Relatives of Ganjgal fallen want answers about accountability

After Medal of Honor award, relatives of Afghan battle casualties question handling of errors
By Associated Press, Updated: Sunday, September 18, 4:52 PM

WASHINGTON — Relatives of several U.S. troops killed during a 2009 Afghanistan battle that led to a Medal of Honor award last week are questioning whether some Army officers got off too easy for mistakes that led to the deaths of five American military personnel.

In interviews for CBS’ ”60 Minutes” on Sunday, the mother of a Marine and the wife of an Army sergeant killed in the September 2009 firefight in the Ganjgal Valley said reprimands given to two Army officers in an internal inquiry were not enough punishment. The inquiry concluded that poor pre-mission planning led to delays in adequate support fire against Taliban forces that had U.S. units pinned down.

Susan Price, the mother of Marine Gunnery Sgt. Aaron Kenefick, who died during the firefight, told CBS she was unhappy with official reprimands that followed a 2010 military inquiry into U.S. planning and decisions during the battle.

Charlene Westbrook, widow of Army Sgt. Kenneth Westbrook, who died from his wounds after the firefight, said mistakes made during the battle were caused by negligence. She also criticized the military’s follow-up.

“These letters of reprimand are just clearly slaps on the wrist,” Westbrook said. “These officers need to be court-martialed.”

read more here

MOH Cpl. Dakota Meyer wants fallen honored instead of himself

Families of Fallen to Gather at Graves for MoH Ceremony

September 14, 2011
Knight Ridder/Tribune|by Kurt Madar
FARMINGTON, N.M. -- Charlene Westbrook will be at her husband's grave Thursday in Shiprock when Marine Cpl. Dakota Meyer receives his Medal of Honor.

Meyer is being awarded the nation's highest military decoration for valor because of his actions during an ambush in Afghanistan that claimed the lives of five U.S. troops, including Charlene's husband, U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Westbrook.

"Dakota asked for the families of the men that fell that day to be at the grave sites of the fallen," Charlene said. "Dakota is receiving his medal on the behalf of my husband and the others that fell that day."

Meyer also requested that local veterans provide a flag line at each of the fallen troops' graves to coincide with the ceremony in Washington, D.C., where President Obama will present the medal.
The flag line, courtesy of the local chapter of the Patriot Guard Riders, is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Thursday, at the Shiprock veteran's cemetery.
read more here

"As if they guessed they might not see each other again"

The easy way to start this day of sadness would be to just find a few of the thousands of stories reflecting the anniversary of September 11, 2001. That horrible day caused ten years of war.

What started off with this

Number of 9-11 Deaths
At least 2,985 people died in the September 11, 2001, attacks, including:
19 terrorists
2,966 victims [2,998 as of Spring 2009]


All but 13 people died on that day. The remaining 13 later died of their wounds. One person has died since the attacks, of lung cancer. It is suspected to have been caused by all the debris from the Twin Towers.


There were 266 people on the four planes:
American Airlines Flight 11 (crashed into the WTC): 92 (including five terrorists)
United Airlines Flight 175 (crashed into the WTC): 65 (including five terrorists)
American Airlines Flight 77 (crashed into the Pentagon): 64 (including five terrorists)
United Flight 93 (downed in Shanksville, PA): 45 (including four terrorists)


There were 2,595 people in the World Trade Center and near it, including:
343 NYFD firefighters and paramedics
23 NYPD police officers
37 Port Authority police officers
1,402 people in Tower 1
614 people in Tower 2
658 people at one company, Cantor Fitzgerald
1,762 New York residents
674 New Jersey residents
1 NYFD firefighter killed by a man jumping off the top floors of the Twin Towers

The count is different depending on which site you go into but considering no matter what number we read, we'll never know the numbers for sure. The numbers do not include suicides due to this day. As sad as those numbers are, that dark day in our history was just the beginning.

iCasualties.org has the number of servicemen/women killed in Iraq at 4474 and in Afghanistan at 1762. Again, the true number will never really be known because suicides are not counted if they are died after they left the military. The VA doesn't count them unless they were in their system.

