision to join the Army. But he understood what compelled his friend to join.
"He wanted to belong to something," Young said. "Besides being Michael, he had to stand for something," said Young, who said he's known Bailey for more than two years.
"The brother was always looking to help anybody," Young said.
Bailey's mother, Darlene Bailey, of Waldorf, said that she and her husband, Vincent, did not want to talk about the death of their son.
"I just buried my son," she told a caller. "Now is not a good time."
Maryland's Fifty-Eighth Hero
Marine Lance Cpl. Eric W. Herzberg, 20, of Severna Park, Md.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Oct. 21 while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq.
HE WAS A DEEPLY SPIRITUAL MAN, A PATRIOT
When Lance Cpl. Eric W. Herzberg decided to join the Marines while a student at Severna Park High School, his first mission was to ease the concerns of his mother, Gina Barnhurst.
"Gina was anxious to talk him out of it," said Doug Barnhurst, Herzberg's uncle. "She was worried about it. She was worried that he didn't know what he was getting into. But he convinced her it was a calling."
Yesterday, three days after the 20-year-old infantryman died while conducting combat operations in Iraq's Anbar province, it was his mother who conveyed the meaning behind that calling.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our wonderful Eric, yet we are so incredibly proud of him. He was proud to be a Marine and to serve his country, which he loved dearly. He was a happy, quiet young man with a deep compassion for others and a deep faith in God. . . . "
The words were written on a piece of yellow paper held by Herzberg's uncle, the color of the ribbon hung outside the family's Severna Park home during his tour.
On his mother's car was a more succinct message in the form of two bumper stickers: "My Son Is A US Marine," and "My Son Defends Our Freedom."
HE WAS A DEEPLY SPIRITUAL MAN, A PATRIOT
When Lance Cpl. Eric W. Herzberg decided to join the Marines while a student at Severna Park High School, his first mission was to ease the concerns of his mother, Gina Barnhurst.
"Gina was anxious to talk him out of it," said Doug Barnhurst, Herzberg's uncle. "She was worried about it. She was worried that he didn't know what he was getting into. But he convinced her it was a calling."
Yesterday, three days after the 20-year-old infantryman died while conducting combat operations in Iraq's Anbar province, it was his mother who conveyed the meaning behind that calling.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our wonderful Eric, yet we are so incredibly proud of him. He was proud to be a Marine and to serve his country, which he loved dearly. He was a happy, quiet young man with a deep compassion for others and a deep faith in God. . . . "
The words were written on a piece of yellow paper held by Herzberg's uncle, the color of the ribbon hung outside the family's Severna Park home during his tour.
On his mother's car was a more succinct message in the form of two bumper stickers: "My Son Is A US Marine," and "My Son Defends Our Freedom."
Maryland's Fifty-Seventh Hero
Army Staff Sgt. Christopher O. Moudry, 31, of Baltimore, Md.; assigned to the 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; killed Oct. 4 after being attacked by enemy forces using small arms fire and other weapons in Taji, Iraq. Also killed were: Spc. Timothy R. Burke, Pfc. Dean R. Bright and Spc. George R. Obourn Jr.
HE KEPT THE DETAILS OF HIS MISSIONS TO HIMSELF
Marie Moudry was about to eat dinner on a Sunday afternoon when her son, Staff Sgt. Christopher O. Moudry, called from Iraq. He sounded more upbeat than he had in recent conversations, and he shared a piece of news that he had just heard: The Ravens had won.
Four days later, two soldiers arrived at Marie Moudry's Harford County home to tell her that her son had been killed in an attack in Iraq.
He never described details of his missions, his mother said.
"He whitewashed everything for us," she said. "He wouldn't tell us anything. Everything was fine. We were made to think he lived in a little safe world, when everybody else was in trouble."
But her son often sounded tired when he called from Iraq, she said. In their last phone conversation, he said that he looked forward to spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with his family.
He also told his mother that he was set to start a master gunner training program that would have given him a break from his daily routine.
"He was looking forward to three squares and the chance to use the phone anytime he liked," his mother said.
HE KEPT THE DETAILS OF HIS MISSIONS TO HIMSELF
Marie Moudry was about to eat dinner on a Sunday afternoon when her son, Staff Sgt. Christopher O. Moudry, called from Iraq. He sounded more upbeat than he had in recent conversations, and he shared a piece of news that he had just heard: The Ravens had won.
Four days later, two soldiers arrived at Marie Moudry's Harford County home to tell her that her son had been killed in an attack in Iraq.
He never described details of his missions, his mother said.
"He whitewashed everything for us," she said. "He wouldn't tell us anything. Everything was fine. We were made to think he lived in a little safe world, when everybody else was in trouble."
But her son often sounded tired when he called from Iraq, she said. In their last phone conversation, he said that he looked forward to spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with his family.
He also told his mother that he was set to start a master gunner training program that would have given him a break from his daily routine.
"He was looking forward to three squares and the chance to use the phone anytime he liked," his mother said.
Maryland's Fifty-Sixth Hero
Army Pfc. Eric M. Kavanagh , 20, of Glen Burnie, Md.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany; died of injuries sustained Sept. 20 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Baghdad.
HE BECAME A CONFIDENT MAN IN HE ARMY
He loved music and playing the guitar, but military service is where Eric Matthew Kavanagh found his calling, family and friends said.
“Behind that happy, huggy, gentle guitar player, there was grit and determination,” said the Rev. W. Terry Schoener of Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church in Severna Park. Dr. Schoener recalled how, even before he went to basic training, he had started running and working out, readying himself for boot camp.
Yesterday, friends, family and neighbors mourned the loss of the 20-year-old Army private and Severna Park native who was killed in Baghdad last week.
During a short, somber service yesterday at Woods Memorial, Pvt. Kavanagh’s uncle read a letter written by his father, Kevin Kavanagh, who called his son a “gentle soul.”
He “always had a smile on his face, a smile so strong it beamed with love, enthusiasm and compassion,” the letter said. “My son Eric is a hero, but to each of us, he is so much more. ... He joined the Army an enthusiastic boy and became a confident man.”
HE BECAME A CONFIDENT MAN IN HE ARMY
He loved music and playing the guitar, but military service is where Eric Matthew Kavanagh found his calling, family and friends said.
“Behind that happy, huggy, gentle guitar player, there was grit and determination,” said the Rev. W. Terry Schoener of Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church in Severna Park. Dr. Schoener recalled how, even before he went to basic training, he had started running and working out, readying himself for boot camp.
Yesterday, friends, family and neighbors mourned the loss of the 20-year-old Army private and Severna Park native who was killed in Baghdad last week.
During a short, somber service yesterday at Woods Memorial, Pvt. Kavanagh’s uncle read a letter written by his father, Kevin Kavanagh, who called his son a “gentle soul.”
He “always had a smile on his face, a smile so strong it beamed with love, enthusiasm and compassion,” the letter said. “My son Eric is a hero, but to each of us, he is so much more. ... He joined the Army an enthusiastic boy and became a confident man.”
Maryland's Fifty-Fifth Hero
Army Sgt. David J. Davis, 32, of Mount Airy, Md.; assigned to 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Alaska; died Sept. 17 in Baghdad of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Stryker Armored Vehicle during combat operations in Sadr City, Iraq.
IF HE WAS SCARED, HE NEVER SHARED IT
Davis, who grew up one of four children in western Howard, had been due back at Fort Wainwright this summer but was still in Iraq after he was redeployed, said his sister, Theresa Hadley.
Hadley said her brother had been serving in Iraq since August 2005. He was last home in Maryland in 2004, for Thanksgiving.
"Being a medic, he felt he was where he needed to be, taking care of all the soldiers," said Hadley, 36, of Hagerstown, Md. He didn't say much about life in Iraq in his frequent e-mails to friends and family, she said.
