All I can do is bring you the news. I can’t seem to stop crying.
Two more soldiers – 22-year-old Spc. Kevin S. Mowl of Pittsford, N.Y. and 19-year-old Spc. Micheal E. Phillips of Ardmore, Okla. -- have died of their wounds, suffered when they hit IEDs in Iraq.
The news follows. Please think of their family and friends who miss them so much tonight.
I Got the News Today (IGTNT): Feb. 28, 2008
According to the Department of Defense, "Spc. Kevin S. Mowl, 22, of Pittsford, N.Y., died Feb. 25 at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., of wounds suffered in Baghdad, Iraq on Aug. 2, 2007, when the vehicle he was in encountered an improvised explosive device." He was flown to Balad, Iraq and then to Germany and finally to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., for a series of surgeries to repair the damage. He died there on Monday morning, after an internal feeding tube broke and punctured his intestine. He was unable to fight the infection that set in.
Spc. Kevin S. Mowl, 22, of Pittsford, N.Y.
There’s a tree at the Rochester School for the Deaf that’s been wrapped with yellow ribbons, in anticipation of Kevin S. Mowl’s homecoming. Now the yellow ribbon turns to black with the announcement of his death.
Mowl, son of RSD superintendent Harold Mowl, was serving with the Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, based in Fort Lewis, Wash., when he was wounded by an IED in Baghdad last August. The explosives were packed into a storm drain and the explosion flipped the vehicle n which Mowl was traveling. (According to seattlepi.com, the incident wounded 11 and killed three: Staff Sgt. Fernando Santos, 29, of San Antonio; Spc. Cristian Roya-Gallego, 24, of Loganville, Ga.; and Spc. Eric D. Salinas, 25, of Houston, diaried here.)
Mowl suffered severe injuries, and the trauma to his head and brain required that part of his skull be removed. It was only one of several surgeries, each blogged by his parents here. The entries are so painful to read – the good news that he squeezed a nurse’s hand; the day he flashed the sign for "I love you"; tapping his fingers in time to an Eric Clapton CD. It’s so unfair that he fought so hard, for so long only to have it end like this.
His cousin, Anthony, wrote this about visiting Kevin in the hospital for the first time:
Kevin is just a year younger than I, and we share the same love and passion for finding the joy in life. Our childhood years were spent raising hell, and if our competiveness didn’t get us into enough trouble, it defined our very personalities. Since we had last seen each other, we’ve both grown tremendously and gone our separate paths. I graduated from college and entered the working world while Kevin chose a bolder path, to serve his country by enlisting in the Service and fighting the war in Iraq. Even though I would not be allowed to enlist in the Army, seeing Kevin go off to Basic Training made me realize that I would never have the strength to do what he did, to make his sacrifice. Walking down the corridor, all my thoughts of Kevin have been reduced to a single IED blast you could feel far beyond Baghdad.
I expected the worst, because what else was there? When we arrived to the open end of Kevin’s 3-walled room, I could instantly recognize Kevin because of his trademark looks and classic dimples, but Kevin had aged considerably into a Man. He was just as I had imagined; unconscious and propped in bed, with his legs suspended by wires and body covered in tubes. Stitches and gashes are spread over his body, and bruises cover his eyes. The only sense of relief I could find was that Kevin did not appear to be in pain, and although he had the assistance of a ventilator, he was breathing steadily and comfortably. Wounds that were now a week and a half old had begun to heal as they should, and a cast that covered his leg signified that it had been repaired and would heal.
He sounds like he was quite driven, even as a young man, and earned a black belt in karate. This is what his former instructor, Tim Fox, wrote:
It was with deep sadness that I read that Kevin had passed away. I had the pleasure of being Kevin's Karate Instructor or "Sensei" for over 10 years, he started as a young boy and grew into a man during that period, achiveving the distinct honor of Black Belt, showing self-confidence, self-esteem and a never quit attitude which was a foreshadowing of the soldier that he would become. Kevin gave the ultimate sacrifice for his country and will never be forgotten.