Everyday 18 veterans end their lives by their own hands. These men and women managed to have the will to live through combat but lost it back home when they were supposed to be safe once more and out of danger. Home to them became more dangerous than war.

Every American changed that day but for the men and women who answered the call of their country, the changes never stopped, the threats to their lives have not ended and their memories of that dark day have been added onto by 3,650 more days.

Considering a young soldier serving today was not even a teenager when the planes hit the Towers ten years ago, their memories of a nation living in peace have come from history books because their lives have been filled with the threat of more attacks.

Here is a story that should be read this morning so that we never forget that day in America has not ended.

Wounded in Iraq: A Marine's Story
SEP 6 2011
Five years after a gunshot changed his life, the author reflects on what a decade of war has cost Americans

Reuters
I cry whenever I think of a memorial service I attended in Iraq. From the back of the hot, packed room next to the chaplain's office, I looked down the center aisle and saw six sets of boots, rifles, helmets, and dog tags.

Six Americans had lost their lives defending their country. I had seen these Marines hug each other before heading out on patrol -- real hugs, as if they guessed they might not see each other again.

They had been in Iraq for a while and knew how dangerous every mission was.

Blood and treasure are the costs of war. However, many news articles today only address the treasure -- the ballooning defense budget and high-priced weapons systems. The blood is simply an afterthought. Forgotten is the price paid by our wounded warriors. Forgotten are the families torn apart by lengthy and multiple deployments. Forgotten are the relatives of those who make the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country. As we look back on 9/11, we should also remember all those who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Fewer than 1 percent of Americans have fought in these wars, and it is important for the public to understand their effects on our fighters and those close to them.

The attacks of September 11, 2001, ushered in a new era of reservist involvement, and like many others, I volunteered to deploy to Iraq. As a Civil Affairs Team Leader, I was entrusted to help local Iraqi communities develop critical infrastructure projects. Our focus on foot patrols, combined with the intense heat and carrying 65 pounds of weapons and gear, made for long days. The enemy threat was omnipresent, and this was a chance to truly lead from the front. Being a part of this unit was the highlight of my military career, and in my short time there I learned a lot about leadership and troop welfare.

October 18, 2006, started out like any day over there, at least as much as I can remember of it. We had a newspaper reporter with us, and he rode next to me in the up-armored humvee. We stopped to inspect an Iraqi police station that had been shot up the night before, and then to check on a squad of Marines who guarded a notoriously dangerous area.

As we exited the vehicle at our next stop, I told the reporter about an enemy sniper in the area who had already killed several Marines, and warned him to move quickly. Based on this advice, he took a big step forward, and a bullet smashed into the wall next to us right where his head had been. The next bullet hit me behind my left ear and exited out my mouth, causing catastrophic damage along the way. Somehow, from hundreds of yards away, the sniper had managed to shoot me in the thin sliver of exposed skin between my helmet and neck guard. Miraculously the bullet did not hit my brain or my spinal cord. It did, however, tear apart my mouth and face. Although I initially did not lose consciousness, I do not remember anything from the sniper attack, nor anything else from the next two weeks.

The Marines closest to me thought that I had been killed instantly, but that did not deter Corpsman George Grant. With complete disregard for his own life, Corpsman Grant ran over to me, even though the sniper was still trying to pick off other targets. George saved my life that day. He performed rescue breathing and an emergency tracheotomy on me, even under these chaotic conditions. Ultimately, he was able to stabilize me long enough to get me to the closest medical facility. The Battalion Commander also stared down death to help provide emergency medical care to me.

read more here

Bodies of 30 killed in Afghanistan return to Dover Air Force Base

Remains of troops come home shrouded in secrecy
Officials debate whether to release names of 30 troops killed in Chinook crash
By Pauline Jelinek - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Aug 9, 2011 12:43:54 EDT
WASHINGTON — Troops killed in the deadliest incident of the Afghan war came home Tuesday — traveling in death much the same way they did in life — shrouded in secrecy.