"He just said he's got to do what he's got to do," Hadley said. "He said, 'Stay there and take care of Mom and Dad and don't worry.' If he was scared, he didn't share it."
Hadley said her brother had three stepchildren with his wife, Roberta, whom he met and married while living in Alaska and serving in the 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. Her brother, who went by "Joe," graduated from Glenelg High School in 1991 and worked mostly in printing jobs before joining the Army three years ago, she said.
He had served with the Lisbon Volunteer Fire Company in Howard since he was 18.
"When he came home on leave, he actually ran calls," Hadley said.
IF HE WAS SCARED, HE NEVER SHARED IT
Davis, who grew up one of four children in western Howard, had been due back at Fort Wainwright this summer but was still in Iraq after he was redeployed, said his sister, Theresa Hadley.
Hadley said her brother had been serving in Iraq since August 2005. He was last home in Maryland in 2004, for Thanksgiving.
"Being a medic, he felt he was where he needed to be, taking care of all the soldiers," said Hadley, 36, of Hagerstown, Md. He didn't say much about life in Iraq in his frequent e-mails to friends and family, she said.
"He just said he's got to do what he's got to do," Hadley said. "He said, 'Stay there and take care of Mom and Dad and don't worry.' If he was scared, he didn't share it."
Hadley said her brother had three stepchildren with his wife, Roberta, whom he met and married while living in Alaska and serving in the 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. Her brother, who went by "Joe," graduated from Glenelg High School in 1991 and worked mostly in printing jobs before joining the Army three years ago, she said.
He had served with the Lisbon Volunteer Fire Company in Howard since he was 18.
"When he came home on leave, he actually ran calls," Hadley said.
Maryland's Fifty-Fourth Hero
Navy Electronics Technician 2nd Class (SW/DV) David S. Roddy, 32, of Aberdeen, Md.; assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Two in Norfolk, Va., and served with Multi-National Corps in Iraq; killed Sept. 16 while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Hadithah, Iraq.
HE WAS A GREAT FRIEND TO MANY WITH WHOM HE SERVED
[From testamonies posted on the web]
I was David's Senior Chief onboard USS Juneau. He was a true American, Shipmate and Father. He was my friend, I will miss his presence and example. Fair winds and following seas shipmate...
(MR ~ Kenosha, WI)
I served with ET2 David Roddy onboard the USS Juneau. He was a happy go lucky guy and he was a blast to hang out with. I looked up to him and he taught me a lot. He was a superb sailor but most of all, he was a superb mentor and friend to everyone in OE Division. My deep condolences to his wife and 3 kids.
(JAT ~ Honolulu, HI)
Dave was a great friend, we were in A school together and to my surprise we was also station on the same ship, the USS Juneau, for 3 years, no matter what happens he always has that smile on him. And his laughter was contagious. I will always treasure those time.
(PP ~ Houston, TX)
David Roddy was an excellent man and friend. I will miss him. I am proud to have served with such and outstanding man on board the USS Juneau, Sasebo Japan, 00-01.
(DS ~ Chicago, IL)
Dave is one of the most amazing people I have ever met... no matter what happened, I never saw him without a smile on that face. Dave invited me into his family for my first Thanksgiving in Japan and in the following years taught me a lot about my job and even more about life... Dave will always have a dear place in my memories.
(CW ~ Owings, MD)
[The tributes are legion......]
HE WAS A GREAT FRIEND TO MANY WITH WHOM HE SERVED
[From testamonies posted on the web]
I was David's Senior Chief onboard USS Juneau. He was a true American, Shipmate and Father. He was my friend, I will miss his presence and example. Fair winds and following seas shipmate...
(MR ~ Kenosha, WI)
I served with ET2 David Roddy onboard the USS Juneau. He was a happy go lucky guy and he was a blast to hang out with. I looked up to him and he taught me a lot. He was a superb sailor but most of all, he was a superb mentor and friend to everyone in OE Division. My deep condolences to his wife and 3 kids.
(JAT ~ Honolulu, HI)
Dave was a great friend, we were in A school together and to my surprise we was also station on the same ship, the USS Juneau, for 3 years, no matter what happens he always has that smile on him. And his laughter was contagious. I will always treasure those time.
(PP ~ Houston, TX)
David Roddy was an excellent man and friend. I will miss him. I am proud to have served with such and outstanding man on board the USS Juneau, Sasebo Japan, 00-01.
(DS ~ Chicago, IL)
Dave is one of the most amazing people I have ever met... no matter what happened, I never saw him without a smile on that face. Dave invited me into his family for my first Thanksgiving in Japan and in the following years taught me a lot about my job and even more about life... Dave will always have a dear place in my memories.
(CW ~ Owings, MD)
[The tributes are legion......]
Maryland's Fifty-Third Hero
Marine Staff Sgt. Dwayne E. Williams, 28, of Baltimore; assigned to 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan; killed Aug. 24 while conducting combat operations in Ramadi, Iraq.
HE WAS DEDICATED TO HIS FAMILY, HIS UNIT, HIS GOD
Malachi E. Williams, 4, cried at the start of the service for his father, Staff Sergeaqnt Dwayne E. Williams, in the chapel at the March Funeral Home in Northwest Baltimore, where 30 pews were filled by mourners for the Marine killed two weeks ago while trying to dismantle a bomb.
The Sergeant's mother, Florence Brenda Williams Randall, also sobbed as she was presented with his Purple Heart - the medal awarded to those wounded or killed in action.
And some of the two dozen uniformed Marines who stood so stoically as they saluted his casket emerged from the chapel with downcast stares, some with watery eyes.
"Dwayne had a mild-mannered personality with a quiet strength," said his cousin, Shirley Richards, reading from a printed obituary during the service. "He always had a positive word or smile to offer. Dwayne was known to joke or find the humor in every situation."
He was eulogized as a man dedicated equally to his family and his military service, using his relationship with God to soldier through three tours in Iraq - under some of the most strenuous circumstances.
Just a few weeks before his death, he suffered three concussions when bombs detonated near him.
HE WAS DEDICATED TO HIS FAMILY, HIS UNIT, HIS GOD
Malachi E. Williams, 4, cried at the start of the service for his father, Staff Sergeaqnt Dwayne E. Williams, in the chapel at the March Funeral Home in Northwest Baltimore, where 30 pews were filled by mourners for the Marine killed two weeks ago while trying to dismantle a bomb.
The Sergeant's mother, Florence Brenda Williams Randall, also sobbed as she was presented with his Purple Heart - the medal awarded to those wounded or killed in action.
And some of the two dozen uniformed Marines who stood so stoically as they saluted his casket emerged from the chapel with downcast stares, some with watery eyes.
"Dwayne had a mild-mannered personality with a quiet strength," said his cousin, Shirley Richards, reading from a printed obituary during the service. "He always had a positive word or smile to offer. Dwayne was known to joke or find the humor in every situation."
He was eulogized as a man dedicated equally to his family and his military service, using his relationship with God to soldier through three tours in Iraq - under some of the most strenuous circumstances.
Just a few weeks before his death, he suffered three concussions when bombs detonated near him.
Maryland's Fifty-Second Hero
Army Spc. Thomas J. Barbieri, 24, of Gaithersburg, Md.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; killed Aug. 23 when his patrol encountered enemy forces small-arms fire during combat operations south of Baghdad.
HE WAS A HERO, A BRAVE SOLDIER
"He always talked about being a hero and he was,” said his mother. "That’s how he died, a hero.”
"He was a great kid,” said his father, Thomas Barbieri, "‘a good soldier, a brave soldier.”
T.J., as he was called, was the second oldest of four brothers.
"He was a great person, a great brother, a thoughtful brother,” said his mother, Carolann Barbieri. "The brothers had a closeness that was unusual.”
