Good evening, dear ones. Will you please join me and the IGTNT team tonight as we honor PFC Shane M. Reifert of Cottrellville, Michigan. PFC Reifert died November 6 in the Kunar province of Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire.
Will you dear Kossacks kindly take a moment to send a warm thought or prayer to the hundreds of thousands of forgotten or unnoticed souls who have suffered, and continue to suffer, from the insanity of war? This is not their diary but still, we all feel and grieve the pain of a broken human spirit.
Blessings and Light to all who share our world.
As you read this diary, please remember that friends and loved ones of the soldier honored here may read your comments. Please, whatever our personal feelings about the war may be, may our comments only reflect compassion for their grief and loss. Thank you.
PFC Shane M. Reifert
An entire community is grieving tonight over the loss of one of their own: 23-year-old Shane Reifert.
"They'll never get him back," said Ms. Stephanie Gill, Shane's former history teacher at Cardinal Mooney High School. "I grieve not only for the life he'll never have, but also for his parents."
Shane Reifert graduated from Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School in 2005. Ms. Karen Lietz, the school's principal, said that Shane's mother, Kitty Reifert, taught at Cardinal Mooney for eight years.
"The great thing about a small school," said Ms. Lietz, "...is you grow close to everybody, but that's also the hard part. [Shane's death is] a heartbreaker" and "devastating".
Shane Reifert showed interest in the military from a very young age.
"From the time he was a little boy, he was involved with the Civil War reenactments," Ms. Gill remembers. "I think it was his uncle or another family member that got him involved, and he did it...even to the dress and everything."
Shane's uncle, Gary Reifert, recalled his nephew's pride in his chosen career. "It was everything to him. He was very, very dedicated to this."
Mr. Reifert said his nephew collected military memorabilia long before he was eligible to enlist. PFC Reifert joined the Army in August 2009 and he arrived at Fort Campbell, Kentucky that December. This was Shane's second deployment to Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) out of Fort Campbell.
Video story available at WJBK Fox 2 - Detroit.
Among PFC Reifert's many awards and decorations are the National Defense Service Medal; a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; an Army Service Ribbon; a NATO Medal and the Combat Infantry Badge.
The magnificent Patriot Guard Riders have PFC Reifert on their Watch List where members are posting messages of love and support for the Reifert family.
Cardinal Mooney friends and alumni are raising money for school donations in Shane's name, which will put a memorial plaque dedicated to Shane on their Wall of Honor.
"I knew how important the military was [to Shane]. He got to do something that he really wanted to do, and it was his heart's desire to do it," Ms. Gill said. "He could've got hit by a bus. He could've died some other way, but this was meaningful."
PFC Reifert is survived by his parents, Kurt and Kitty Reifert.
Our hearts are with all who knew and loved Shane Reifert. Please know that we stand beside you at this terrible time of loss.
Our lovely forget-me-nots were a gift to the IGTNT team from dear llbear.
I can't think of a better way to honor the fallen than to contribute to the well-being of their fellow soldiers still on active duty.
The following fine organizations could sure use your support and your donations: AnySoldier.com, Books for Soldiers, Fisher House, the Military Pets Foster Project, Guardian Angels for Soldier's Pets, Operation Baghdad Pups, Operation Enduring Christmas, an organization that sends holiday presents to the children of our fallen troops, and Helping Udders, an organization that sends cooling vests to the Military Working Dogs stationed with their handlers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind. Click here to see other IGTNT diaries, a series which was begun by i dunno and which is currently maintained by Sandy on Signal, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, noweasels, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, TrueBlueMajority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, maggiejean, JaxDem, and racheltracks.
These diaries are heartbreaking to write and read but, we believe, are an important service to those Americans who have died, and to our community's respect for and remembrance of them. Fallen soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and National Guard whose names have been released by the Department of Defense will usually be diaried two days after the official announcement on the DoD website. This allows the IGTNT team to cover each fallen service member more fully, but still in a timely manner.
PEACE AND BLESSINGS