If you should die, think only this of me
In that still quietness where is space for thought,
Where parting, loss and bloodshed shall not be,
And men may rest themselves and dream of nought:
That in some place a mystic mile away
One whom you loved has drained the bitter cup
Till there is nought to drink; has faced the day
Once more, and now, has raised the standard up.
And think, my son, with eyes grown clear and dry
She lives as though for ever in your sight,
Loving the things you loved, with heart aglow
For country, honour, truth, traditions high,
—Proud that you paid their price. (And if some night
Her heart should break—well, lad, you will not know.)
The Mother by May Herschel-Clarke (1917)
Tonight we gather together to remember the sacrifice of two Marines and a soldier, and to honor the sacrifice of those who loved them.
Sgt. Jose L. Saenz III, 30, of Pleasanton, Texas
Sgt. Saenz died Aug. 9 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
After the knock came, Sgt. Saenz’s mother said: “I feel like it’s still a dream, and I want to wake up.”
Sgt. Saenz was a true hero to his family and he was just about everything — a U.S. Marine, a prankster, an only son and a twin brother. More than anything, relatives said, Saenz was fearless, the kind of person who stayed strong even in the toughest of times.
(snip)
His mother cried and yelled at the military officials to leave. “Why did you come here?” she had demanded. “You have the wrong house.”
(snip)
“I feel like it's still a dream, and I want to wake up,” said Saenz's mother, Leonor Saenz, Wednesday afternoon. Then she broke into a deep, long sob.
Source ~ Global Grind
On Monday, the day of his funeral, hundreds came to pay their respects.
The death of a beloved son can devastate a family.
But the loss of a serviceman can bring an entire community together, and break its heart.
(snip)
Retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant Marshall Seay traveled to Pleasanton from Devine on Monday, though he left the service 21 years ago and had no connection to Saenz or his family.
“The Marine Corps is not a branch of the service; it's a way of life,” said Seay, who donned his full Marine dress blues for the funeral.
“The people of this country have forgotten what it's like to die in service.”
When the hearse carrying Saenz's body passed, Seay stood briskly at attention, raising his hand in salute.
Members of the Patriot Guard Riders, a volunteer veterans group, held large American flags and lined the pathway leading up to St. Andrew's Church. They escorted Saenz's body from Port San Antonio into Pleasanton Saturday, and then led the funeral procession to the cemetery.
(snip)
The riders stood at attention as Saenz's widow, Christy Heritage-Saenz, stepped from the pickup she was riding in and briefly stopped to adjust the miniature American and Marine Corps flags that someone had attached to the truck antenna, ensuring they were at half-mast.
(snip)
After the church service, as the funeral procession inched toward San Ysidro Cemetery, people lined the streets, standing outside car dealerships, convenience stores and in the town square. They held flags, took off their hats, or stood with their hands on their hearts.
Rosalinda Llanas and her co-worker slipped out from the Shell gas station where they work to watch the long stream of cars. Llanas could relate to what the family was feeling: Her son Reginaldo Garcia, 19, left for Afghanistan on Friday, on a military tour with the U.S. Army.
(snip)
But as Llanas worried about what was ahead for her son, Saenz's mother, Leonor, grieved for what she already had lost.
At the cemetery, her son's friend and fellow Marine John Romero presented three American flags: to her, to Saenz's widow and to his son.
Leonor wailed as the Tejano duo Grupo Vision, a favorite of her son's, played a mournful rendition of “El Amigo Que Se Fue” — “The Friend Who Went Away.”
Source ~ My San Antonio
Sgt. Saenz enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in June 2003 and was on his first combat assignment.
Sgt. Saenz loved to play football, to fish and to go to every Spurs game he could.
He is survived by his wife, his son, his mother and three sisters.
Thank you, Sgt. Saenz. Godspeed. Your mission is done.
* * * * * * * * * *
Sgt. Christopher N. Karch, 23, of Indianapolis, Indiana
Sgt, Karch died Aug. 11 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
“He was a great son,” his father wrote on Sgt. Karch’s Facebook page. “I lost track of how many times I told him I was proud of him.”
Friends described him as funny and a great guy on the Facebook page.
(snip)
Pat Karch told 6News he was in Dover, Del., to receive his son's body on Thursday.
"He had wings tattooed across his back to protect him in case his chute didn't open," Karch said. "Now, I guess he has his own set of wings."
Source ~ Channel 6 The Indy Channel
Sgt. Karch’s deployment had been scheduled to end on August 31 -- 20 short days after he was killed.
(Sgt.) Karch graduated from Lawrence Central High School five years ago. He was 23 years old.
The transformation is apparent in the military photos. Christopher Karch grows from a teen to a young man, from basic trainee to sergeant.
(snip)
"It's been rough. You know if I get talking about it, it's really rough cause I break down and cry," said Norman Karch, Christopher's grandfather.
(snip)
"I'm very proud of him. He made the supreme sacrifice for us so I can live in this house, so I can be in a free country, so we can, so you can," said Karch.
(snip)
Christopher Karch’s (death) . . . is considered a loss to the entire (Lawrence Central High School) community.
"It is an honor to know that a person from our family, our extended family, was there on our behalf. Even though this is a tragic moment, but we do want to make sure we recognize him in an honorable way," said Dr. Kevin Brown, Lawrence Central High School principal.
Karch was on his second deployment to Afghanistan and actually extended his stay so he could remain with members of the same unit. He was about to come home.
(snip)
Twenty days until he was supposed to come home and then, his grandfather says, he was planning on getting out of the Army.
"They're gonna bring the whole unit back. He's gonna come back early but he's gonna come back in a body bag," said Norman Karch.