Growing up, there was always a lot of noise and rough-housing, she said.
"We were all super tight,” said his brother David, 27. "We all got into trouble together.”
"‘He was tough as nails,” said his brother Stephen, 22. "But he had a heart. He had a big heart.”
The family last spoke to Barbieri at around 3 a.m. on Sunday morning, his father said.
"We always told him that whenever he was by a phone, to call us 24 hours a day,” he said.
He sounded good on the phone, the family said.
"He was upbeat,” his mother said. "He sounded strong, but he didn’t like the heat. He told us he loved us and we told him we loved him.”
HE WAS A HERO, A BRAVE SOLDIER
"He always talked about being a hero and he was,” said his mother. "That’s how he died, a hero.”
"He was a great kid,” said his father, Thomas Barbieri, "‘a good soldier, a brave soldier.”
T.J., as he was called, was the second oldest of four brothers.
"He was a great person, a great brother, a thoughtful brother,” said his mother, Carolann Barbieri. "The brothers had a closeness that was unusual.”
Growing up, there was always a lot of noise and rough-housing, she said.
"We were all super tight,” said his brother David, 27. "We all got into trouble together.”
"‘He was tough as nails,” said his brother Stephen, 22. "But he had a heart. He had a big heart.”
The family last spoke to Barbieri at around 3 a.m. on Sunday morning, his father said.
"We always told him that whenever he was by a phone, to call us 24 hours a day,” he said.
He sounded good on the phone, the family said.
"He was upbeat,” his mother said. "He sounded strong, but he didn’t like the heat. He told us he loved us and we told him we loved him.”
Maryland's Fifty-First Hero
Marine Lance Cpl. James W. Higgins, 22, of Frederick, Md.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died July 27 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Fallujah, Iraq.
HE LOVED HISTORY
Lance Cpl. James W. Higgins Jr. was fascinated by the past. His favorite musician was Frank Sinatra; his favorite comedians, Abbott and Costello; his favorite books, histories -- particularly anything about World War II.
His mother, Deborah Higgins, said he died of a gunshot wound to the chest.
His younger brother, Joseph, 20, was hardly able to speak in anything but a whisper. He held his brother's big, black Casio G-Shock watch, still set eight hours ahead to Iraqi time.
"He thought it was an honor to be part of the military," his mother said. "He had his worries, obviously, but he kept saying it'd be all right."
As he neared the end of his tour, he became eager to come home. He sent home a photo of him standing next to a Humvee. His eyes are shadowed, his face harder than in the pictures of him smiling before the war; perhaps because of the bright desert sun, but the symbolism was not lost on his mother.
When she asked about it, he told her: "This place changes people."
Her last conversation with him was July 23. "When he called me Sunday, he told me it was getting really bad," she said. "The danger had escalated so much."
"Be safe," she remembered telling him.
"Always," he said.
HE LOVED HISTORY
Lance Cpl. James W. Higgins Jr. was fascinated by the past. His favorite musician was Frank Sinatra; his favorite comedians, Abbott and Costello; his favorite books, histories -- particularly anything about World War II.
His mother, Deborah Higgins, said he died of a gunshot wound to the chest.
His younger brother, Joseph, 20, was hardly able to speak in anything but a whisper. He held his brother's big, black Casio G-Shock watch, still set eight hours ahead to Iraqi time.
"He thought it was an honor to be part of the military," his mother said. "He had his worries, obviously, but he kept saying it'd be all right."
As he neared the end of his tour, he became eager to come home. He sent home a photo of him standing next to a Humvee. His eyes are shadowed, his face harder than in the pictures of him smiling before the war; perhaps because of the bright desert sun, but the symbolism was not lost on his mother.
When she asked about it, he told her: "This place changes people."
Her last conversation with him was July 23. "When he called me Sunday, he told me it was getting really bad," she said. "The danger had escalated so much."
"Be safe," she remembered telling him.
"Always," he said.
Maryland's Fiftieth Hero
Navy Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class Edward A. Koth, 30, of Towson, Md.; assigned to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Eight, serving with Multinational Corps Iraq in Baghdad; died July 26 after ordnance exploded during a disposal operation in Baghdad.
HE LIVED EVERYDAY TO THE FULLEST
Earlier this week, I attended the memorial service for Edward Austin Koth, Electrician’s Mate Second Class, EOD. He was from Baltimore County, MD, and died last week while handling explosives near where I sleep at night.
Death is real. It isn’t some abstract “you might die in a car wreck” sort of concept. It isn’t that you worry about wasting away 60 years from now. It is real, and it could happen. In a strange sort of way, it is liberating because you come to grips with the idea that you must live every day to its fullest. In Austin’s case he did just that – EOD, Parachutist, College graduate. Good looking kid, in shape, and never a picture in his slideshow without a smile. Every one of the team talked about his sense of humor.
HE LIVED EVERYDAY TO THE FULLEST
Earlier this week, I attended the memorial service for Edward Austin Koth, Electrician’s Mate Second Class, EOD. He was from Baltimore County, MD, and died last week while handling explosives near where I sleep at night.
Death is real. It isn’t some abstract “you might die in a car wreck” sort of concept. It isn’t that you worry about wasting away 60 years from now. It is real, and it could happen. In a strange sort of way, it is liberating because you come to grips with the idea that you must live every day to its fullest. In Austin’s case he did just that – EOD, Parachutist, College graduate. Good looking kid, in shape, and never a picture in his slideshow without a smile. Every one of the team talked about his sense of humor.
Maryland's Forty-Ninth Hero
Army Staff Sgt. Christopher W. Swanson, 25, of Rose Haven, Md.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany; died July 22 of injuries sustained when his patrol encountered enemy forces small-arms fire in Ramadi, Iraq.
HE CHOSE A NOBLE CAREER
"This is tough, man, tough," Gary Swanson, his father, said yesterday sitting next to the sergeant's mother, Kelly, in their Rose Haven home. "But he was doing what he wanted to do. He loved his country ... He could have done anything he wanted, and he chose a noble career."
HE CHOSE A NOBLE CAREER
"This is tough, man, tough," Gary Swanson, his father, said yesterday sitting next to the sergeant's mother, Kelly, in their Rose Haven home. "But he was doing what he wanted to do. He loved his country ... He could have done anything he wanted, and he chose a noble career."
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Maryland's Forty-Eighth Hero
Army Cpl. Matthew P. Wallace, 22, of Lexington Park, Md.; assigned to the 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died July 21 in the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained July 16 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle during combat operations in Baghdad.
HE FELT THAT HE WAS WERE GOD WANTED HIM TO BE
As a child growing up in St. Mary's County, Wallace played with empty toilet paper rolls and clothes hangers, pretending they were toy guns. Family members said he went through a "self-discovery phase" and dropped out of Great Mills High School after his sophomore year. In 2001, he earned a General Educational Development diploma, and he joined the Army in 2004.
Wallace was 5 feet 10 inches tall and 135 pounds of "pure muscle," his sister Abigail said. He played soccer and dabbled in karate. In Iraq, he trained on every weapons system possible, becoming a highly skilled soldier, she said.
Wallace's mother, Mary, said he sounded weary the last time they spoke on the phone. "They were just working and working with little relief," she said. But that was where he wanted to be, she added, her voice perking up. "He felt like he was doing what God thought he should do."
HE FELT THAT HE WAS WERE GOD WANTED HIM TO BE
As a child growing up in St. Mary's County, Wallace played with empty toilet paper rolls and clothes hangers, pretending they were toy guns. Family members said he went through a "self-discovery phase" and dropped out of Great Mills High School after his sophomore year. In 2001, he earned a General Educational Development diploma, and he joined the Army in 2004.
