Sgt. Wolf, mother of two, killed in Afghanistan while husband serving there too

Hawthorne mother of two is killed on duty in Afghanistan
October 28, 2009 11:31 am

A Hawthorne woman with two young daughters died Sunday in Afghanistan when the vehicle in which she was traveling was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

Army Sgt. Eduviges G. Wolf, 24, of Hawthorne, was killed in Afghanistan's Kunar province when insurgents attacked the vehicle, military officials announced Tuesday.

Wolf's husband also was serving in Afghanistan at the time of her death and was returning home to be with their daughters, ages 1 and 3, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

Wolf, who enlisted in the Army in 2003, had been deployed to Afghanistan since June, according to officials at Ft. Carson, Colo., where her unit, the 704th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, is based.
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Hawthorne mother of two is killed on duty in Afghanistan

Fort Lewis MP dies in Iraq

Fort Lewis MP dies in Iraq

MATT MISTEREK; The News Tribune


A highly decorated military police officer from Fort Lewis who saw previous action in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan died Tuesday in Iraq in what the Department of Defense is calling a noncombat incident.

Maj. David L. Audo, 35, of Saint Joseph, Ill., died in Baghdad, according to DOD and Fort Lewis news releases issued Wednesday. He was assigned in July to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment of the 22nd Military Police Battalion at Fort Lewis, and at the time of his death was the executive officer for the battalion’s forward element in Iraq.

He married Rebecca K. Johnson in 1998, according to her Web site, and they have two children, according to The News-Gazette of Champaign, Ill.
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http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/934024.html

Glenn Close Is Removing The Shame That Shadows Mental Illness

Regular people end up making celebrities heroes because everyone needs one. In this case, I do agree. Glenn Close could very well end up being a voice for millions of people but above all for those connected to the military, either by active duty or veteran, our real heroes.

It would have been wonderful if like Bob Dole talking about erectile dysfunction, there was another famous people talking about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder so that there would be more public knowledge of what it is and what it is not. Think of the millions of men seeking help for their own problems because Bob Dole showed them it was ok to talk about it. It didn't even matter if they liked him or not, the point was, he was publicly talking about it. This is what mental illness needed all along, especially when it comes to PTSD and the military. They are the first to go to help and the last to ask for help.

It would be wonderful if they could get the generals who came out publicly about their own war demons to do a commercial and show the others there is nothing to be ashamed of but until then, until someone in a position of power speaks out publicly, this will have to at least begin the conversation. So thank you Ron Howard and Glenn Close for doing this.

Glenn Close Is Removing The Shame That Shadows Mental Illness

October 29, 2009
by Elizabeth Willoughby

In an effort to bring mental illness into everyday dialogue, Glenn Close co-created the Bring Change 2 Mind campaign and, with the help of director Ron Howard, created a public service announcement pointing out how common such illnesses really are.

The first problem about awareness, even though one in six adults suffer from one form or another, is that mental illness is invisible. The other problem is the stigma attached to it.

“I think a lot of people will find that it’s kind of a relief to simply acknowledge that mental health issues are something every family deals with,” says Howard, “and yet it clearly does still remain stigmatized.”

The stigma is so powerful that it causes many sufferers of illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and post traumatic stress disorder to go undiagnosed, and therefore remain without the help that is available to them.
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Glenn Close Is Removing The Shame

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/

GI shot himself to avoid deployment

Police: GI shot himself to avoid deployment

The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Oct 29, 2009 13:30:02 EDT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Police in Colorado Springs say a Fort Carson soldier set to return to Afghanistan intentionally shot himself in the shoulder to avoid deployment.

They say 26-year-old Robert Murchison and his girlfriend found a parking spot near Penrose-St. Francis main hospital on Wednesday night and then he shot himself in the car.

Murchison and 28-year-old Chasaity Peoples allegedly first told police that they had stopped to help a stranded motorist and that the driver shot him.

Sgt. Jim Meyers says officers were suspicious and continued to question them. He says Peoples finally confessed to what happened.

Murchison is expected to remain hospitalized for the next few days but is expected to recover. He and his girlfriend could be charged with false reporting.
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GI shot himself to avoid deployment