Sgt. Keith Adam Coe Sacrificed His Life for His Men

An Army carry team carries the transfer case containing the remains of Army Sgt. Keith Adam Coe of Auburndale, Fla., upon his arrival at Dover Air Force Base, Del.

Fulton native Sgt. Keith Coe dies in Iraq
By Paul Brockwell, Jr.
May 01, 2010, 10:46AM

Sgt. Keith A. Coe worked hard to get into the Army. When he was 26, the Fulton native was living in Florida working at a truss company and had been in trouble with the law.

Relatives say his eight months in jail for violating probation really marked a turning point in his life.

After getting released, his grandmothers say, Coe wanted to make something of himself and he saw the Army as his way to achieve that goal. His probation officer, says grandmother Dawn Jones, told her that she always knew Coe was one of the ones worth saving. Coe’s former probation officer stopped by to pay her respects and grieve with the family, Jones said.

In 2007, he married his wife, Katrina, at a Hawaiian wedding in Granny Jones’ back yard. Soon after, he joined the Army. Three years later, he had risen to the rank of sergeant.

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Fulton native Sgt. Keith Coe dies in Iraq

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'Coe Daddy' Sacrificed His Life for His Men
Family of A'dale Army sergeant to hold memorial service in Haven.
By Shoshana Walter
THE LEDGER


Published: Friday, April 30, 2010 at 11:38 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, April 30, 2010 at 11:38 p.m.


LAKELAND His men called him "Coe Daddy."


And on Tuesday, Sgt. Keith A. Coe, 30, sacrificed his life for them, said grandmother Dawn Jones.

Defense Department officials say Coe died Tuesday in Khalis, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an explosive device. Coe was the first to step out of the truck when they arrived on scene for a mission, Jones said. Before anyone else could jump out, he was caught in the explosion, she said.

"All the others in the truck were just kids, just out of high school. It was his duty to get out of that truck first because he was the sergeant in charge," Jones said. "Keith saved their lives."
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Coe Daddy Sacrificed His Life for His Men

Army preserves items of remembrance at Section 60

Charles Dharapak, AP / April 13, 2010

Paula Davis, 55, of Gaithersburg, Md., a single mother who lost her only child, Army Pfc. Justin Davis, 29, in Afghanistan in 2006, sits at his grave at Section 60, at Arlington National Cemetery where more than 600 service members who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are buried, Sunday, April 11, 2010 in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Army preserves items of remembrance at Section 60, Arlington's place for Iraq, Afghan war dead
KIMBERLY HEFLING

Associated Press Writer

April 15, 2010 12:02 a.m.
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Army curator James Speraw stood by Spc. Christopher Coffland's grave, tucked among the rows of white headstones at Arlington National Cemetery, and read the inscription on dog tags that he cupped gently in his palms.

"I thank God every time I remember you," said the tags. "We love you Chris, our brother."

Speraw had little time to ponder the 43-year-old soldier who was killed in Afghanistan. "8955," he called out to a fellow curator, who jotted that grave site number down. They took photos of the dog tags and placed them in an archival bag, part of a new trial effort to preserve graveside mementoes at Section 60 — Arlington's primary resting place for the dead from the Iraq and Afghan wars.

The two then moved on to another grave to collect a teddy bear and blue stuffed bunny left for another fallen soldier. A few rows away, a backhoe pushed dirt over the grave of a servicemember buried minutes earlier, its loud, steady rumble punctuating the air in a sad refrain.

"It's an honor to do it, but you just really hate to see the graves," Speraw said, choking back tears.
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Army preserves items of remembrance at Section 60

1,000th U.S. soldier killed in Afghanistan

Grim milestone reach in Afghan war: 1,000th U.S. soldier killed
BY Stephanie Gaskell
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tuesday, February 23rd 2010, 9:18 AM


The U.S. death toll in Afghanistan has reached a grim milestone - 1,000 American troops have been killed since the war began nine years ago.

