It was a sad beginning of a week, Monday, when eight more names were added to those lost in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
As of Monday, Aug. 4, 2008, at least 4,131 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3,362 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
As of Monday, Aug. 4, 2008, at least 491 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Department of Defense (DoD).
The AP and the DoD have reported the numbers of the dead. We are here tonight to honor the lives of individuals.
It became a sad holiday weekend for two US families. The 4th of July, this past Friday, 1st Lieutenant Daniel Farkas died in Afghanistan. The next day Sergeant 1st Class Anthony Woodham died in Iraq.
1st Lieutenant Daniel Farkas was a member of the New York branch of the National Guard. He was assigned to the 27th Infantry Brigaded Combat Team based at Syracuse, New York. He died at Camp Phoenix, Kabul.
Sergeant 1st Class Anthony Lynn Woodham was member of Arkansas National Guard Delta Company, 39th Brigade Support Battalion, 39th Brigade Combat Team of Heber Springs, Arkansas. He died at Camp Adder, Tallil.
Neither of the men died in combat, but still died in a strange land, far away from their hometown and their loved ones.
It was rather disappointing to wake up and find that Obama didn't end the race in Oregon as it had been reported he would. This Oregon native thinks that it is a great state to end up in.
I grew up in the foothills overlooking the fertile valley that the Willamette river has carved out for itself. Now, I live in the lowlands of the valley, which is the part of Oregon with the highest population. I love it here.
The people of Oregon are an interesting bunch. Just to give you an idea of what we're like, take a look at this video of a "driveway debate" between two couples with differing views on who should win the presidential election.
Nice to know that Obama plans to end the race in Oregon. This Oregon native thinks it is a great state to end up in.
While dinner was cooking the other night, the doorbell rang. That set our new "free to a good home" dog into a yipping frenzy. I ran to grab the spraybottle, but someone had already opened the door. The dog was out and furiously filling the air with high-pitched yelps.
Imagine the scene for the well-dressed man on the porch. A small dog who looks like a white ewok starts to dance around his feet while a plump, short woman with unruly hair comes running out and sprays his shoes with water. No one is surprised by things like this though. It is just a part of campaigning in Oregon.
Once again we welcome our dead back home. Tonight those we honor are:
* Private First Class William T. Dix - an engineer who will be honored at services in Virginia
* Private First Class Joseph K. Meyer, Jr. - the only son of a North Dakota family
* Corporal Robert L. Mason - a teenager from Parkersburg, West Virginia
The family and friends of William Dix are still recovering from the shock of his recent death. However, those still living, who knew Joseph Meyer and Robert Mason have waited 57 years to hold a funeral for them.
Due to the large number of casualties announced this week, there will be two IGTNT diaries published tonight. Be sure to visit Moneysmith's diary also.
In December of 1943, a US airship called "The Swan," departed Dobodura, New Guinea on a bombing mission over the Bismarck Sea. The crew included the following members of the U.S. Army Air Forces:
• Captain Robert L. Coleman from Delaware
• 1st Lieutenant George E. Wallinder from Texas
• 2nd Lieutenant Kenneth L. Cassidy from Massachusetts
• 2nd Lieutenant Irving Schechner from New York
• 2nd Lieutenant Ronald F. Ward from Massachusetts
• Tech. Sergeant William L. Fraser from Missouri
• Tech. Sergeant Paul Miecias from New Jersey
• Tech. Sergeant Robert C. Morgan from Michigan
• Staff Sergeant Albert J. Caruso from New Jersey
• Staff Sergeant Robert E. Frank from New Jersey
• Private Joseph Thompson from California
After all these years, those men are coming home from their final flight.
There are two words that are dreaded by those of us who write about our fallen. It is hard to write a fitting memorial tribute to someone when the announcement of their death says that the incident is "under investigation."
Today we honor two sailors who have died far from home. Their deaths are still under investigation. This must be an awful time for their friends and family. Please let us be especially kind in our comments.
Petty Officer 1st Class Cherie L. Morton from Bakersfield, California, died April 20th in Galali, Muharraq, Bahrain. She was assigned to Naval Security Force, Naval Support Activity Bahrain. Bahrain is a tiny island nation in the Persian Gulf. It is a U.S. ally and home to the Navy's 5th Fleet.
Airman Apprentice Adrian M. Campos from El Paso, Texas, was found dead in Dubai on April 21st. He was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Support Squadron 22, which was attached to the USNS Arctic. The USNS Arctic is a Navy vessel which is a fast combat support ship.
