Monday, April 17, 2006

Solemn, Colorful Memorial Day Event, May 29, 2006, Moss Landing, CA

Solemn, Colorful Memorial Day Event, May 29, 2006, Moss Landing, CA

A nonprofit benefiting families of U.S. killed in action (KIA) and died of wounds (DOW) will have its first Memorial Day event to honor our nation’s combat dead.


USAKIA's First Memorial Event Winds Down, Moss Landing, Labor Day Weekend 2005

San Jose, CA (I-Newswire) April 18, 2006 -- The USA KIA/DOW Family Foundation (USAKIA), in conjunction with J&S Surplus & Outdoor Store, plans a Memorial Day, 2006, ceremony. Official Memorial Day 2006 falls on Monday, May 29. Traditional Memorial Day is May 30. The event will take place on May 29, 2006, from 9AM to 5PM.

The site, officially opened in a ceremony last Labor Day Weekend, is at Highway 1 and N. Struve Road in Moss Landing, California. Planned participants this year include the California National Guard. USAKIA invites the public to a free, colorful, and somber event honoring our nation’s killed in action (KIA) and died of wounds (DOW).

The public-benefit corporation also plans a raffle and eBay auction to coincide with Memorial Day Weekend. Supporters can make tax-deductible donations at its Web site.

The USA KIA/DOW Family Foundation (USAKIA), based in San Jose, California, is an IRS-approved, tax-deductible and tax-exempt nonprofit. KIA families incorporated the 501(c)(3) organization in the fall of 2003 to benefit families of those killed in action and died of wounds while in the U.S. armed forces. Current services include memorials, membership, and it plans a new California Medal of Honor Project (CAMOHP). It also has products honoring U.S. KIA. America Remembers KIA allows USAKIA the use of its trademarked KIA flag and symbol. See the organization's Web site at www.usakia.org for further information. USAKIA opened a pressroom at its Web site in December and two new blogs in March.

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Contact Information:

Dennis Malloy
USA KIA/DOW FAMILY FOUNDATION
http://www.usakia.org
(408) 954-8280
CR@usakia.org

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Family Remembers Their "Gung-Ho" Young Marine


Marine Cpl. Richard P. Waller

FOR EDUCATIONAL AND/OR FAIR-USE PURPOSES --

ARTICLE ABOUT INFANTRYMAN WHO DIED OF WOUNDS, AND LIKE PERICLES STATES IN HIS CLASSIC SPEECH OVER 2000-YEARS AGO, FUNERAL ORATION, FAMILY WANTS NO PITY BUT SHOULD RECEIVE COMFORT. THEY'VE MADE A PRICELESS SACRIFICE FOR FREEDOM, AND WE HONOR THEM HERE.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/dfw/news/14337422.htm

Star-Telegram.com

Family remembers their 'gung-ho' young Marine
By CHRIS VAUGHN
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

FORT WORTH — Marine Cpl. Richard P. Waller, at the beginning of his third tour in Iraq, complained to his parents that he was in a quiet area and that he wasn’t getting any action.

“He was disappointed,” his stepfather, Kenneth Strickland, said. “He was a very gung-ho young man.”

Known in Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines as “the motivator” because of his intensity, Cpl. Waller, 22, was killed by a sniper’s lone shot last Friday in a village near Fallujah.

Cpl. Waller, a 2002 Western Hills High School graduate who was known as Ricky, was on top of a building providing security for a group of Marines on foot, the military told his family. He died of his injuries a few hours later.

Services for Cpl. Waller will be 10 a.m. Monday at Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth.

His mother, Vicki Murrell-Strickland, and stepfather said that from the time he was a little boy, all Cpl. Waller wanted to be was a Marine.

Several generations of his family had served in the military for close to the last 90 years.

He enlisted in the Marines in October 2002 and planned to re-enlist this autumn, they said. Despite three combat deployments in three years, he didn’t want it any other way, they said.

“I’ve never seen a guy eat it up as much as he did,” Kenneth Strickland said. “He loved his wife and children, but he wanted the action.”

