Tonight, we honor three killed in Afghanistan. One was a husband and father of three young children, who died during combat operations. The other two soldiers were Military Policemen, who were killed after violent riots erupted due to the burning of the Qurans.
Since 2001, there have been 1904 American troops killed in Afghanistan. Since January 1, 2012 there have been 40 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan. Please take a moment to honor their sacrifice.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members chronicled here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.
DoD Announces Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Sgt. Allen R. McKenna Jr., 28, of Noble, Okla., died Feb. 21 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
"You really cannot put into words the pain and the things you feel when you find these out," said Connie Sams-Mitchell, McKenna's mother to the News On 6-TV
Connie recently saw her son back in December, when he came home for the birth of his son. Sgt. McKenna deployed for Afghanistan in September and this was his second tour of duty there. His mother said he loved the Army. She didn't want him to join right after high school but he did in September of 2004. He enlisted and was based out of Fort Carson.
"His children meant everything to him. Everything he did was based around his family," Connie said.
Sgt. McKenna is survived by his wife and three children. He earned the following medals and decorations: two Aghanistan Campaign Medals with Campaign Star Awards, two Army Commendation Medals, a Parachutist Badge and numerous others.
Funeral arrangements are pending and will take place in Noble, Oklahoma.
Rest in Peace, Sgt. Allen McKenna.
DoD Announces Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
They died Feb. 23, in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when their unit came under small arms fire. They were assigned to the 385th Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne), XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Stewart, Ga.
Killed were:
Sgt. Joshua A. Born, 25, of Niceville, Fla., and
Cpl. Timothy J. Conrad Jr., 22, of Roanoke, Va.
Sgt. Josh Born had only been in Afghanistan for a month, when he was killed by an Afghan trained soldier who shot him and Cpl. Timothy Conrad during a riot due to Qurans burned by our Army. Both men were serving with the 549th Military Police Company, 358th Battalion.
Northwest Florida Daily stated Sgt. Born attended Niceville High School. He graduated in 2005. He enlisted in the Army in 2007 and was on his first deployment when he was killed in Afghanistan.
“It isn’t hard. I’m in Afghanistan; anything from the states is more than welcome.”
Born posted on Facebook to his friends asking if he needed anything.
Sgt. Born married Megan Born in 2010. They were crazy for each other. He wrote this post on his Facebook page:
I am happily married to the most amazing woman in the world. I couldnt get through this deployment without her support and that is by far the most honest thing I can say about anybody that I know.
Deepest condolences to Megan Born and his family.
Cpl. Timothy Conrad's last words home are vividly remembered by his family. His sister told the Associated Press the day before he was killed he told his family:
'He was doing good. He had his chin up,' she told the Associated Press. '... He did say that things were starting to get crazy from the backlash.'
Cpl. Conrad joined the Army about four years ago, his dad, Tim Conrad, told the
Roanoke Times.
"He was a super son, a great husband, a great father," Tim Conrad said. "This is the way I look at it: He'll always be a hero to us."
His father, Tim Conrad, said his son T.J. Conrad, 22, was shot and killed by
"some sort of insurgent in an Afghan army or police uniform," said his father, Tim Conrad.
"It was basically an ambush," he said.
Cpl. T.J. Conrad graduated high school in Roanoke. He is survived by his wife, Holly and seven month old son Bentley, along with his parents, and siblings. The tribute below shows how loved and missed he is. Cpl. Conrad is to promoted posthumously to Sargent. Funeral arrangements are pending.
In Flanders Fields
by Lt. Col. John McRae, MD, (1872-1918)
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved,
and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind. Its title is a reminder that almost every day a military family gets the terrible news about a loved one. Diaries about the fallen usually appear two days after their names are officially released, which allows time for the IGTNT team to find and tell their stories.
All of the U.S. fatalities can be seen here and here. They all had loved ones, families and friends. The DoD news releases are here. I Got the News Today is intended to honor, respect and remind. Click the IGTNT tags below for previous diaries.
Click the IGTNT tags to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Monkeybiz, Noweasels, Blue Jersey Mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, SisTwo, Spam Nunn, True Blue Majority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, Maggie Jean, Jax Dem, Kestrel 9000, TheFatLadySings, Ekaterina, and me, Sandy on Signal.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members chronicled here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.