And that number is expected to rise as the largest military offensive since the fall of the Taliban continues in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.

Twelve U.S. Marines have been killed in the province since Operation Together began on Feb. 13 in the Marjah district, according to the Pentagon.

The offensive is expected to last several more weeks as 15,000 U.S., NATO and Afghan forces push out the Taliban in heavily mined, poppy fields.

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Read more: Grim milestone reach in Afghan war

Army may punish commanders where 9 died at Wanat

Army may punish commanders where 9 died at Wanat
A military investigation into an ambush that left nine Americans dead — including Cpl. Jason Bogar, a 25-year-old soldier from Seattle — recommends that the Army consider taking disciplinary action against three U.S. commanders who oversaw the 2008 mission to send troops to the remote Afghan outpost, defense officials said Tuesday.


By Greg Jaffe
The Washington Post

A military investigation into an ambush that left nine Americans dead recommends that the Army consider taking disciplinary action against three U.S. commanders who oversaw the 2008 mission to send troops to the remote Afghan outpost, defense officials said Tuesday.

The investigation into the bloody battle at Wanat, near the border with Pakistan, was undertaken last fall at the urging of Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Nine soldiers were killed and 27 wounded during the attack at the outpost, which raged for several hours. Among the dead was 1st Lt. Jonathan Brostrom, whose father, a retired Army colonel, pushed for more than a year to persuade the Pentagon to launch a probe of the battle.

Also killed was Cpl. Jason Bogar, a 25-year-old soldier from Seattle. His mother, Carlene Cross, was one of the parents who pushed for the Central Command investigation.
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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2010963666_wanat03.html

Fighting in Afghanistan leaves 5 U.S. troops dead

Please keep their families in your prayers. As you pray for them also remember that with these 5 deaths are other soldiers grieving for their lost brothers. When we read about one death, we also must acknowledge those they left behind.

Fighting in Afghanistan leaves 5 U.S. troops dead
Three service members die today in a clash with militants in the south, another dies in separate fighting in the east, and a fifth member with a NATO-led force is killed a day earlier in the south.

By Laura King

January 11, 2010 9:06 a.m.


Reporting from Afghanistan -- Three American troops were killed today in a clash with insurgents in southern Afghanistan, which is likely to be the scene of escalating battles in coming months. A fourth U.S. service member died today of wounds suffered in separate fighting in the east, near the border with Pakistan, military officials said.

Also today, NATO's International Security Assistance Force disclosed the death of another American service member in an attack a day earlier in the south.
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Fighting in Afghanistan leaves 5 US troops dead

Mom fights to be buried with soldier son

What is she asking for that could be viewed as any kind of issue? She wants to make sure she can be buried with her son and that's all. Why is this a problem at all? This is what she feels will give her a bit of comfort while she still lives. Is this too much to ask for?

Mom fights to be buried with soldier son

By Andrew Miga - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Dec 29, 2009 9:16:04 EST

WASHINGTON — Denise Anderson lost her only son in the Iraq war. She’s determined not to lose her fight to be buried with him in a national veterans cemetery.

Army Spc. Corey Shea died Nov. 12, 2008, in Mosul, with about a month left on his tour of duty in Iraq. He was buried at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne, about 50 miles from his hometown of Mansfield, Mass.

A grieving Anderson, 42, soon hit an obstacle in her quest to be buried in the same plot with her son. That chance is offered only to the spouses or children of dead veterans; Corey Shea was 21, single and childless.

The Veterans Affairs Department grants waivers and has approved four similar requests from dead soldiers’ parents since 2005.

Anderson also sought a waiver. But under the VA’s policy, she has to die first to get one, a limbo that Anderson finds tough to live with.
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Mom fights to be buried with soldier son

Celebrities get more respect than dead soldiers

Celebrities get more respect than dead soldiers, says George Cross holder
Michael Evans, Defence Editor

The Army’s youngest holder of the George Cross has clashed with the Ministry of Defence over the “lack of respect” paid by ministers to servicemen who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Former Lance Corporal of Horse Christopher Finney, 25, who left the Army in July and now works at a call centre for an insurance company, said that he was disillusioned with military life and angry with the Government, claiming more respect was shown to celebrities than to dead soldiers.