Cpl. Waller married former high school classmate Adrian Acevedo in 2003. They had three children, Nick, 4, Victoria, 2, and Tyler Kenneth, born March 26 while Cpl. Waller was on his latest deployment.

On an informal Web site with Charlie Company news, the Wallers received congratulations in e-mail postings in late March, only to have condolences posted two weeks later.

But his mother and stepfather insisted that they shouldn’t be pitied because, they said, Cpl. Waller knew the risks of his job. They had talked about it before each deployment.

In a statement provided to the Star-Telegram, his mother wrote, “Even though he left this earth at an early age, he left doing something he believed in, was happy to do and he lived his short life the way we all should — with no regrets.”

Chris Vaughn,
(817) 390-7547
cvaughn@star-telegram.com

See Another Picture with Original Article:

http://www.twincities.com/mld/dfw/news/14337422.htm

Joseph Raymond Kietzmann

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Fallen Soldier's Father Writes Book About Family's Experience

http://www.thederrick.com/stories/04072006-5012.shtml

Fallen soldier's father writes book about family's experience
By MICHAEL MOLITORIS



SPC. JONATHAN R. KEPHART, 21, OF OIL CITY WAS KILLED IN ACTION IN IRAQ TWO YEARS AGO.

The family of fallen Oil City soldier Jonathan Kephart knows the pain of losing a son in combat, and a new book about the family's experience aims to help other families through their grief.

Spc. Jonathan R. Kephart, 21, formerly of 101 Willow St., was assigned to the U.S. Army's 230th Military Police Company from Kaiserslautern, Germany. The 2000 graduate of Faith Baptist Academy in Seneca enlisted in January 2002 and had been in Iraq only 10 days when his convoy patrol was ambushed in Baghdad, according to his father, Burton Kephart.

"We were desirous of getting Jonathan's story out and to honor the military, because I believe that's very, very important," Kephart said of his son's story, "Proven In Battle."

Kephart was killed two years ago Saturday, and the book is due out today at several local stores.

"In March of 2005, 11 months after the death of our son, we attended the Faces of the Fallen Memorial in Washington, D.C., at Arlington National Cemetery," Kephart said. "While there, we met many families from across the nation that had loved ones killed in the war. There was a desire born in my heart on that day to do something to bring hope and encouragement to these families..."

See Entire Story at:

http://www.thederrick.com/stories/04072006-5012.shtml

1st Armored Division mourning soldier killed by IED in Iraq

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=36415

FOR EDUCATIONAL OR FAIR-USE PURPOSES

Stars and Stripes

1st Armored Division mourning soldier killed by IED in Iraq

Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, April 12, 2006


U.S. Army
Pvt. Jody W. Missildine was killed in action on April 8 in Tal Afar.


Family members of a 1st Armored Division soldier killed last week in Iraq are mourning the loss of a quiet, compassionate young man.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon identified the soldier as Pvt. Jody W. Missildine, 19, of Plant City, Fla. Missildine was killed April 8 in Tal Afar when a makeshift bomb hit his armored Humvee, which was traveling in a convoy with other vehicles.

Missildine was part of the Friedberg, Germany-based 2nd Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. Officials at the division headquarters in Wiesbaden said a memorial service is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday in the Ray Barracks Chapel. The “local chain of command” has closed the ceremony to media, 1st AD officials said.

According to news reports from his hometown, Missildine had been raised by his grandparents since the age of two. He had a brother, Jason, with whom he was close — the two had each others’ names tattooed on their arms.

“He was a good person. He’d do anything for you,” Jason Missildine told the Tampa Bay 10 news channel.

Shirley Missildine, Jody’s grandmother, said he felt different when he wore his uniform.

“He told me the other day, when he put that uniform on, people looked at him like he was a man,” she said, according to Tampa Bay 10. “The last thing he told me was ‘I love you Nana,’ and we just tried to reassure him that he was going to be alright.”

Funeral arrangements had not yet been made, the family said.

“Life’s just going to be so empty without him,” Shirley Missildine was quoted as saying in the St. Petersburg Times.