Yesterday was the funeral of a man who fought for our country in Korea. His remains were unidentified for 57 years. He was US Army Sergeant Virgil L. Phillips of Columbus, Indiana.
Sergeant Phillips was buried in Loogootee, Indiana. Phillips had been assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. Company K was operating in Unsan, North Korea, near a bend in the Kuryong River known as the Camel’s Head. In November 1950, a few days before he would have turned 25, parts of two Chinese Communist divisions struck the 1st Cavalry Division, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. In the process, the 3rd Battalion was surrounded and effectively ceased to exist as a fighting unit. Phillips was one of the more than 350 servicemen unaccounted-for from the battle at Unsan.
April 2008 has already been a bad month for US troops in Iraq. We lost four of our own early this week, and many more were wounded.
One of our soldiers died in Tuz, Iraq on Sunday. He was Specialist Arturo Huerta-Cruz of Clearwater, Florida. Two other soldiers from his unit were also injured in the attack.
Another soldier died in Baghdad on Monday. He was Sergeant Joseph A. Richard III of Lafayette, Louisiana.
Two of our Marines died together in the Al Anbar province on Monday, April 14th. They were Corporal Richard J. Nelson and Lance Corporal Dean D. Opicka. Both of the Marines were from Wisconsin, and a third man from their company was injured.
These diaries to honor our fallen have been written for 4 years now. Moneysmith covered the history of the IGTNT series in a diary last night. Unfortunately, there were also more casualties to cover that night, so A girl in MI presented a tribute to them in another diary.
Tonight there are more tales of sorrow, and we mourn for the following 5 soldiers.
One who died from wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an IED on April 6th:
Staff Sergeant Jeremiah E. McNeal from Norfolk, Virginia.
Three soldiers who were killed April 6th in Baghdad by indirect fire:
- Staff Sergeant Emanuel Pickett from Teachey, N. Carolina.
- Colonel Stephen K. Scott from New Market, Alabama.
- Major Stuart A. Wolfer from Coral Springs, Florida.
One soldier was killed by an attack on April 7th:
Sergeant Richard A. Vaughn from San Diego, California.
"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."
George S. Patton
That is a great quote, but I only agree with half of it. It is not wrong to mourn our dead, it would be inhuman not too, especially the three men who we honor today. They died in different battles, on different continents, and many years apart from each other, but they are all worthy of the grief of our nation.
The Department of Defense (DoD) recently announced the death of US Army Spc. Joshua A. Molina, a casualty of the Iraq War. There were also announcements from the DoD's POW/Missing Personnel Office that the remains of Army Sgt. Harry J. Laurence, an MIA from the Korean War; and that 2nd Lt. Arthur F. Eastman, an MIA from World War II, have been identified
Taps is traditionally played when we honor our fallen. With only 24 notes, the haunting melody known as "Taps" often brings tears to the eyes of those grieving. It has spawned various legends. An example is this one about an Union Army Captain, which is in The Conservative Voice:
Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment.
When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead.
...It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army.
The story goes on to tell of how the dead son had a paper on which he'd written the tune for Taps. The song was played for his funeral. A moving tale, but it is untrue. The true story appears below, after a tribute to two of our fallen military men.
Two weeks ago, I was able to post the good news that there were no new casualties. Unfortunately, that is not true today. A girl in MI provided us with a lovely diary this afternoon to honor one man who died.
This diary is to tell about another five brave men. According to an article in The New York Sun, the soldiers were on foot patrol on March 10th, in the upscale Mansour neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq.
Neighborhood grocer Razaq Jawdat said the American patrol, accompanied by Iraqi troops and policemen, had stopped near his store to chat with local merchants.
"Suddenly a suicide bomber with a vest came up and blew himself up," Mr. Jawdat said from a hospital bed, where he was being treated for shrapnel wounds. "I saw with my own eyes three dead American soldiers."
The blast also injured three American soldiers, their Iraqi interpreter, and nine other Iraqis, including a soldier and a policemen.
Welcome to the Political Cartoon diary. We haven't been having them regularly on Saturday mornings for a while. that is a shame. It is a great idea, kind of like Sunday comics in the newspaper.
My new cartoon is actually an illustrated fable. It is based on an old joke, but with a twist. To take a look at it, click on There's more...
This is kind of a "true confessions," an announcement, and to share something I'd forgotten. First things last, I meant to use this wonderful quote in the last "Last Laugh" diary, but forgot it:
Painting is poetry which is seen, but not heard,
And poetry is a painting which is heard, but not seen.