Wallace was 5 feet 10 inches tall and 135 pounds of "pure muscle," his sister Abigail said. He played soccer and dabbled in karate. In Iraq, he trained on every weapons system possible, becoming a highly skilled soldier, she said.
Wallace's mother, Mary, said he sounded weary the last time they spoke on the phone. "They were just working and working with little relief," she said. But that was where he wanted to be, she added, her voice perking up. "He felt like he was doing what God thought he should do."
Maryland's Forty-Seventh Hero
Army Spc. Michael J. Potocki, 21, of Baltimore; assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany; died June 26 of injuries sustained when his unit came in contact with enemy force's small-arms fire during combat operations in Asad, Iraq.
HE HATED BEING IN THE ARMY, BUT HE WAS FAITHFUL TO HIS DUTY
In a eulogy delivered by one of the soldier's many uncles, Specialist Potocki was remembered as a friendly person who always had a big smile on his face and as a friend to fellow soldiers - "someone to count on when things went bad," Stanley Potocki said.
After attending Father Kolbe School in Canton, then playing lacrosse and graduating in 2003 from Patterson High School, "Mikey took a big step in life," Stanley Potocki said of his nephew's decision to join the military. "When he made it through his first tour, we breathed a sigh of relief."
"This tour would be a lot harder," the uncle said, adding that Specialist Potocki and his fellow soldiers "were being shot at all the time."
Included in the funeral program was an excerpt from what Specialist Potocki had written about his time in the Army. Military service, he wrote, had introduced him not only to "extremely crazy weather conditions" and "interesting people from all over America," but also to the experience of "risking my life every day for a cause I'm not real sure is the real one."
"But all these things have turned me into a better man and a better person," he continued. "I've begun to not take things for granted because I know for a fact how bad things can really get."
Specialist Potocki continued: "I hate being in the Army," but he added that he was glad that he had joined because of the ways his service had changed him and would continue to do so until he left the Army.
"So for all the downsides to being here," he wrote, "all I have to do is look into the future and look at all the great things I have accomplished and how much of a better human being it has made me, and I'm happy again."
HE HATED BEING IN THE ARMY, BUT HE WAS FAITHFUL TO HIS DUTY
In a eulogy delivered by one of the soldier's many uncles, Specialist Potocki was remembered as a friendly person who always had a big smile on his face and as a friend to fellow soldiers - "someone to count on when things went bad," Stanley Potocki said.
After attending Father Kolbe School in Canton, then playing lacrosse and graduating in 2003 from Patterson High School, "Mikey took a big step in life," Stanley Potocki said of his nephew's decision to join the military. "When he made it through his first tour, we breathed a sigh of relief."
"This tour would be a lot harder," the uncle said, adding that Specialist Potocki and his fellow soldiers "were being shot at all the time."
Included in the funeral program was an excerpt from what Specialist Potocki had written about his time in the Army. Military service, he wrote, had introduced him not only to "extremely crazy weather conditions" and "interesting people from all over America," but also to the experience of "risking my life every day for a cause I'm not real sure is the real one."
"But all these things have turned me into a better man and a better person," he continued. "I've begun to not take things for granted because I know for a fact how bad things can really get."
Specialist Potocki continued: "I hate being in the Army," but he added that he was glad that he had joined because of the ways his service had changed him and would continue to do so until he left the Army.
"So for all the downsides to being here," he wrote, "all I have to do is look into the future and look at all the great things I have accomplished and how much of a better human being it has made me, and I'm happy again."
Maryland's Forty-Sixth Hero
Army Pfc. Justin R. Davis, 19, of Gaithersburg, Md.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died June 25 when he came in contact with indirect fire while on patrol during combat operations in Korengal, Afghanistan.
HE LOVED THE MILITARY
His mother, Paula Davis, [said] that Davis "was passionate" about joining the service.
"He would always say, 'This is my dream. I am going to follow it,'" Paula Davis told the newspaper. "He died doing what he loved."
"It was a calling," she said. "It was a life that fit him."
"This would be a dream come true for him," Paula Davis of Gaithersburg said after she watched her big, brash 19-year-old son buried [at Arlington national Cementary] yesterday. "That's what he wanted to be: a hero."
She has the hard evidence of her son's heroism even if she does not have answers about his death June 25, which the Defense Department is investigating as a possible friendly fire incident. In addition to the Purple Heart for being wounded in battle, her son was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star for his service with the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan, where he had been deployed since March.
The Defense Department said he was killed by indirect fire, which often refers to mortar attacks, while on patrol in eastern Kunar province. Military officials gave the medals to his mother and his father, Dennis Johnson, in a ceremony before the burial. The citations did not describe the incidents in which he earned them.
Davis said she had been told that he was in a "hostile environment" but did not know what happened.
"Either way, it doesn't make any difference to me," she said after the ceremony. "It's not going to bring my boy back. If it was friendly, it wasn't intentional."
HE LOVED THE MILITARY
His mother, Paula Davis, [said] that Davis "was passionate" about joining the service.
"He would always say, 'This is my dream. I am going to follow it,'" Paula Davis told the newspaper. "He died doing what he loved."
"It was a calling," she said. "It was a life that fit him."
"This would be a dream come true for him," Paula Davis of Gaithersburg said after she watched her big, brash 19-year-old son buried [at Arlington national Cementary] yesterday. "That's what he wanted to be: a hero."
She has the hard evidence of her son's heroism even if she does not have answers about his death June 25, which the Defense Department is investigating as a possible friendly fire incident. In addition to the Purple Heart for being wounded in battle, her son was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star for his service with the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan, where he had been deployed since March.
The Defense Department said he was killed by indirect fire, which often refers to mortar attacks, while on patrol in eastern Kunar province. Military officials gave the medals to his mother and his father, Dennis Johnson, in a ceremony before the burial. The citations did not describe the incidents in which he earned them.
Davis said she had been told that he was in a "hostile environment" but did not know what happened.
"Either way, it doesn't make any difference to me," she said after the ceremony. "It's not going to bring my boy back. If it was friendly, it wasn't intentional."
Maryland's Forty-Fifth Hero
Army Staff Sgt. Heathe N. Craig, 28, of Severn, Md.; assigned to 159th Air Ambulance Medical Company, Wiesbaden, Germany; died June 21 when his UH-60 helicopter hoist malfunctioned while attempting to evacuate Pfc. Brian J. Bradbury during combat operations in the vicinity of Naray, Afghanistan. Also killed was Pfc. Brian J. Bradbury.
HE DIED ATTEMPTING TO SAVE ANOTHER
As a combat medic, Staff Sgt. Heathe N. Craig understood that, sometimes, saving people means risking your own life.
Sometimes, the risk doesn’t pay off.
Craig, a member of the 159th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) based in Wiesbaden, Germany, and another soldier died the night of June 21 during a rescue mission near Naray, Afghanistan.
The night started off peacefully enough.
Craig had just gotten done chatting with his wife and playing peek-a-boo with his 1-year-old daughter, Leona, over a Web camera when the call came. Three 10th Mountain Division soldiers were critically wounded in a firefight near Naray.
“He always had missions that came up,” Craig’s wife, Judy Craig, said. “And that’s what happened. A mission came up, and he was ready.” The couple also have a 4-year-old son, Jonas.
Craig’s dustoff crew had been called to rescue the wounded. By the time Craig and his air ambulance arrived at the pickup point, one of the soldiers already was dead.
It was past dark at takeoff, and the terrain where they were headed made it impossible for the Black Hawk rescue helicopter to land.
That meant Craig would have to be lowered into the combat zone by a hoist. It was one of his least favorite things to do, said Capt. Angela Wagner, the rear detachment commander for the 159th Medical Company.
The battlefield still wasn’t secure, but Craig plunged in anyway. He secured the first soldier and got him safely into the hovering ambulance. That troop would make it out of Afghanistan alive.