Two C-17 aircraft carrying the remains of 30 killed in a weekend helicopter crash arrived late in the morning at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the Pentagon said.

But three days after the downing of the aircraft by insurgents, Defense Department leaders were still debating whether to release their names, several senior officials said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
read more here
Remains of troops come home shrouded in secrecy

Forces in Afghanistan kill militants involved in downing of copter
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 10, 2011
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The IDs of the 30 U.S. service members killed will be released soon
The aircraft used in Monday's strike was the F-16, but it's not clear how many were involved
The airstrike killed a Taliban leader and the insurgent who fired on the copter, ISAF says
ISAF troops followed them into woods, called for strike; Taliban associates were also killed


Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Coalition forces in Afghanistan have killed the Taliban insurgents responsible for the downing of a helicopter that left 38 U.S. and Afghan personnel dead, the commander of U.S. forces there and NATO announced Wednesday.

A precision airstrike killed Mullah Mohibullah -- a Taliban leader -- and the insurgent who fired what's believed to be the rocket-propelled grenade that brought down the helicopter, according to Gen. John Allen, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Several of their Taliban associates were also killed, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said.
read more here

Fallen Marine's own words shared at funeral

Fallen Marine's own words shared at funeral
'I don't want anyone to be sad or cry over me,' wrote Farias.
By Scott Huddleston
shuddleston@express-news.net

NEW BRAUNFELS — More than 1,000 mourners who gathered for a final farewell for a man they called a “hometown military hero” sat in rapt silence as they heard the words that Lance Cpl. John Felix Farias had written, knowing he might not come home alive.

“Thank you for being here,” Chris Serna, Farias' longtime friend and classmate at Canyon High School, said Thursday, reading a letter the fallen Marine had penned before he died June 28 on combat operations in Afghanistan.

“I don't want anyone to be sad or cry over me,” wrote Farias, 20. “Tell my nieces and nephews to remember me.”

Although Farias made a passing reference in his letter about “inner demons” he'd fought before committing to Christianity, there were no reservations among mourners who celebrated his life during a nearly two-hour service at Tree of Life Church.


Read more: Fallen Marine's own words shared at funeral

Westboro Baptist to protest Marine's memorial

Westboro Baptist to protest Marine's memorial

Controversial church to be near Gaston service today.

By Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
cwootson@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Monday, Jun. 20, 2011

Members of a controversial church plan to protest today's memorial service of a 21-year-old Marine from Gastonia who was killed while serving in Afghanistan.

But friends of Lance Cpl. Nicholas O'Brien say they are making plans to drown out Westboro Baptist Church's message.

Those close to O'Brien say the protest threatens to sully the memory of a young man who turned down a baseball scholarship to serve his country.

But a spokesman for the Topeka, Kan.-based church said it is spreading God's word using a powerful platform and its First Amendment rights.

Read more: Westboro Baptist to protest Marine memorial

Marine succumbs to wounds after fifth tour of duty

Family, friends remember Marine from Clayton

By MARILYN PEGUERO
Published: June 18, 2011

The friends and family of 25-year-old Sgt. Mark Bradley, a Clayton Marine who was injured by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan and died Thursday, gathered in Kenly Saturday afternoon to celebrate his life.

Sgt. Mark Bradley was on his fifth tour of duty overseas, serving with the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Division based at Camp Lejeune, when he was injured.

read more here
Family, friends remember Marine from Clayton

Westboro hate group met by thousands of protectors at Marine's funeral

Westboro Baptist protest at Marine's funeral met by thousands of protectors
Church group draws counter-protest
5:46 AM, Jun. 14, 2011
Written by
Erin Quinn
The Tennessean

Bikers revved their engines. Thousands of protesters waved American flags.

On one side of the street, the signs read: “Nashville: No place for hate” and “God loves Sgt. Kevin Balduf.”

On the other side, they read: “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “God is your enemy.”