Missildine had signed up for the Army while still in high school, family members said, in part to travel and to get money for college. He was on the track and wrestling teams in high school and was good at computers.

According to family members, Missildine called home each week, but that his news in recent weeks had begun to worry them. A friend of his had been killed in action, and another seriously wounded.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Pat Tillman's Run

FROM THE RINGMASTER OF THE MILITARY NETWORK RING:
 
Honor War Victim Pat Tillman During Run He was a Home Town Hero, bigger than life who died in heroic service to America. Now you can honor him by joining us and KBAY’s Sam Van Zandt as he runs in the first ever Pat’s Run in the South Bay. http://osot.us

The Pat Tillman Foundation seeks to carry forward his legacy by inspiring and supporting others striving to promote positive change in themselves and the world around them.

Please feel free to pass this on to your email lists. http://osot.us

Friday, April 07, 2006

In Notification of Army Deaths, More Pain

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/07/us/07notify.html

Article Listed Twice at NY Times: Click Either Link

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/07/us/07notify.html?ex=1144555200&en=af026ea57c502387&ei=5087

In Notification of Army Deaths, More Pain

(NY Times Site Has Much More, Including Interactive Features)

By LIZETTE ALVAREZ

Published: April 7, 2006

After Neil Santorello heard the news that his son, a tank commander, had been killed in Iraq, from the officer in his living room, he walked out his front door and removed the American flag from its pole. Then, in tears, he tore down the yellow ribbons from his tree.


Dilip Vishnawat for The New York Times
Gay and Fred Eisenhauer with a photo of their son, Wyatt,who was killed in Iraq. They criticized how the Army dealtwith their son's death.Laura Youngblood, with her son,Hunter, and medals awarded to her husband, Travis. Mr.Youngblood was killed in Iraq.

Rather than see it as the act of a man unmoored by the death of his 24-year-old son, the officer, an Army major, confronted Mr. Santorello, saying, "Don't be disrespectful," Mr. Santorello recalled. Then, the officer, whose job it is to inform families of their loss, quickly disappeared without offering any comfort.

Later, the Santorellos heard a piece of crushing but inaccurate news: They would not be allowed to look inside their son's coffin. First Lt. Neil Santorello, of Verona, Pa., had been killed by an improvised bomb. His body, the family was told, was unviewable.

The Santorellos eventually learned that families have the right to see a loved one's body.

"I asked them to open the casket a few inches so I could reach in and touch his hand," recalled Mr. Santorello, who is still struggling with his son's death, in large part because he was not allowed to see him.

"The government doesn't want you to see servicemen in a casket, but this is my son. He is not a serviceman. You have to let his mother and I say goodbye to him."

Scores of families whose loved ones have died fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have gone head-to-head with a casualty system that, in their experience, has failed to compassionately and competently guide them through the harrowing process that begins after a soldier's death.

When the system works smoothly, and it often does, families say they feel a profound sense of comfort. But others have seen their hurt deepen...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/07/us/07notify.html

Article Listed Twice at NY Times: Click Either Link for Complete Article

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/07/us/07notify.html?ex=1144555200&en=af026ea57c502387&ei=5087

Sunday, April 02, 2006

A Sailor Killed in Action on Dec. 7, 1941, Wins Recognition and a Fitting Burial

Used for Educational and Other Fair-Use Purposes Only

IN THE MILITARY

art
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM

Unknown No Longer

A sailor killed in action on Dec. 7, 1941, wins recognition and a fitting burial

Patrick Delos Roberts played the bagpipes, below, as Navy pallbearers folded the flag during funeral services for Seaman 2nd Class Warren Paul Hickok, pictured above, at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific on Wednesday morning. Hickok was killed in action during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, but was buried as an unknown. His remains were exhumed in 1948 and reburied after a failed attempt to identify them. After extensive research and a compelling lead by Pearl Harbor survivor Ray Emory, the remains were exhumed once again for forensic work by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, which arrived at a positive identification in October 2005. Attending the services were family members, including Hickok's sister Marilyn Carol Woodring from Florida.

art
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM


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