But as Craig and the second patient were being lifted in the helicopter, the hoist malfunctioned.
“On the second try, I lost him,” Sgt. James Ramey, the helicopter’s crew chief, said in a letter that was read at Craig’s memorial ceremony Thursday.
Craig and the soldier he was rescuing, Pfc. Brian J. Bradbury, both died. Craig grew up in Virginia. Bradbury was from Saint Joseph, Mo.
“He gave his life saving another,” Wagner said.
Sgt. Krendra Jackson, one of Craig’s close friends, couldn’t keep herself from crying as she talked about her fallen comrade during the memorial service at Wiesbaden Army Airfield’s chapel.
She told how Craig, even after back surgery, would work tirelessly, laboring beyond his body’s limits, afraid that he might come off as a slacker. Jackson remembers telling him to take it easy. “He would look at me with those blue eyes and say, ‘My name’s not worthless.’”
Few in attendance could hold back their tears as Jackson recounted her friendship with Craig. “Judy, you once told us we acted like brother and sister. He was my brother,” she said. “He was our brother.”
HE DIED ATTEMPTING TO SAVE ANOTHER
As a combat medic, Staff Sgt. Heathe N. Craig understood that, sometimes, saving people means risking your own life.
Sometimes, the risk doesn’t pay off.
Craig, a member of the 159th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) based in Wiesbaden, Germany, and another soldier died the night of June 21 during a rescue mission near Naray, Afghanistan.
The night started off peacefully enough.
Craig had just gotten done chatting with his wife and playing peek-a-boo with his 1-year-old daughter, Leona, over a Web camera when the call came. Three 10th Mountain Division soldiers were critically wounded in a firefight near Naray.
“He always had missions that came up,” Craig’s wife, Judy Craig, said. “And that’s what happened. A mission came up, and he was ready.” The couple also have a 4-year-old son, Jonas.
Craig’s dustoff crew had been called to rescue the wounded. By the time Craig and his air ambulance arrived at the pickup point, one of the soldiers already was dead.
It was past dark at takeoff, and the terrain where they were headed made it impossible for the Black Hawk rescue helicopter to land.
That meant Craig would have to be lowered into the combat zone by a hoist. It was one of his least favorite things to do, said Capt. Angela Wagner, the rear detachment commander for the 159th Medical Company.
The battlefield still wasn’t secure, but Craig plunged in anyway. He secured the first soldier and got him safely into the hovering ambulance. That troop would make it out of Afghanistan alive.
But as Craig and the second patient were being lifted in the helicopter, the hoist malfunctioned.
“On the second try, I lost him,” Sgt. James Ramey, the helicopter’s crew chief, said in a letter that was read at Craig’s memorial ceremony Thursday.
Craig and the soldier he was rescuing, Pfc. Brian J. Bradbury, both died. Craig grew up in Virginia. Bradbury was from Saint Joseph, Mo.
“He gave his life saving another,” Wagner said.
Sgt. Krendra Jackson, one of Craig’s close friends, couldn’t keep herself from crying as she talked about her fallen comrade during the memorial service at Wiesbaden Army Airfield’s chapel.
She told how Craig, even after back surgery, would work tirelessly, laboring beyond his body’s limits, afraid that he might come off as a slacker. Jackson remembers telling him to take it easy. “He would look at me with those blue eyes and say, ‘My name’s not worthless.’”
Few in attendance could hold back their tears as Jackson recounted her friendship with Craig. “Judy, you once told us we acted like brother and sister. He was my brother,” she said. “He was our brother.”
Friday, July 13, 2007
Maryland's Forty-Fourth Hero
Army 1st Lt. Robert A. Seidel III, 23, of Emmitsburg, MD.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died May 18 of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Baghdad. Also killed were Lt. Col. Daniel E. Holland, Sgt. Lonnie C. Allen Jr. and Pfc. Nicholas R. Cournoyer.
HE LOVED HIS PLATOON MOST OF ALL
Through the glass front door, Sandy Seidel could see the uniformed Army officer who had come to deliver the news, and she thought for a fleeting moment that maybe, if she didn't answer, the man would go away.
"But I knew what it was," she said, as the memory of that moment brought back tears yesterday. For the mother of a son serving in Iraq, "it's your nightmare."
"You always know it's a possibility, but you hope it won't happen," Mr. Seidel said of the death of his son, who had last spoken with his parents on Mother's Day.
"He said he loved us, and he couldn't let Mother's Day go by without calling," Mrs. Seidel said of the 15-minute call. "He was ready to get back home, but he was upbeat and in good spirits."
"He was a great kid," Mrs. Seidel said. "He loved the Lord. He loved his family. He loved his friends. And he loved his platoon. That was the most important thing for him."
His father added: "He believed in the mission in Iraq."
Stephen Seidel, 20, said he had braced himself for the possibility that his brother could die while serving in the war, but he hadn't imagined how he would feel if that day ever came.
"You work yourself up for this, but you don't expect it to happen," he said. "It rips your heart right out of your chest. I'm never going to see him again, and that's the hardest part of this."
He said his brother was a true-blue friend with an unfailing sense of humor and a knack for lightening serious moments.
"The first minute you met him, he'd have you laughing," the younger brother said. "Way back when we were really young, we'd go up to our grandma's attic and get into my uncle's old military uniforms. We'd go out into the woods and play Army. He loved that."
HE LOVED HIS PLATOON MOST OF ALL
Through the glass front door, Sandy Seidel could see the uniformed Army officer who had come to deliver the news, and she thought for a fleeting moment that maybe, if she didn't answer, the man would go away.
"But I knew what it was," she said, as the memory of that moment brought back tears yesterday. For the mother of a son serving in Iraq, "it's your nightmare."
"You always know it's a possibility, but you hope it won't happen," Mr. Seidel said of the death of his son, who had last spoken with his parents on Mother's Day.
"He said he loved us, and he couldn't let Mother's Day go by without calling," Mrs. Seidel said of the 15-minute call. "He was ready to get back home, but he was upbeat and in good spirits."
"He was a great kid," Mrs. Seidel said. "He loved the Lord. He loved his family. He loved his friends. And he loved his platoon. That was the most important thing for him."
His father added: "He believed in the mission in Iraq."
Stephen Seidel, 20, said he had braced himself for the possibility that his brother could die while serving in the war, but he hadn't imagined how he would feel if that day ever came.
"You work yourself up for this, but you don't expect it to happen," he said. "It rips your heart right out of your chest. I'm never going to see him again, and that's the hardest part of this."
He said his brother was a true-blue friend with an unfailing sense of humor and a knack for lightening serious moments.
"The first minute you met him, he'd have you laughing," the younger brother said. "Way back when we were really young, we'd go up to our grandma's attic and get into my uncle's old military uniforms. We'd go out into the woods and play Army. He loved that."
Maryland's Forty-Third Hero
Army Staff Sgt. Marion Flint Jr., 29, of Baltimore, Md.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, Fort Carson, Colo.; killed May 15 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat patrol operations in Baghdad. Also killed was Pfc. Grant A. Dampier.
HIS MOTHER GIVES A WITNESS
"This day has finally arrived. It seems like yesterday that I got the news about you. This is a hard day for me. Bugg, you will always be in my heart. One year ago, who would know that htis would happen? It had to have been God's plan for you, son. He was tired of seeing you troubled, worried from day to day about which way things would play out, so He said,"Come home and be with the Father." I knw you're looking down on us and smiling. You're my hero. I love you, Bugg, and I miss you so much, but everything happens for a reason. I know the Lord has you. Just look for me. We will see each other again some day. I love you, Bugg. My HERO, Marion Flint, Jr."