But beyond all that, inside the protective walls of a quiet church, lay a young man in Marine dress blues.

On May 12, Nashville native and Marine Sgt. Kevin Balduf, 27, was killed in combat in Afghanistan. Much closer to his home, Christian fundamentalists in Topeka, Kansas, planned their trip to protest his funeral.
read more here
Westboro Baptist protest at Marine's funeral



Raw footage from the protest and counterprotest: Protestors and counter-protesters stand near the funeral of Marine Sgt. Kevin Balduf.

Fallen Marine Selected For Navy Cross Heroism Medal

Local Family Proud Of Fallen Marine Selected For Navy Cross Heroism Medal
June 7, 2011 10:20 PM

SAN CLEMENTE (CBS) — His family is so proud. And rightly so.
They don’t have their son back — Marine Lance Corporal Donald Hogan didn’t return from war alive. But he was a hero nonetheless.

For his heroism he is being awarded the prestigious Navy Cross.

Hogan was killed in Afghanistan in 2009 by a buried roadside bomb. He was on his first tour of duty…there just three months.
read more here
Fallen Marine Selected For Navy Cross Heroism Medal

Plant City Marine killed in action 'wanted to be the best'

Plant City Marine killed in action 'wanted to be the best'

By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 30, 2011

TAMPA --
Ronald "Dougie" Freeman was an A student at Plant City High School, where he also took part in the ROTC program.

After graduating, he performed so well as a machinist that the company didn't want him to leave, his father said. When he did, he was told he could have his job back when he returned.

Freeman left to join the military. Always striving to be the best, he chose the Marine Corps, said his father, Douglas Freeman.

First, he had to slim down.

In high school, Freeman weighed 300 pounds. But he worked out, running up to eight miles a day to get down to the acceptable 200 pounds or so for his 6-foot-plus frame.

"It'd be raining, he'd still run," recalled his uncle, Bobby Freeman.

In Dougie Freeman's refrigerator, there was only grilled chicken and tuna.

He signed on in 2008.

On Thursday, just three weeks after arriving in Afghanistan for the first time – and nine days after the birth of the son he would never see – Freeman was killed by an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Helmand province. He was 25.

read more here

Plant City Marine killed in action

Veterans' families suit against Prudential advances

Veterans' families' suit against Prudential advances
Published: Thursday, April 28, 2011
By Stephanie Barry, The Republican

SPRINGFIELD – A lawsuit brought by 10 veterans’ families across the country who allege they were cheated by an insurance giant advanced in a federal court in Springfield on Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor, who is taking senior, or semi-retired status in August, set a schedule stretching into next year for lawyers for Prudential Insurance Company of America to recover documents dating back to the 1990s stating the policies for paying death benefits to families of fallen soldiers.

The lead plaintiff is Kevin Lucey, of Belchertown, father of a soldier who committed suicide in 2004 when he returned from Iraq. Lucey has been joined by others similarly situated across the nation.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs on Wednesday said that there are potentially 60,000 who may join in the suit to recoup $850 million they allege the insurance company misused by paying woefully low interest rates and holding back lump sum payouts in favor of investing the money.

“They’re investing it in anything they want, to do anything they want,” said plaintiffs’ lawyer, Daniel King, of Austin, Texas.

The lawsuit claims Prudential reaped more than $100 million by collecting 5.7 percent on interest on deferred policy payments while paying out only 1 percent to families.
read more here
Veterans' families' suit against Prudential advances

US Marine and His Dog Honored as Fallen Soldiers

US Marine and His Dog Honored as Fallen Soldiers

Written by
Ashleigh Messervy

Columbia, SC (WLTX)- Lance Corporal William H. Crouse and his bomb sniffing dog, Caine, were honored during the annual South Carolina Fallen Soldiers Ceremony and Luncheon on Wednesday.

"They were like two peas in a pod," said Nancy Siders, Crouse's mother. "[Caine] lovingly looked after Bill. There was an enormous bond between them."

