Tonight, there are five to remember. One was a 2011 graduate from West Point, another a soldier from Charlotte, one a soldier from Alameda, California, a soldier from Arkansas and a Marine, who recently completed EOD training.
Since 2001, there have been 1967 American troops killed in Afghanistan. Since January 1, 2012 there have been 103 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 Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
They died May 2 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 7th Engineer Battalion, 10th Sustainment Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.
Killed were:
2nd Lt. David E. Rylander, 23, of Stow, Ohio.
Spc. Junot M. L. Cochilus, 34, of Charlotte, N.C.
2nd Lt. David Rylander graduated from West Point in May 2011. His Eagle Scout Master, Stephen York, told the Beacon-Journal at Ohio.com:
"He cared to make the world a better place and walk a trail that he would leave better than he found it,” York said.
President of West Point’s Class of 2011, 2nd Lt. Joe Simon, 24, said Rylander was the first member of their class of 1,080 cadets to be killed in action.
“He was a great cadet and a great follower of God,” said Simon, originally from Canfield in Mahoning County and now stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky. “He was a great officer. He was soft-spoken and enthusiastic and always wanted to learn and wanted to serve in the military.”
2nd Lt. David Rylander graduated West Point in engineering management. He deployed for Afghanistan in January. His mother, Jackie, said he often asked for friends to send toys and gifts to the Afghan children. She told the Beacon Journal:
“He didn’t want anybody to be left out,” Jackie Rylander said. “He was a humble servant.”
His mother and father are comforted in knowing their faith will carry them through this and she will see her son again. The father, John, told the paper:
“This is a tough time here on earth without his presence,” John Rylander said, “but we know we will be together eternally. Our faith gets us through.”
Besides his parents, 2nd Lt. David Rylander, is survived by three siblings.
Rest in Peace, 2nd Lt. David Rylander.
Spc. Junot Cochilus was a native of Charlotte, North Carolina. At this time, there is little information available, except for condolences from friends and family at
Legacy:
Junot, you are a spirit of truth. You lived a life that inspires me to hold on to the truth. All your life, you were always real with yourself. I am so glad that I had a chance to know you. Those in Christ never die in spirit. I will see you again in Heaven. Rest in Peace!
Your sincere friend & Brother,
~Lender
~ Lender Alger, Madison, Wisconsin
Rest in Peace, Spc. Junot Cochilus.
DoD Announces Marine Casualty
Sgt. John P. Huling, 25, of West Chester, Ohio, died May 6 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Huling’s death was originally reported by the International Security Assistance Force, which characterized it as the result of gunshot wounds inflicted by an individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform.
This incident is under investigation.
Sgt. John Huling wasn't even supposed to be in Afghanistan until October, but was sent early due to losses in his unit. He was trained in the highly specialized field of EOD (explosive ordnance disposal, training, or bomb removal). He was killed by an Afghan National Army soldier, who shot him and another Marine while they were on foot patrol. According to a
Marine Corps Times report, this is the 20th attack this year between U.S. led coalition forces and Afghan forces.
His mother told the Cincinnati Enquirer:
"He was worried because he hadn't finished his training and he didn't feel like he would be prepared to be over there," she said. "But once he got with his new unit he felt very confident because the unit leader was awesome. He said (the unit leader) had been in Afghanistan three times and he felt he was under a really good leader."
She also added:
"He was such a wonderful, dedicated, responsible son," she said. "I would call him and he would call me right back out of respect. The last time we spoke, we talked for a good hour and he talked about a lot of things. He told me when he got home from his deployment he was going to fly me and my granddaughter out to California."
Sgt. John Huling graduated from Moeller High School in 2004. He attended a local community college and worked in the restaurant business before deciding to join the Marines.
Huling was on his second tour of duty. His first was in Iraq. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. His body returns on Sunday to Butler County, Ohio, where a memorial service is planned. He will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
Sgt. Huling is survived by his wife, Priscilla, his parents, brother, sister and a niece.
Semper Fi, Sgt. John Huling.
DoD Announces Army Casualty
Master Sgt. Gregory L. Childs, 38, Warren, Ark., died May 4, in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Childs is assigned to Defense Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va.
Congressman Mike Ross of Arkansas(4th) released the following statement:
"Our state and nation lost a true patriot in the passing of Master Sergeant Childs. His passing comes much too soon and he will be deeply missed. All Americans owe Master Sergeant Childs their eternal gratitude for his service to our nation. There is no way we can ever thank Master Sergeant Childs or his family enough for his service, but we can honor his legacy and life and pledge together to support all of our men and women in uniform who heroically serve this great country of ours. My deepest thoughts and prayers are with his family during this extraordinarily difficult time."
Master Sgt. Childs died from a non-combat related illness while serving in Afghanistan. He is survived by his daughter and mother.
As more information becomes available, this story will be updated.
Rest in Peace, Master Sgt. Gregory Childs.
DoD Announces Army Casualty
Staff Sgt. Thomas K. Fogarty, 30, of Alameda, Calif., died May 6, in Ahmad-Kheyl, Afghanistan, from injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
"Unselfish and independent" is how friends described Staff Sgt. Thomas Fogarty to the television station KGO- abc local in East Bay. The station interviewed co-workers at the local Safeway grocery, where his mother worked for 22 years.
"This is a tragedy and from the bottom of all of our Safeway employees hearts, our hearts go out to them, and we just send our love and our prayers. And anything we can do, feel free to let us know," Trina Carr said.
SSGT Fogarty graduated in 2000 from Alameda High School. He joined the Army in January 2004. Friends say he was on his 3rd or 4th deployment to Afghanistan and planned to remain at home after he completed this tour. He deployed to Afghanistan last month as a replacement.
Fogarty is survived by his wife and two children, ages 2 and 5, and his parents. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Rest in peace SSGT Tom Fogarty.
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.