HIS MOTHER GIVES A WITNESS
"This day has finally arrived. It seems like yesterday that I got the news about you. This is a hard day for me. Bugg, you will always be in my heart. One year ago, who would know that htis would happen? It had to have been God's plan for you, son. He was tired of seeing you troubled, worried from day to day about which way things would play out, so He said,"Come home and be with the Father." I knw you're looking down on us and smiling. You're my hero. I love you, Bugg, and I miss you so much, but everything happens for a reason. I know the Lord has you. Just look for me. We will see each other again some day. I love you, Bugg. My HERO, Marion Flint, Jr."
Maryland's Forty-Second Hero
Army Spc. Armer N. Burkart, 26, of Rockville, Md.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.; died May 11of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat patrol operations in Baghdad.
HE THOUGHT THE ODDS WERE ON HIS SIDE
Army Specialist Armer Burkart often told his father that despite the dangers in Iraq, the chances of becoming a casualty seemed low considering how many soldiers are stationed there.
Even so, he thought serving his country far outweighed the risks.
"He knew it was dangerous," said his father, John Burkart.... "He was proud to be there."
His father, John Burkart of Mount Dora, Florida, said Armer wanted to be in the Army since he joined the ROTC program at Magruder High School in Derwood in Montgomery County. While in high school, he played the saxophone with the marching band.
"Both of his grandfathers were in the Navy," Burkart recalled during a phone interview Monday. "He was familiar with service life."
Before serving in Iraq, Armer Burkart served in Afghanistan from August 2003 to April 2004, according to Fort Drum officials, who said he enlisted in July of 2000.
Regardless of the sacrifices, John said his son always loved the Army and was willing to give up everything, including a full ROTC scholarship to Lehigh University, to be in the Army.
"He was a great guy, he was proud to be in the Army," his father recalled. "He volunteered for combat ... he had a nice safe position which he chose to give up."
HE THOUGHT THE ODDS WERE ON HIS SIDE
Army Specialist Armer Burkart often told his father that despite the dangers in Iraq, the chances of becoming a casualty seemed low considering how many soldiers are stationed there.
Even so, he thought serving his country far outweighed the risks.
"He knew it was dangerous," said his father, John Burkart.... "He was proud to be there."
His father, John Burkart of Mount Dora, Florida, said Armer wanted to be in the Army since he joined the ROTC program at Magruder High School in Derwood in Montgomery County. While in high school, he played the saxophone with the marching band.
"Both of his grandfathers were in the Navy," Burkart recalled during a phone interview Monday. "He was familiar with service life."
Before serving in Iraq, Armer Burkart served in Afghanistan from August 2003 to April 2004, according to Fort Drum officials, who said he enlisted in July of 2000.
Regardless of the sacrifices, John said his son always loved the Army and was willing to give up everything, including a full ROTC scholarship to Lehigh University, to be in the Army.
"He was a great guy, he was proud to be in the Army," his father recalled. "He volunteered for combat ... he had a nice safe position which he chose to give up."
Maryland's Forty-First Hero
Marine Sgt. Alessandro Carbonaro, 28, of Bethesda, Md.; assigned to the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died May 10 at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, from wounds received May 1 while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Anbar province, Iraq.
HIS DOCTORS PLANTED A TREE IN HIS MEMORY
Marine Sgt. Alessandro Carbonaro of Bethesda, who died Wednesday from injuries received while fighting in Iraq, made a great impression on all who met him and was an extremely honest and dedicated man, his father said Thursday.
“I never saw him so dedicated” after joining the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C., Fulvio Carbonaro said of his son.
Sgt. Carbonaro, 28, died of injuries he sustained May 1 while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in the Anbar province of Iraq, according to the Department of Defense. An IED exploded near a Humvee he was driving, Fulvio Carbonaro said Thursday by phone from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where Fulvio and Gilda Carbonaro went to see their son after he was wounded.
Alessandro Carbonaro graduated from Sandy Spring High School in 1997. He enjoyed ice hockey and playing music. He and several friends were in a band that played local shows before he deployed.
He joined the Marines after the 2001 terrorist attacks, his father said.
This was Sgt. Carbonaro’s second tour of duty in Iraq. On his first tour, Alessandro was injured in Fallujah and received a Purple Heart. He returned to Iraq in March.
His family said the Marine was totally committed to serving his country and the war effort. “He only had his job to do and that’s all that really mattered,” his father said.
Fulvio Carbonaro said doctors at the hospital were deeply moved by Alessandro and are planting a tree in a park near the hospital in his memory.
Through tears, Fulvio said, “Regardless of how people feel, everybody is totally dedicated ... to the people in uniform who sacrifice themselves.”
Alessandro Carbonaro is also survived by his wife, Gilda.
HIS DOCTORS PLANTED A TREE IN HIS MEMORY
Marine Sgt. Alessandro Carbonaro of Bethesda, who died Wednesday from injuries received while fighting in Iraq, made a great impression on all who met him and was an extremely honest and dedicated man, his father said Thursday.
“I never saw him so dedicated” after joining the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C., Fulvio Carbonaro said of his son.
Sgt. Carbonaro, 28, died of injuries he sustained May 1 while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in the Anbar province of Iraq, according to the Department of Defense. An IED exploded near a Humvee he was driving, Fulvio Carbonaro said Thursday by phone from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where Fulvio and Gilda Carbonaro went to see their son after he was wounded.
Alessandro Carbonaro graduated from Sandy Spring High School in 1997. He enjoyed ice hockey and playing music. He and several friends were in a band that played local shows before he deployed.
He joined the Marines after the 2001 terrorist attacks, his father said.
This was Sgt. Carbonaro’s second tour of duty in Iraq. On his first tour, Alessandro was injured in Fallujah and received a Purple Heart. He returned to Iraq in March.
His family said the Marine was totally committed to serving his country and the war effort. “He only had his job to do and that’s all that really mattered,” his father said.
Fulvio Carbonaro said doctors at the hospital were deeply moved by Alessandro and are planting a tree in a park near the hospital in his memory.
Through tears, Fulvio said, “Regardless of how people feel, everybody is totally dedicated ... to the people in uniform who sacrifice themselves.”
Alessandro Carbonaro is also survived by his wife, Gilda.
Maryland's Fortieth Hero
Army Staff Sgt. Robert Hernandez, 47, of Silver Spring, Md.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 318th Regiment, 1st Brigade, 80th Division (Institutional Training), Army Reserve, Fort Meade, Md.; killed March 28 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Taquaddum, Iraq.
HE WAS A RESPECTED AND BELOVED POLICE OFFICER
A Prince George’s County police officer was killed by an explosive device Tuesday in Iraq, authorities said.
Cpl. Robert Hernandez, a 10-year veteran of the police department, was traveling in a convoy at the time of the blast, police said. He had been stationed in Iraq since summer as a staff sergeant in the Army Reserves.
Further details of his death were not immediately available.
“I’m heartbroken by this loss,” County Executive Jack Johnson said in a statement Wednesday. “It is a tragic loss for our county and the nation.”
Chief Melvin High said the department was hit hard.
“As a police chief, this is an emotional time for me,” High said. “We are a close-knit family.”
Hernandez, 48, who previously worked as an officer in Washington, D.C.; Baltimore and Puerto Rico, was remembered as a hardworking man who won the respect of his fellow officers.
Hernandez joined Prince George’s County police partly because he thought the department needed more Spanish-speaking officers, said Assistant Police Chief Roberto Hylton, who helped recruit him.
He spent his first six years on the force working in the Hyattsville area, which has the county’s highest concentration of Spanish-speaking residents. He also mentored children at an elementary school, said Sgt. Robert Connell Sr., who supervised him for two years.
In 2000, his squad won a citation for organizing care packages for victims of hunger in Mozambique.
Hernandez also was praised for his work as a field training officer, in which he helped new officers graduating from the police academy.