Crouse and Caine were responsible for locating bombs during their tour in Afghanistan. On December 21, 2010 the two were killed by an Improvised Explosive Device.

Siders said not even a bomb could break the bond between the two.

"My son in the medevac asked for Caine to be with him. He assumed that Caine's life could be saved. They honored that. They put Caine with William."

Siders said the two came as a package, so if one went, the other one would followed.

"Together they served. Together they died. Together they live in Heaven."
read more here

US Marine and His Dog Honored as Fallen Soldiers

2 awarded Silver Stars for bravery in Afghanistan

Marine Lt. Col. Fridrik Fridriksson, assisted by Sgt. Maj. Scott Samuels, pins the Silver Star on Petty Officer 3rd Class Peter A. Gould during ceremonies at Camp Pendleton.


Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

2 awarded Silver Stars for bravery in Afghanistan
Tony Perry at Camp Pendleton
March 4, 2011

On two successive mornings in July, Joseph Gould woke up at 3 a.m. with an overwhelming need to pray for his son, a Navy corpsman deployed in Afghanistan. "I awoke and I felt like Peter was in trouble," he said.

On the third morning, also at 3 a.m., Joseph and Malissa Gould got a telephone call from their son, Petty Officer 3rd Class Peter A. Gould. The Marine Corps squad to which he was assigned had been ambushed by the Taliban in the Garmsir district of Helmand province.

Gould, 24, downplayed his injuries. "He said he only had a few cuts and scratches," his father remembers. He made no mention of his actions during the morning-long firefight in which the Marines were attacked from three directions by 35 to 40 Taliban fighters armed with machine guns, improvised explosive devices and other weapons.

The Marines from Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment who were with Gould during the fight later praised his heroism to the brass. On Friday, at a ceremony at Camp Pendleton, Gould was awarded a Silver Star for bravery as the squad medic on that brutal morning.

Within moments of the patrol being attacked, Gould ran through enemy fire to rescue a wounded Marine. As the battle continued, Gould was severely wounded by a shrapnel blast to his face and neck from a roadside bomb but he continued to administer aid to "my" Marines.
"His inspirational actions and mental toughness under intense enemy fire led directly to saving at least one Marine’s life that day," according to the Silver Star citation read to a gathering of Marines, family members and friends at a parade deck.

A second Silver Star also was awarded Friday to the family of Marine Cpl. Larry Harris Jr.

During the same attack, Harris was attempting to carry a Marine to safety when he stepped on a roadside bomb. Harris, a fire team leader, died instantly but the Marine that he was carrying survived.
read more here
2 awarded Silver Stars for bravery in Afghanistan

Florida marine killed in combat in Afghanistan

Florida marine killed in combat in Afghanistan

The Associated Press
12:15 p.m. EST, February 24, 2011



CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) — Military officials say a Marine based at Camp Lejeune has died in combat in Afghanistan.

The Defense Department says 23-year-old Cpl. Johnathan W. Taylor of Homosassa, Fla., died Tuesday in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Taylor had been assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune.
Florida marine killed in combat in Afghanistan

Lance Cpl. Andrew Carpenter Taken Off Life Support After Being Shot

Killed Marine's Dad Says Son Was Apprehensive
Andrew Carpenter Taken Off Life Support After Being Shot
Reported By Deanna Lambert
In August, Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew Carpenter wrote his parents a letter thanking them for being great parents and for giving him all they did. Now, his parents think it might have been his goodbye letter.