“What makes me furious is the demonstrable lack of respect shown by the Government to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice — the war dead. Why is there no minister in attendance when our fallen heroes from Afghanistan are brought home to repatriation ceremonies at Wootton Bassett?” he said in an interview with the Mail on Sunday.

“I couldn’t believe it when I read that Gordon Brown had phoned Simon Cowell to ask how Britain’s Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle was when she had a breakdown. He doesn’t phone any of the bereaved military families,” he said. “I thought it was absolutely disgusting, a real slap in the face for the parents of the hundreds of soldiers killed.”
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/Afghanistan/article6898761.ece

8 killed in Afghanistan were from Fort Lewis

8 killed in Afghanistan were from Fort Lewis

The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Oct 29, 2009 8:00:19 EDT

FORT LEWIS, Wash. — Fort Lewis has confirmed that eight soldiers who died in Afghanistan on Tuesday were assigned to a unit from the Army base near Tacoma, Wash.

Spokesman Joseph Piek said the soldiers were part of the 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division. He says seven were killed in an explosion of an improvised explosive device, while the eighth was killed in a separate attack, again using an IED.

The names of the soldiers have not yet been released.

The Defense Department also announced that an officer assigned to a military police unit based at Fort Lewis, 35-year-old Maj. David L. Audo, of St. Joseph, Ill., died Tuesday from a noncombat-related incident in Baghdad.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/ap_lewis_soldiers_killed_afghanistan_102809/

UPDATE
Army IDs 7 Ft. Lewis soldiers killed IED attack

Staff report
Posted : Thursday Oct 29, 2009 18:12:22 EDT

The Defense Department on Thursday identified the seven soldiers killed Oct. 27 in Arghandab Valley in southern Afghanistan when their vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device.

The attack on the soldiers from 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, of Fort Lewis, Wash., was one of two attacks in as many days, claiming the lives of 14 soldiers. On Oct. 26, seven soldiers were killed when their helicopter crashed in western Afghanistan.

The soldiers killed in the IED attack were:

Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, 27, of South Ozone Park, N.Y.

Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, 24, of Alamo, Texas

Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, 29, of Terre Haute, Ind.

Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, 27, of Plattsburg, Mo.

Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson, 24, of Broussard, La.

Spc. Jared D. Stanker, 22, of Evergreen Park, Ill

Pfc. Christopher I. Walz, 25, of Vancouver, Wash.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/army_IED_IDs_102909w/

Mother's final duty to soldier son

Mother's final duty to soldier son
Story Highlights
Spc. Stephan Mace was one of eight who died in October 3 battle in Afghanistan

Vanessa Adelson: "It was my responsibility as a mother to bring him home"

Residents of Purcellville, Virginia, join Adelson in mourning loss of Mace

Mace gave his St. Christopher medal to fellow soldiers before he died
By Rachel Streitfeld
CNN
When the Army flew home the body of Spc. Stephan Mace from Afghanistan, his mother climbed aboard a small jet with the flag-draped coffin for the last leg of his trip. "I brought him into this world, and he was my baby," she said. "I thought it was my responsibility as a mother to bring him home," Vanessa Adelson said. full story
Mother prepares to bury son
Fallen soldiers remembered

Hundreds pay last respects to Amesbury soldier who died in Iraq

Hundreds lined the route as the funeral procession, led by thundering motorcyclists, rolled under an American flag stretched across the road in Amesbury.

Hundreds pay last respects to Amesbury soldier who died in Iraq
September 12, 2009 01:40 PM


By Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff

Hundreds of people lined the route from a Newburyport funeral home to an Amesbury church today, despite the pouring, cold rain, to pay their last respects to a soldier from the area who died last week in Iraq.

