More Importance Than Celebrity

While I have condolences for the loses of the entertainment industry this is a military forum. I would like to seek help on the sadly forgotten and rarely mentioned Soldiers who are (as we sit here) giving the Ultimate Sacrifice. Help in keeping this updated would be appreciated.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
　Sgt. Albert D. Ware, 27, of Chicago, Ill., died Dec. 18 in Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 782nd Combat Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Follow up:
A Fort Bragg soldier on his second deployment to Afghanistan was killed Friday when his vehicle struck a homemade bomb, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
Sgt. Albert D. Ware, 27, of Chicago, Ill., died in the Arghandab River Valley in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan.
He is the 10th soldier from the 82nd Airborne Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team killed since the brigade went to Afghanistan in the summer.
"They are on the offense," said Maj. Brian Fickel, a division spokesman at Fort Bragg. "It's a product of that. With the surge of forces into Afghanistan, we expect that's going to continue all across Afghanistan."
Ware was assigned to Company F of the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
"Sgt. Ware was loved and respected by all personnel in his platoon," said Sgt. 1st Class Kalep Rivers, his platoon sergeant. "He will be truly missed."
Ware joined the Army as a motor transport operator on July 6, 2006, and attended basic training and advanced individual training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. He completed the Basic Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. and was assigned to the 782nd Brigade Support Battalion at Fort Bragg in November 2006.
"He would go above and beyond his job," said Sgt. Scott Wolfe, who worked with Ware. "He thought of his soldiers before himself, any day. He would often work late nights and weekends to make sure soldiers had what they needed for missions."
Ware served with the battalion during its 15-month deployment to Afghanistan from January 2007 to April 2008.
He is survived by his wife, Pleshette Farmer-Ware; his son, T'John B. Ware; his daughters, Heaven Ferguson and Musu Cawtain; his father, Thomas Ware; and his mother, Massa Cooper.
A memorial in his honor will be held in Afghanistan.
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The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
　Pfc. Serge Kropov, 21, of Hawley, Pa., died Dec. 20 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Helmand province, Afghanistan.　 He was assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif.

Wed Dec 30, 2009, 05:25 PM EST

South Canaan - PFC Serge Kropov, 21, of Hemlock Farms, was laid to rest Wednesday with full military honors.
Kropov, a CH-53 helicopter aircraft mechanic, with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing out of Miramar, California, was serving in Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom when he died in a non-hostile incident in Helmand Province, December 20.
Friend and neighbor, Lindamay Rodnite of Hawley says her sons were friends of Serge’s; that they all attended school together. “He was just a very kind, giving, friendly, loving person,” she said. “He had a million friends.”
“When he went into the Marines, he joined the Marines voluntarily, to be part of keeping our Country free,” she said. “I told Serge, ‘I would love to raise a Marine Flag in your honor.’ And he sent me a flag which I still have hanging in front of my house in his honor ...He was a very likable man ...He was a wonderful son to his mom,” she said.
Rodnite’s daughter, Lorrie Schwinn said, “He was always smiling. He just was always friendly, a gentleman ...A tragic loss, just a good kid.”
Schwinn says when she learned of Serge’s death, she contacted the Hemlock Farms association, respectfully requesting they drop their flags. “We just lost one of our own,” she remembers saying. “They did it immediately, in honor of our fallen Marine.”
Jonathan Rodnite, 22, of Hemlock Farms has all good memories of Serge. “He was a good friend from day one. Very outgoing, very social.” He remembers how Serge didn’t have a car when he first moved into Hemlock Farms, how he’d ride his mountain bike throughout the neighborhood.
The last time he spoke with him was a month or so ago on Facebook, asking him, ‘How’s life?’ and other catch-up questions. “He was a good-hearted person,” Jonathan said. “He’d do anything for you.”
Jonathan’s brother, Patrick, 21, says Serge was a best friend. They too last spoke via Facebook two months ago, catching up on each other’s lives.
Patrick says he and Serge both attended Wallenpaupack Area High School, used to work out together, enjoyed a good game of basketball and trick bike riding. Serge, he said, was “a fun loving guy, always in a good mood,”
To Serge’s family, Patrick said, “Sorry for your loss. I send my condolences. Peace be with you.”
To his friend, he said, “Rest in peace.”
The service was held at the Monastery of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, in South Canaan.
PFC Kropov received the following awards in service to the country: Iraq Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, and Sea Service Deployment Medal.


Ca. Gov. Schwarzenegger Issues Statement on Death of Miramar Marine : Wed, 23 Dec 2009 : California Newswire™

 

Let me try to explain why I started this and my apologies for opening it in a wrong thread. Hey I’m still new here and learning the ropes.
My main reason for joining WW2f was to read the accounts of the Veterans, gather information on areas of Military history and trade thoughts and ideas of like minded people, (on military subjects). I guess watching, “Taking Chance” and “In the Valley of Ilah” just hit me too damn hard and I was (to be blunt), fed up with the media’s idea of what is news and what is not. I know , I know the movie references belong in another thread also and I’ll put them there later.
Back on Point: It galls my rear that pampered, spoiled, egotistical, overpaid and over-rated “celebrities” are constantly thrust into the ‘lime light’ while those that could truly be Role Models are never heard of. That’s it. No other reason. Just my way of espousing my Free Speech on a Military Forum.