"(I) wanted to send a thank you for not just for the packages I receive but also for everything you have done for me," Cindy Carpenter read from her son's letter.
Andrew Carpenter was taken off life support Saturday after he was recently shot in the neck on patrol in the Helmand province, according to the Department of Defense.
On Valentine's Day, Cindy and Kevin Carpenter got the phone call they never hoped to get.
"He said that my son had been seriously wounded in Afghanistan, and he started to read an incident report, and I said, 'Well, is he alive or is he dead?'" said Kevin.
Andrew was brain dead.
"We wanted to hold him, touch him. That's the one thing Crissie (Andrew's wife) didn't get to do," Cindy said.
"Cry on him," said Kevin.
During their last phone conversation with their son in January, Andrew told his father that he was scared, his dad said. Carpenter said that the U.S. military doesn't have the proper resources to be over there fighting.
read more here
Andrew Carpenter Taken Off Life Support After Being Shot

Marine Prayer Request for Darkhorse not what it seems

UPDATE
Looks like Stars and Stripes paid attention too

Don't believe the social media rumors: Camp Pendleton's 'Darkhorse Marines' aren't dying in Afghanistan
By CARL PRINE | 
The San Diego Union-Tribune (Tribune News Service) | Published: May 4, 2017
Although thousands upon thousands of well-meaning Americans on Facebook and Twitter are asking people to pray for the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, the grunts aren’t suffering any casualties in Afghanistan. They’re home at Camp Pendleton, preparing to deploy to sea.
The latest hoax seems to have broken out on Facebook in late February before dying down in mid-March. It has come roaring back in recent days, however, triggering a flood of social-media support for the “Darkhorse” battalion that once suffered heavy losses in Afghanistan but isn’t actually in combat now.
“We are asking everyone to say a prayer for ‘Darkhorse’ 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines and their families. They are fighting it out in Afghanistan and have lost nine Marines in four days. Please repost this,” reads the typical message being circulated on social media.

Not sure what to make out of this now. I did a search for more information on this prayer request I received by email. I remembered 9 in a week but not recently so I did some checking. One of the "Marines" listed as killed this week was from the UK and he died in July. Matthew Weikert was in the Army and so was Chase Stanley.

Staff Sergeant Brett Linley

Bomb disposal expert who saved hundreds of lives killed in Afghanistan
By TAMARA COHEN
Last updated at 8:46 AM on 20th July 2010

A bomb disposal expert who saved hundreds of lives in Afghanistan has been killed by a Taliban bomb.
Staff Sergeant Brett Linley, 29, died while clearing explosives on Saturday and was hailed by his military bosses as a 'true hero'.

In five months on the front line with the Royal Logistic Corps, he defused 100 bombs, on one occasion dismantling three in just one hour.

Read more: Bomb disposal expert who saved hundreds of lives killed in Afghanistan

Justin Allen and Justus Bartelt were killed in July

July 25, 2010
The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, or who died at a U.S. military hospital of their injuries:

Justin B. Allen, 23, of Coal Grove, Ohio; sergeant, Army. Allen was shot and killed July 18 during a firefight in the Zhari district of southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.


Justus S. Bartelt, 27, of Polo, Ill.; staff sergeant, Marine Corps. Bartelt was killed July 16 while supporting combat operations in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.


http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/25/local/la-me-wardead-20100725

Army Sgt. Matthew W. Weikert
Died July 17, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom

29, of Jacksonville, Ill.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died July 17 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
Sgt. Matthew W. Weikert

Army Specialist Chase Stanley, 21, Napa
Soldier is killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.
MILITARY DEATHS
September 26, 2010|By My-Thuan Tran, Los Angeles Times
Chase Stanley was eager to join the Army. When he was a teenager, his bedroom was covered in Army posters and he often sported an Army T-shirt, said his sister, Britney Stanley. Even before he signed up for boot camp, he would go to extra training sessions.

Growing up in the rugged terrain of the Capell Valley area of Napa, Stanley enjoyed hiking, fishing and hunting with his father. After graduating from Napa High School, he enlisted at age 17, along with two friends.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/26/local/la-me-stanley-20100926

Marine Cpl. Dave M. Santos
Died July 16, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom

21, of Rota, Marianas Islands of the Pacific; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died July 16 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
http://militarytimes.com/valor/marine-cpl-dave-m-santos/4716075/

I am not sure who did this or why they did it but they did it.

Prayer Request

We are asking everyone to say a prayer for "Darkhorse" 3rd

Battalion 5th Marines and their families. They are fighting it out in

Afghanistan and they have lost 9 marines in 4 days. IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE

the message spread if more could pass it on.

