Airborne Combat Engineer

No gravestone marker for Wiccan soldier

[LINK] CBS News

Nevada officials are pressing the Department of Veteran Affairs to allow the family of a soldier killed in Afghanistan to place a Wiccan symbol on his headstone.

Federal officials so far have refused to grant the requests of the family of Sgt. Patrick Stewart, 34, who was killed in Afghanistan last September when the Nevada Army National Guard helicopter he was in was shot down.

The Veterans Affairs' National Cemetery Administration allows only approved emblems of religious beliefs on government headstones.

2500 fatalities, 9989 wounded in action

[LINK] DoD pdf summary, as of 15 JUN 2006

1972 KIAs, 528 non-hostile (some % would have died even if stateside)

8501 WIA who didnt' return to duty within 72 hrs (ie, not a John Kerry type Purple Heart)

Higher % permanent disabilities among those who lived vs. previous wars (in which more would have died)

This is a high price to pay; but their sacrifice is paying off.

New Georgia National Cemetery dedicated

[LINK] Georgia National Cemetary

The new 775-acre national cemetery  in western Cherokee County, Ga. [at the northern edge of rapidly growing Metro Atlanta], will serve veterans for the next 50 years.

The property on which the future cemetery rests was donated by Scott Hudgens, the late Atlanta World War II veteran, land developer and philanthropist. The site lies midway between         Cartersville and Canton, near the Etowah River, offering views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Lake Allatoona.

Its 29K capacity ranks it in the top 5 among US national cemeteries.

50 names added to USASOC Memorial Wall

[LINK] USASOC

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, May 25, 2005)

Fifty Army Special Operations Soldiers, killed during combat operations while deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan were remembered today during a somber ceremony held by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, here.

The Memorial Wall originally listed Soldiers killed in action during combat in Vietnam, and was updated in the 1980s to include Soldiers who were missing in action or declared dead.  The wall was later expanded to include all Army Special Operations Soldiers killed in action from 1983 to the present.

The number has grown to 965.

About the USASOC

Casey Sheehan finally has a gravestone

[LINK] Philadelphia Inquirer
[LINK] Vaccaville, CA Reporter, 27 MAY 06

The good news is that Casey Sheehan's father, Patrick, has ... quietly arranged with a local monument company to erect a memorial. Wouldn't it be fitting if it were in place in time for Casey Sheehan's birthday, which this year once again falls on Memorial Day?

It is.

RIP, Casey.

Remember them

US military cemeteries overseas

US national cemeteries

President's words in earlier years

It's hard to believe it's necessary, but the President will sign a bill today which bans protests at military funerals, with a fine of 3-12 months jail time and up to $1K.

Possible name to go with the disgusting video

[LINK] Times Union

Last updated: 9:41 a.m., Wednesday, April 5, 2006

    Capt. Timothy Moshier, an Army helicopter pilot and Bethlehem native, was reported killed in a helicopter crash in the same area of Iraq on Saturday where Iraqi insurgents claim they seized the body of a U.S. pilot.

A video released by the extremist group calling itself the Shura Council of Mujahedeen claims to show the burning body of a U.S. pilot being dragged on the ground after the crash of an Apache helicopter.

   The Department of Defense has still not released Moshier's identity as one of the two pilots killed in that wreck, but family friends have confirmed that he was at the controls.

   Moshier, a West Point graduate, was 25.

Read Tuesday's story: Pilot from Bethlehem dies in Iraq

The Bastards! Gotta feel for the young man's parents, relatives, and friends, if the connection is verified.

We've seen this before. But, it's not going to scare us away this time. Is it?

Desmond T. Doss

Non-shooter {"conscientious cooperator"), medic, and Medal of Honor winner

[LINK] DTD story

Desmond T. Doss passed away on 23 MAR 2006.

He'll be burried tomorrow at the Chattanooga National Cemetary.

On July 4th, 2004, a statue of Mr. Doss was placed in the National Museum of Patriotism in Atlanta.

A section of Georgia Route 2 in NW Georgia (between GA 193 and GA 1/US 27, about 4 miles south of the TN line, south of Chattanooga) is designated Desmond Doss Parkway to honor him.

His obit in the Catoosa County News (Ringgold, GA), is in the continuation

This sounds like the scene in Forrest Gump:

On one occasion in Okinawa, he refused to take cover from enemy fire as he rescued approximately 75 wounded soldiers, carrying them one-by-one and lowering them over the edge of the 400-foot Maeda Escarpment. He did not stop until he had brought everyone to safety nearly 12 hours later.

I'd call that BRAVERY.

82nd pilot dies in Iraq chopper crash

FtBraggNC.com reports:

An 82nd Airborne Division soldier was among two Americans killed when their [Kiowa] helicopter was shot down Thursday night near Baghdad, Iraq.

It was the second tour in Iraq for Chief Warrant Officer Matt Lourey, 41, a helicopter pilot.

RIP, Sir, and thanks for serving! (Same to the other man lost -- don't know his name)

Saluting the short life of 1LT Tyler Hall Brown

2020Z FRI 17SEP04. Atlanta J-C.

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Tyler Hall Brown, senior class president at Woodward Academy and Class of 2001 student body president at Georgia Tech, was killed in action Tuesday with his battalion 70 miles west of Baghdad, Iraq. He was 26.

Like John Kerry, he loved politics and had already shown his ability to get elected in high school and college (there are about 4K students in a GT class now). Friends speculated he could have been president one day.

But, nobody will be besmearching his military record 35 years from now.

Thank you for serving, and RIP, Lt. Brown. We salute you.

Reminds me of that old chant we chanted so often while jogging:

"I wanna be an Airborne Ranger.
I want to live a life of danger."

It's more than a chant. It's reality.