In the funeral service, which filled the church to capacity, Sergeant Jordan M. Shay was remembered as "a true and steady friend to all who crossed his path" by his mother, Holly.
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Hundreds pay last respects to Amesbury soldier who died in Iraq

Deadliest year in Afghanistan reached already

08/25/09 AP: 4 U.S. Troops Killed in Afghanistan
The U.S. military says an improvised explosive device has killed four American service members in southern Afghanistan. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker says the four were killed in the south in an explosion Tuesday.
http://icasualties.org/oef/

172 US, 123 Coalition, 295 total

2 Soldiers from Fort Hood Killed in Afghanistan, one from Fort Riley DUSTWUN

DoD Identifies Army Casualties


The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers, and one soldier as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN). The action occurred May 1 near the village of Nishagam, in Konar Province, Afghanistan, where all three were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Killed were:

Sgt. James D. Pirtle, 21, of Colorado Springs, Colo. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; and

Spec. Ryan C. King, 22, of Dallas, Ga. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

These soldiers died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit using direct fire.

For more information on Pirtle and King, the media may contact the Fort Hood public affairs office at (254) 287-9993; after hours (254) 291-2591.

Staff Sgt. William D. Vile, 27, of Philadelphia, Pa. is now listed as DUSTWUN from this same incident. He is assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

http://icasualties.org/oef/

Families of fallen received "John Doe" letters

"Printed and mailed by a contractor" was the quote. That's supposed to explain how something like this happened? When did they decide that it's not worth their own time to write these letters on their own computer and print them out themselves? Would that be too great of an effort for the families of the fallen? Did they think paying a contractor to do this was coming close to honoring the families of the men and women that gave their lives to this nation? The indignity is astonishing!

Casey apologies for ‘John Doe’ letter

Staff report
Posted : Wednesday Jan 7, 2009 14:28:13 EST

Gen. George Casey, chief of staff of the Army, is sending a personal letter to 7,000 families who received improperly addressed correspondence from the Army, officials said Wednesday.

The Army is apologizing and correcting a printing error that resulted in about 7,000 letters being sent to family members who lost a loved one in Operations Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom. The letter did not contain a specific by-name salutation and address, but instead contained a placeholder greeting that read, “Dear John Doe.”

The letter, which was printed by a contractor and mailed in late December, was to inform family members about private organizations offering assistance to families of soldiers who have died in Iraq or Afghanistan. The letter was sent from Human Resources Command's Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Center in Alexandria, Va., which issued a formal apology Wednesday.

“There are no words to adequately apologize for this mistake or for the hurt it may have caused,” Brig. Gen. Reuben Jones, Army adjutant general, wrote in a message Wednesday. “It is important the original intent of the letter is not lost. The organizations mentioned are dedicated to honoring loved ones and recognizing their sacrifice and commitment.”

Maj. Dwayne M. Kelley, Army Reserve and NJ State Trooper laid to rest

N.J. troopers join mourners at soldier's funeral
By Edward Colimore

Inquirer Staff Writer

For hours yesterday, they walked down the aisle of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Burlington City and paused at the open, flag-draped casket to say goodbye.

Family members, friends and soldiers were followed by hundreds of New Jersey state troopers. They were joined by scores of officers from police departments as far away as Illinois and Connecticut.

Maj. Dwayne M. Kelley, a state trooper and Army Reservist who died June 24 in an explosion in Baghdad, "stood alone in his devotion to duty," said Gov. Corzine yesterday from the pulpit.

He was a "great trooper, soldier and patriot," said Col. Joseph Fuentes, the New Jersey State Police superintendent.

At 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds, he was a "gentle giant who walked softly and did the right thing," added Army Lt. Col. Mark Corzine, Kelley's commanding officer at Fort Dix.

Tributes to the Willingboro native, who was on his third tour in Iraq, poured in during a "homegoing" service, mixed with tearful mourning and joyful celebration.
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