“Those officers have since gone on to become productive members of this department and valued members of this community, and that was a direct result of the lessons they learned from Cpl. Hernandez,” said Maj. Michael Blow.
Officer Kevin Sparks, who was trained by Hernandez, said the 24-year military veteran wanted to go to Iraq and was frustrated that he was not deployed sooner. If anyone could handle himself there, Sparks said, it was Hernandez.
“He always emphasized safety,” Sparks said. “He always said, ‘I want to make sure everyone goes home.”’
Hernandez is survived by his fiancee and three children, ages 8, 18 and 21. One of his sons is also in the Army Reserve, police said. His parents and other relatives live in Puerto Rico.
HE WAS A RESPECTED AND BELOVED POLICE OFFICER
A Prince George’s County police officer was killed by an explosive device Tuesday in Iraq, authorities said.
Cpl. Robert Hernandez, a 10-year veteran of the police department, was traveling in a convoy at the time of the blast, police said. He had been stationed in Iraq since summer as a staff sergeant in the Army Reserves.
Further details of his death were not immediately available.
“I’m heartbroken by this loss,” County Executive Jack Johnson said in a statement Wednesday. “It is a tragic loss for our county and the nation.”
Chief Melvin High said the department was hit hard.
“As a police chief, this is an emotional time for me,” High said. “We are a close-knit family.”
Hernandez, 48, who previously worked as an officer in Washington, D.C.; Baltimore and Puerto Rico, was remembered as a hardworking man who won the respect of his fellow officers.
Hernandez joined Prince George’s County police partly because he thought the department needed more Spanish-speaking officers, said Assistant Police Chief Roberto Hylton, who helped recruit him.
He spent his first six years on the force working in the Hyattsville area, which has the county’s highest concentration of Spanish-speaking residents. He also mentored children at an elementary school, said Sgt. Robert Connell Sr., who supervised him for two years.
In 2000, his squad won a citation for organizing care packages for victims of hunger in Mozambique.
Hernandez also was praised for his work as a field training officer, in which he helped new officers graduating from the police academy.
“Those officers have since gone on to become productive members of this department and valued members of this community, and that was a direct result of the lessons they learned from Cpl. Hernandez,” said Maj. Michael Blow.
Officer Kevin Sparks, who was trained by Hernandez, said the 24-year military veteran wanted to go to Iraq and was frustrated that he was not deployed sooner. If anyone could handle himself there, Sparks said, it was Hernandez.
“He always emphasized safety,” Sparks said. “He always said, ‘I want to make sure everyone goes home.”’
Hernandez is survived by his fiancee and three children, ages 8, 18 and 21. One of his sons is also in the Army Reserve, police said. His parents and other relatives live in Puerto Rico.
Maryland's Thirty-Nineth Hero
Army Pfc. Amy A. Duerksen, 19, of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.; assigned to the 4th Combat Support Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died March 11 from a non-combat-related injury in Baghdad.
SHE JOINED IN THE HOPES OF ATTENDING COLLEGE
Pfc. Amy Duerksen grew up an Army brat, the third generation of a military family. But she never really expressed an interest in joining the military herself, until she started looking into financial aid for college.
“She didn’t know where she wanted to go or what she wanted to major in,” her father, Maj. Douglas W. Duerksen, an Army chaplain at Aberdeen Proving Ground, said Wednesday.
A funeral for Amy Duerksen was held March 17. About 200 people attended the service at a church in Temple, Texas. Although her Army family moved around a lot, they lived mostly in Texas and Germany, Maj. Duerksen said.
“The two themes of freedom and justice were colossal for her,” the Rev. Shannon Soard said at the funeral.
Soard said Duerksen “had a kindness and gentleness for people that caused you to warm to her quickly. Warm smiles, encouraging words and affectionate hugs were the order of the day with Amy. She loved people, and they knew it.”
The Department of Defense has not released details of the incident that led to Amy Duerksen’s death, and her father said the Army has not given the family any more information.
“It doesn’t matter much at this point,” Douglas Duerksen said. “We’re focusing on the future rather than what happened in the past. We’re just thankful we know where she is.”
SHE JOINED IN THE HOPES OF ATTENDING COLLEGE
Pfc. Amy Duerksen grew up an Army brat, the third generation of a military family. But she never really expressed an interest in joining the military herself, until she started looking into financial aid for college.
“She didn’t know where she wanted to go or what she wanted to major in,” her father, Maj. Douglas W. Duerksen, an Army chaplain at Aberdeen Proving Ground, said Wednesday.
A funeral for Amy Duerksen was held March 17. About 200 people attended the service at a church in Temple, Texas. Although her Army family moved around a lot, they lived mostly in Texas and Germany, Maj. Duerksen said.
“The two themes of freedom and justice were colossal for her,” the Rev. Shannon Soard said at the funeral.
Soard said Duerksen “had a kindness and gentleness for people that caused you to warm to her quickly. Warm smiles, encouraging words and affectionate hugs were the order of the day with Amy. She loved people, and they knew it.”
The Department of Defense has not released details of the incident that led to Amy Duerksen’s death, and her father said the Army has not given the family any more information.
“It doesn’t matter much at this point,” Douglas Duerksen said. “We’re focusing on the future rather than what happened in the past. We’re just thankful we know where she is.”
Maryland's Thirty-Eighth Hero
Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, 20, of Finksburg, Md.; assigned to Combat Service Support Group 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; died March 3 from a non-combat-related vehicle accident in Anbar province, Iraq.
HE HAD AN UNWAVERING SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY
Julie Snyder, Matthew’s mother, was too saddened to talk, but she allowed her sister, Cathy Menefee, to speak for the family. She [spoke of] of his keen sense of humor and an unwavering sense of responsibility, which culminated in his decision to join the military.
“It’s sounds so cliche, but he died doing what he wanted to do,” Menefee said. “He always wanted to be a Marine.”
He was the middle of three children, with sisters Sarah Snyder, 22, of Hanover, Pa., and Tracie Snyder, 18, who lives with their father in York, Pa.
Reached by telephone at his home Monday night, Albert Snyder wept.
“I just want it to be over,” the father told the newspaper. “And I want answers. They said he was the gunnery on top of the Humvee and the Humvee rolled. When is this senseless war going to end?”
HE HAD AN UNWAVERING SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY
Julie Snyder, Matthew’s mother, was too saddened to talk, but she allowed her sister, Cathy Menefee, to speak for the family. She [spoke of] of his keen sense of humor and an unwavering sense of responsibility, which culminated in his decision to join the military.
“It’s sounds so cliche, but he died doing what he wanted to do,” Menefee said. “He always wanted to be a Marine.”
He was the middle of three children, with sisters Sarah Snyder, 22, of Hanover, Pa., and Tracie Snyder, 18, who lives with their father in York, Pa.
Reached by telephone at his home Monday night, Albert Snyder wept.
“I just want it to be over,” the father told the newspaper. “And I want answers. They said he was the gunnery on top of the Humvee and the Humvee rolled. When is this senseless war going to end?”
Maryland's Thirty-Seventh Hero
Marine Cpl. Justin J. Watts, 20, of Crownsville, Md.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; attached to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Jan. 14 of an apparently non-hostile gunshot wound in Haditha, Iraq.
HE DIED ONE OF THREE WAYS: MURDER, SUICIDE, OR FRIENDLY FIRE
[Watts] joined the Marine Corps on Sept. 15, 2003, and had earned several honors, including the Combat Action Ribbon, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.
[He] died in Iraq during the weekend of "apparent non-hostile gunshot wounds," according to statements from his family, the Pentagon and the U.S. Central Command.
Cpl. Justin J. Watts, 20, was found dead Saturday at Forward Operating Base Haditha Dam in Iraq. It was his second tour there, according to his family. The military declined to release any further details about the circumstances of his death.