 

This should answer any other questions. Thanks Tomcat

It may take time but I will try to add information for each soldier as it becomes available.

 

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
　
Lance Cpl. Omar G. Roebuck, 23, of Moreno Valley, Calif., died Dec. 22, as a result of a non-hostile incident in Helmand province, Afghanistan. 　He was assigned to 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

 

Below is an article taken from the local newspaper about two soldiers. My wife taught both of these men when they were seven years old and in second grade.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

As the skies darkened at East Peoria Community High School's homecoming game Friday, a musician lifted a trumpet and played taps, the notes echoing over the football field where George Obourn Jr. and Kris Walker marched in the school band before going off to war.
Two marching band hats were handed to their families, memorializing friends who had grown up together, graduated together in 2004, and then joined the Army together.
The men also were deployed to Iraq together, and in a coincidence that has stunned this central Illinois town, they died within 24 hours of each other--Obourn in a building explosion Tuesday, Walker from a roadside bomb Monday, both near Baghdad.
"It helped knowing they had each other," Debbie Obourn said of her son's friendship with Walker.
They were two of 26 soldiers killed in Iraq during the last week, the deadliest for American troops there since January, and among the deadliest for U.S. forces since the Iraq invasion, according to U.S. military tallies. The memorial service on a football field in East Peoria came as recently fallen service members were remembered across the country.
In Wakefield, Mass., 1,300 students observed a moment of silence Friday for Marine Lance Cpl. Edward M. Garvin, killed Wednesday in Iraq's Anbar province. On Wednesday, a memorial service was held for Sgt. Joseph W. Perry at Ft. Bragg, N.C., The Modesto Bee reported, after the California native's death Monday in Muhallah, Iraq. Others killed this week hailed from Highland, N.Y.; Pendleton, S.C.; San Antonio; and Brooklyn.
Obourn and Walker, both 20, members of the 7th Battalion, 10th Cavalry Regiment, were scheduled to return to the U.S. next month. Walker had been sending home letters saying he had gotten a lot from his military experience, and that he might even try joining the FBI after leaving the Army, Walker's father, Kevin, said in a halting voice before the memorial service Friday.
"He thought he could make a difference," Kevin Walker said of his son. "He had always wanted to join, especially after 9/11."
Obourn's parents, Debbie and George Sr., said their son joined the Army during the war out of a sense of duty. He brought home pictures of his work during a Father's Day visit, most of them depicting the smiling faces of Iraqi children. The young man was as proud of what he was doing in Iraq as the Obourns were of their son, his father said. Though they had moved to Naperville three years ago, they drove back to East Peoria for the Friday commemoration.
Family members, former teachers, and hometown friends recalled the young men as friendly enough to transcend school cliques and aimed at service for much of their adolescence.
At St. Peter's Lutheran Church in East Peoria, Obourn made up and delivered Christmas baskets to children who otherwise wouldn't get presents. As a teen, Walker would leap to the defense of classmates being teased, said East Peoria physical education teacher Glen Newton.
Both grew up near Peoria, got decent marks, and were involved in the school band program. Nobody could put a finger on when they enlisted in the Army together, said school Principal Paul Whittington. "It was just something when you heard they were in the armed services together, nobody was surprised," he said.
As their deaths sank in--as close together as everything else in their lives--a sense of grim acceptance grew in East Peoria.
"The boys were inseparable, so it was almost like it was meant to be," said Robin Goff, their freshman science teacher.
Friday night, the school band in which Obourn had once played the trumpet and Walker the trombone marched in to applause from the East Peoria crowd, leading teens, their families and neighbors through cheers.
But an enormous change came over the crowd as Whittington led the young men's families onto the field.
"Our heroes paid the ultimate sacrifice," Whittington said. Raucous children, the younger siblings of high school students, grew silent. Adults set their jaws or looked into the bright white lights around the field.
Two marching band hats were placed on a maroon table, officially retired in honor of the two boys who once had worn hats just like them. Taking the field, trumpeter Keith Wilfinger, 18, a returning alumnus, closed his eyes and began playing taps.
The notes came out clearly and echoed over the silent crowd.

Debbie and George Obourn Sr. held hands, as did Beth and Kevin Walker, both sets of parents in the center of a huddle of extended family, most fighting back sobs.
As the last note faded away, a dignified applause took its place, washing over the Obourn and Walker families. The marching band hats were handed to them as the national anthem began playing.
"God Bless America. God Bless Kris and George," the principal said.
His part over, Wilfinger walked off the field, his face set, to a wall 50 feet away at the bottom of the grandstand.

Alone under the crowd and out of sight, he put a hand over his eyes and began sobbing.

 

Good thread, I have moved some of these posts to their own threads, each titled after the deceased. Please follow this format in the future, as each of the fallen deserve their own area. I'll will move the remainder of the ones in this thread to their own threads in due time.

 

Deleted reply to ex-poster

 

Revisiting older threads and would like to ask if a moderator could separate post 13 and place into the Roll of Honor all other conflicts? Also maybe keep George Obourn Jr and Kris Walker in one thread?