Semper Fi, God Bless America and God Bless the United States Marine

Corps...

Often Tested, Always Faithful, Brothers Forever.

Nothing in the media about these guys because no one seems to care:

Justin Allen, 23,

Brett Linley, 29,

Matthew Weikert, 29,

Justus Bartett, 27,

Dave Santos, 21,

Chase Stanley, 21,

Jesse Reed, 26,

Matthew Johnson, 21,

Zachary Fisher, 24,

Brandon King, 23,

Christopher Goeke, 23,

Sheldon Tate, 27,

All are Marines that gave their lives for YOU this week.

It looks like the "this week" was back in October and had different names.

Unit in Sangin loses 9 Marines in 4 days

By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Oct 18, 2010 18:11:02 EDT
The 3/5 casualties in October include:

• Sgt. Ian Tawney, 25. The squad leader was killed Saturday by an improvised explosive device while on a foot patrol, Marine officials said. He enlisted on March 14, 2005, and had deployed to Iraq in 2007.

• Lance Cpl. James Boelk, 24. The infantry rifleman was killed by an IED while on a foot patrol last Friday, officials said. He was on his first combat deployment.

• Lance Cpl. Joseph Lopez, 26. The infantry rifleman was killed by an IED while on a foot patrol last Thursday, officials said. He was on his first combat deployment.

• Lance Cpl. Alec Catherwood, 19. The infantry rifleman was shot to death while on a foot patrol last Thursday, officials said. He was on his first combat deployment.

• Lance Cpl. Irvin Ceniceros, 21. The machine gunner was shot to death while on a foot patrol last Thursday, officials said. He was on his first combat deployment.

Four additional Marines were killed last Wednesday in the same IED blast while riding in a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicle, or M-ATV, according to media reports. Those Marines include:

• Cpl. Justin Cain, 22. The machine gunner was on his first combat deployment.

• Lance Cpl. Phillip Vinnedge, 19. The anti-tank assaultman was on his first deployment.

• Lance Cpl. Joseph Rodewald, 21. The machine gunner was on his first combat deployment.

• Pfc. Victor Dew, 20. The anti-tank assaultman was on his first deployment.

Additional details about the deaths were not immediately available, but the Corps said the unit is now based in Sangin in a news release covering the death of Lance Cpl. John Sparks, 23. He was shot to death Oct. 8, becoming the first Marine to die on 3/5’s deployment, Marine officials said.

The most recent Marine casualty announced was Cpl. Jorge Villarreal, 22. A member of Pendleton’s 1st Battalion, 11th Marines, he died Sunday from an IED blast while on a foot patrol.

Friends, family mourn as fallen Marine makes final trip home on Veteran Day

'He always wanted to make peace' ... Friends, family mourn as fallen Marine makes final trip home on Veteran Day
BY JENNIFER A. BOWEN - News-Democrat

All along the highways and small-town streets from MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah to Hoyleton, people waved American flags, saluted or stood silently as the body of a Marine killed in Afghanistan made its last trip home Thursday afternoon.
American flags whipped in the breeze where they lined Illinois 177 along at least a half mile stretch into Hoyleton, the hometown of Marine Staff Sgt. Jordan B. Emrick, 26.
Emrick, an eight-year Marine veteran, was killed Friday by a roadside bomb in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. He had been serving with a company from Camp Pendleton in California and specialized in ordnance disposal.
He was the guy who found and defused bombs.
Emrick's body landed at MidAmerica after noon Thursday, and a procession of emergency vehicles, friends and family, and several hundred motorcycle riders with the Freedom Riders and the American Legion Riders, escorted the hearse carrying Emrick to the Styninger Funeral Chapel in Hoyleton.
Brandon Szwopinski, 26, of Hoyleton, grew up with Emrick and considered him family.
The two spent their childhood playing sports together and enlisted in the Marines months apart. Szwopinski has been deployed to Iraq and is preparing for a possible deployment to Afghanistan.
The death of his childhood friend and fellow Marine does not make him anxious or worried about his potential deployment.