At the Watts home in Crownsville, a small American flag was stuck in a potted plant by the doorway, adorned with a yellow ribbon. Five trucks crowded the driveway -- many had yellow "support our troops" magnets stuck to the bumpers.
In a written statement handed out by a woman who answered the door, the family said that their son was "serving his country proudly in Iraq at the time of his death."
The statement goes on to say that the family is "extremely proud of Justin and will miss him dearly."
Watts was responsible and well-liked by other kids and adults, said Old Mill High School special education teacher Steve Spence, who coached Watts on the lacrosse team when he was a sophomore.
"Justin was a real respectful young man," Spence said. "He worked real hard and was a real physically fit kid, too."
Even after Watts stopped playing lacrosse, Spence said Watts would always come up and say hello to him at games and in school.
Watts became close with his high school weight training teacher, Jim Grim, who taught him for two years. Grim said Watts was a dedicated person who was always happy.
Grim fondly recalled helping Watts train for a school program called Power Club, in which a student must lift 900 total pounds in three different types of lifts.
"Justin was a very strong kid. Not very many people could lift that much," Grim said.
Laura Zlatos, whose son John played lacrosse with Watts at Old Mill High School, said her son joined about 18 of Watts' high school friends who gathered to console one another Saturday night after they learned Watts had died. The group was "devastated," she said.
Zlatos noted that Watts had been home over Christmas and had reconnected with his school buddies then.
"It's really ... it is really just difficult for the kids," Zlatos said. "They saw someone so recently, and suddenly [he's] just gone.
"They just don't understand how things like this happen. ... The whole world just collapsed a little bit on them," Zlatos said.
John Pike, director of globalsecurity.org, said the military's preliminary description of Watts' death indicates he died in one of three ways: murder, suicide or friendly fire.
"It would be the same as any criminal investigation," Pike said.
HE DIED ONE OF THREE WAYS: MURDER, SUICIDE, OR FRIENDLY FIRE
[Watts] joined the Marine Corps on Sept. 15, 2003, and had earned several honors, including the Combat Action Ribbon, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.
[He] died in Iraq during the weekend of "apparent non-hostile gunshot wounds," according to statements from his family, the Pentagon and the U.S. Central Command.
Cpl. Justin J. Watts, 20, was found dead Saturday at Forward Operating Base Haditha Dam in Iraq. It was his second tour there, according to his family. The military declined to release any further details about the circumstances of his death.
At the Watts home in Crownsville, a small American flag was stuck in a potted plant by the doorway, adorned with a yellow ribbon. Five trucks crowded the driveway -- many had yellow "support our troops" magnets stuck to the bumpers.
In a written statement handed out by a woman who answered the door, the family said that their son was "serving his country proudly in Iraq at the time of his death."
The statement goes on to say that the family is "extremely proud of Justin and will miss him dearly."
Watts was responsible and well-liked by other kids and adults, said Old Mill High School special education teacher Steve Spence, who coached Watts on the lacrosse team when he was a sophomore.
"Justin was a real respectful young man," Spence said. "He worked real hard and was a real physically fit kid, too."
Even after Watts stopped playing lacrosse, Spence said Watts would always come up and say hello to him at games and in school.
Watts became close with his high school weight training teacher, Jim Grim, who taught him for two years. Grim said Watts was a dedicated person who was always happy.
Grim fondly recalled helping Watts train for a school program called Power Club, in which a student must lift 900 total pounds in three different types of lifts.
"Justin was a very strong kid. Not very many people could lift that much," Grim said.
Laura Zlatos, whose son John played lacrosse with Watts at Old Mill High School, said her son joined about 18 of Watts' high school friends who gathered to console one another Saturday night after they learned Watts had died. The group was "devastated," she said.
Zlatos noted that Watts had been home over Christmas and had reconnected with his school buddies then.
"It's really ... it is really just difficult for the kids," Zlatos said. "They saw someone so recently, and suddenly [he's] just gone.
"They just don't understand how things like this happen. ... The whole world just collapsed a little bit on them," Zlatos said.
John Pike, director of globalsecurity.org, said the military's preliminary description of Watts' death indicates he died in one of three ways: murder, suicide or friendly fire.
"It would be the same as any criminal investigation," Pike said.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Maryland's Thirty-Sixth Hero
Army Sgt. Michael J. McMullen, 25, of Salisbury, Md.; assigned to the 243rd Engineer Company, Maryland Army National Guard, Baltimore; died Jan. 10 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., of injuries sustained Dec. 24 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his position in Ramadi, Iraq.
HE TOUCHED SO MANY PEOPLE
Several hundred mourners, including a soldier who Sgt. Michael J. McMullen helped rescue in Iraq, paid their respects Thursday to the soldier and firefighter who died of wounds suffered in combat.
McMullen, 25, who worked as a paramedic in Salisbury for the fire department, was wounded Christmas Eve while caring for Sgt. Randal Divel, who had been injured in an earlier attack. McMullen died Jan. 10 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington from injuries suffered near Ramadi when a homemade explosive device went off near his unit, the Baltimore-based 243rd Engineering Company.
James Gladwell, captain at the Salisbury Fire Department and McMullen’s friend, said his loss leaves a void.
“He touched so many people in such a short time. He may have been struck down, but he was doing what he did best,” Gladwell said. “The world was a better place with him in it.”
HE TOUCHED SO MANY PEOPLE
Several hundred mourners, including a soldier who Sgt. Michael J. McMullen helped rescue in Iraq, paid their respects Thursday to the soldier and firefighter who died of wounds suffered in combat.
McMullen, 25, who worked as a paramedic in Salisbury for the fire department, was wounded Christmas Eve while caring for Sgt. Randal Divel, who had been injured in an earlier attack. McMullen died Jan. 10 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington from injuries suffered near Ramadi when a homemade explosive device went off near his unit, the Baltimore-based 243rd Engineering Company.
James Gladwell, captain at the Salisbury Fire Department and McMullen’s friend, said his loss leaves a void.
“He touched so many people in such a short time. He may have been struck down, but he was doing what he did best,” Gladwell said. “The world was a better place with him in it.”
Maryland's Thirty-Fifth Hero
Marine Cpl. Joshua D. Snyder, 20, of Hampstead, Md.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Nov. 30 of wounds sustained from small-arms fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Fallujah, Iraq.
HE WAS ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP
A 2002 graduate of Hereford High School in northern Baltimore County, Snyder was the second alumnus of the school to die in Iraq in five weeks, said Steve Turnbaugh, the football coach at Hereford.
Snyder, who played football, was a teammate of Marine Lance Cpl. Norman Anderson III, of Parkton, who died Oct. 19 from a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Karabilah, Iraq. The men had been roommates at boot camp.
“It’s been very tough on the guys that he graduated with. We have a very close-knit football family, and it’s been hard on the football players, both past and present,” Turnbaugh said.
Turnbaugh recalled that Snyder had been injured for most of his senior year on the team and took on the role of a student coach.
“He was always willing to help anybody do anything,” Turnbaugh said.
HE WAS ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP
A 2002 graduate of Hereford High School in northern Baltimore County, Snyder was the second alumnus of the school to die in Iraq in five weeks, said Steve Turnbaugh, the football coach at Hereford.
Snyder, who played football, was a teammate of Marine Lance Cpl. Norman Anderson III, of Parkton, who died Oct. 19 from a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Karabilah, Iraq. The men had been roommates at boot camp.
“It’s been very tough on the guys that he graduated with. We have a very close-knit football family, and it’s been hard on the football players, both past and present,” Turnbaugh said.
Turnbaugh recalled that Snyder had been injured for most of his senior year on the team and took on the role of a student coach.
“He was always willing to help anybody do anything,” Turnbaugh said.
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