Source ~ WTHR
Sgt. Karch’s grandfather got the news last Wednesday.
Norman Karch, 70, said he received news on Wednesday that his grandson, 23-year-old Sgt. Christopher Karch, was killed in action . . .
(snip)
Norman Karch lives in Anderson and raised his family here.
Norman’s son, Patrick Karch, graduated from Madison Heights High School before moving to Indianapolis to raise Christopher.
(snip)
Norman and his wife, Denise, are still reeling from the news, he said. “We do pretty good until we started talking about it and really thinking about it. Time will heal.”
On his Facebook page, Christopher Karch listed his favorite movies, television shows among other interests.
A fan of Frisbee golf and the “Family Guy” television show, Christopher Karch also enjoyed visiting the beach and reading.
He was pursuing a degree from the University of Maryland with plans to graduate with the 2012 class.
The soldier lived in Sanford, N.C.
Source ~ The Herald Bulletin
Thank you, Sgt. Karch. Godspeed. Your mission is done.
* * * * * * * * * *
Cpl. Kristopher Daniel Greer, 25, of Ashland City, Tennessee
Cpl. Greer died Aug. 8 of wounds received Aug. 6 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 4th Combat Engineering Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, based out of Knoxville, Tenn.
Daniel Greer spent his life in service - sometimes as a firefighter, sometimes as a Marine reservist.
He gave his life for that service a week ago.
(snip)
Greer grew up in nearby Pegram and spent most of his life there except for trips to Knoxville to drill with his unit, Ashland City Fire Chief Chuck Walker said.
"He was the typical all-American guy," Walker said. "He'd been volunteering as a firefighter since he was a teenager. His family always came first, but when he wasn't with them, he was at the fire hall or with the Marines. He loved taking care of people and serving his country."
Source ~ Knoxville News-Sentinel
“Daniel has been a true hero, not only in serving his country, but in serving his community as an Ashland City firefighter," Ashland City fire chief Chuck Walker said.
Greer, a 2003 graduate of Harpeth High School, joined the Ashland City fire department as a volunteer in March 2005 and became a full-time employee two years later.
“He was an energetic and outgoing person and was a great asset to our department,” Walker said. “His father said ever since Daniel was young he wanted to be a firefighter. He was also always passionate about his wishes to serve his country."
(snip)
“Daniel was a character. He was very outspoken, and he didn’t mind letting you know what was on his mind,” Walker said.
The fire chief said the death of Greer is the same as losing a family member.
“We (firefighters) spend a lot of time together. Even on Daniel’s days off, he would often go hunting and fishing with the other firefighters,” he said.
Walker said Greer’s pride and joy was his family, which included his wife, Stacy, and young son, Ethan.
“He always put his family first even above the fire department and military,” he said.
Source ~ Nashville Tennessean
The Ashland City Fire Department will escort the body of Cpl. Greer from the Nashville Airport on Wednesday. Visitation will take place from 2 pm to 8 pm on Thursday at the Pegram Church of Christ.
Funeral services for Cpl. Greer will take place at 2 p.m. on Friday at the Pegram Church of Christ.
Cpl. Greer is survived by his wife, Stacy, and by their son, Ethan.
Tribute Video Ashland City Fire Department
Thank you, Cpl. Greer. Godspeed. Your mission is done.
_____________________________________________________________________
Remember them. Honor their sacrifice.
To date, 4415 members of the United States military have lost their lives in Iraq. The death toll thus far in 2010 is 45. More than 40,000 members of the military have been wounded, many grievously. The Department of Defense Press Releases, from which the information at the start of each entry in this diary was drawn, can be seen here. The death toll among Iraqis is unknown, but is at least 200,000 and quite probably many times that number.
To date, 1226 members of the United States military have lost their lives in Afghanistan. The death toll thus far for 2010 is 279. 775 members of the military from other countries have also lost their lives.
Assisting our military: Supporting our troops is the RIGHT THING to do.
You can contribute:
You can send a care package. Please consider brightening the day of a soldier with a care package.
You can write letters.
You can send a cup of organic coffee.
You can find other ways to give at anysoldier.com or Fisher House. If you have frequent flyer miles you would like to donate to hospitalized veterans or their families, please see Fisher House’s Hero Miles program.
You can help the left-behind animal companions of our troops. See how here.
And don’t forget them when they get home! Read welcomebackveterans.org to learn what you can do. Visit VoteVets and IAVA.
About the IGTNT series:
(Our beautiful logo was created by kossack Timroff. Thank you, Timroff.)
The purpose of the I Got the News Today series is to honor service members who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; its title is a reminder that almost every day a military family gets the terrible news about a loved one. It is one of the oldest continuous series on Daily Kos.
Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and is currently maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, a girl in MI, Spam Nunn, JeNoCo, Janos Nation, True Blue Majority, Proud Mom and Grandma, Sandy on Signal, CalNM, Wide Awake in KY, MaggieJean and me, noweasels.
If you would like to contribute to the series, even once a month, please contact Sandy on Signal, or me, noweasels.
To see what these tributes mean to those who have lost a loved one in Iraq or Afghanistan, please read Sandy on Signal’s story about meeting the father of a soldier at NN10.
As you read this diary, please consider that the families and friends of those profiled here also may read it and that many members of our community have served in Iraq or Afghanistan or have loved ones currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the very proud daughter of a Navy pilot, and the granddaughter of a Marine pilot and a submariner ~ all of whom rest beneath our nation‘s flag ~ I hope that the comments tonight will demonstrate our respect for the sacrifices of our fallen military and our compassion for their families. Please reserve political and other comments for appropriate diaries; this is not one of them.