Read more: He always wanted to make peac

Should pictures of bodies be published?

There was a great debate about media covering the return of flag draped caskets coming home. In the end after the ban was lifted, it was left up to the family members if the media would be allowed to cover the return or not and how much they would cover.

The same rule needs to be applied here as well. It shouldn't matter if you can see the face of the fallen or not. It should be up to the family if they want the picture shown.

This is a heartbreaking picture of a group of Marines standing by the body of one of their brothers. A tenderness we do not get to see showing that this Marine's life mattered. Maybe we need to be reminded of what they are going through, that war is real and they die, they get wounded and for far too many they cannot escape the carnage even though they leave the country. It comes back with them as they try to get back into society where things like they see are not supposed to happen. They come back to oblivious communities so out of touch with what they are going through, most of them have no idea how many died. They were not reminded of what was happening in Iraq or Afghanistan, so they forget all about them as they deal with their own problems. Maybe they need to be reminded but just as the public has a right to know, the families have a right to be private if that is what they want. We may honor the life gone for our sake but they did not belong to us. They belonged to the families who prayed for them everyday, missed them, worried about them but above all, will be the people visiting their graves instead of holding them in their arms. Let them decide.

Go here for the picture and to read more. I decided to remove the picture.

Two views of photo of a fallen Marine
October 20, 2010
The photo on Wednesday’s front page of Marines in Afghanistan waiting with the body of a fallen battalion member drew strong, and opposing, responses from readers. Cpl. Jorge Villarreal, who was based at Camp Pendleton, was killed by an improvised bomb while on patrol. In the photo, above, three fellow Marines await a helicopter that will evacuate Villarreal's body.
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Two views of photo of a fallen Marine

Navy warship honoring a New York Marine's 2004 sacrifice is headed for South Florida

Memory of Marine reborn in Navy ship


A newly minted Navy warship honoring a New York Marine's 2004 sacrifice is headed for South Florida and 10 days of celebrations capped by a Nov. 13 commissioning ceremony.
BY CAROL ROSENBERG

CROSENBERG@MIAMIHERALD.COM

It was a year into the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and a young Marine manning a checkpoint threw his body on a hand grenade.

Cpl. Jason Dunham saved the lives of two buddies but would die of his wounds days later.
Now, the 22-year-old Marine's sacrifice is being immortalized.

A warship bearing his name sailed from the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine on Wednesday morning, the start of a nearly monthlong training cruise down the East Coast ahead of a 10-day visit to South Florida.

It's expected to arrive on Nov. 5. And eight days later, the U.S. Navy will commission its newest $1.1 billion destroyer, DDG 109, at Port Everglades. Name: the USS Jason Dunham.


Read more: Memory of Marine reborn in Navy ship

Fallen Marine's dad says 'We're not alone'

Marine's dad: 'We're not alone'

Josh Ose services next week
By ROBERT LEE LONG
Community Editor
Published: Thursday, September 23, 2010 1:07 AM CDT
HERNANDO — Hugs were exchanged all around in a backyard patio of the Ose home, a stately two-story white-columned house off winding Robertson Gin Road where grain silos dot the landscape.

A bumper sticker on the family car in the driveway proudly proclaimed "My Son is A U.S. Marine."

The woods and fields surrounding the home where Josh Ose roamed and played as a youngster stood deathly quiet during the long walk up the paved driveway. The hushed stillness was suddenly replaced by the clamor of voices and the click of camera lens on the back patio.

"Josh would have loved this," Sissy Ose said of her Marine Corps son, as her eyes brimmed with tears.

Ose was referring to the outpouring of support she and husband Ross have received since word spread through this close-knit community that the couple's only child, 19-year-old Josh had been killed in what may turn out to be one of the worst single attacks so far in Afghanistan.

Pfc. Joshua Ose died Monday while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
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We are not alone