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has a short slide show that starts with Mowl in uniform – in 2002, at Valley Forge Military Academy in Valley Forge, Pa., where he went to school after leaving Pittsford Mendon High School.
After graduation from Valley Forge, he attended Alfred State University for a year, says the Democrat and Chronicle, before enlisting in the Army. "He had always wanted to be in the Army, from kindergarten," his sister, Carlene Mowl, told the newspaper.
He arrived in Iraq in June 2006 and served as a Stryker driver, SAW gunner and radio telephone operator, the Democrat and Chronicle adds.
He visited the Rochester School for the Deaf when he was home on leave last March. When the school heard about his accident, they held a rally to support him. This is what broke my heart:
During the rally, slides were shown of a visit Kevin made to the school last spring. An interpreter signed along to the music, "I’m Proud To Be an American." The students applauded at the end by waving their hands above their heads.
"Your support means a lot to me and to my family," Harold Mowl said. "When Kevin is able to get better, I’ll tell him everything that you’re doing."
--From RSD’s site
Just a few months ago, Mowl was awarded the Purple Heart and a Presidential Medallion, which were presented bedside by President George W. Bush.
Here is the update from the family’s blog on Feb. 13th:
Kevin was moved from intensive care to a regular hospital room late this afternoon. We are very pleased about that!
Days later, this entry from his father appeared:
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2008 01:18 PM, CST
I want to let you all know that Kevin passed away peacefully today at 10:13AM. Mary, Carlene and I were with him until his end. More information will be forthcoming.
May the Mowl family be surrounded by the love and support of their community, and may they know just how many people cared about the life and service of their son.
The funeral is scheduled for Saturday in Pittsford and "funeral home officials said they were working to locate a church with enough room to house the expected crowd," says the Democrat and Chronicle. (Update: "A military funeral ceremony will be held Saturday at 10 AM at the Linehan Chapel in the Golisano Academic Center at Nazareth College.") The newspaper writes that he is survived by "his loving parents Harold and Mary Mowl of Pittsford, sister Carlene Mowl of New York City, and grandmother Jane Mowl of Pittsford. Also aunts Vera (Andy) Head of Shreveport, LA, and Rita (Robin) Mowl of Indianapolis; uncles Joe Arrington of Llano, TX, and Gary (Brenda) Mowl of Indianapolis; cousins Mark (Laura) Head of Shreveport; Michael (Suzie) of Henderson, TX; Joshua (Elon) of Madison, WI; Jeremy (Diana) of Madison; Amy Mowl, Anthony Mowl and Jon Mowl, all of Washington, DC; and several great aunts and uncles."
A fund has been set up in Mowl’s name to help RSD students study abroad; it honors Mowl’s "love of history, politics and world travel."
"As a person, Kevin worked very hard and played very hard," Harold Mowl told the Brighton-Pittsford Post. "That’s going to be my memory forever."
Godspeed, Spc. Kevin S. Mowl.
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Spc. Micheal E. Phillips, 19, of Ardmore, Okla.
The Department of Defense has announced the death of Spc. Micheal E. Phillips, 19, of Ardmore, Okla., "who died Feb. 24 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky."
Little to no information is available about Spc. Phillips at this time. Please, if you come across any articles about him, put them in a comment and I will update the diary.
UPDATE: Operculum, in the comments, points us to this, this and this. I will write more about Spc. Phillips later today. Thank you for coming through, operculum.
Steve Beshear, governor of Kentucky, has asked that flags be flown at half-staff to honor Phillips, who was based at Fort Campbell.
May the Phillips family find comfort in their hour of grief.
Godspeed, Spc. Micheal E. Phillips.
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May the memories of all 3,973 of our fallen continue to shine brightly for all those they leave behind.
We also remember those coalition service members who have given their lives. May their families and friends find healing and peace.
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What You Can Do
More than 30,000 service members have been wounded and soldier suicides are at a record level. Those currently serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would also be grateful for support, even if it's only a letter or a small care package.
Go visit: * Anysoldier.com and Ninepatch’s diary on sending care packages * Operation Helmet * Fisher House * Greenies’ diary, "Random Acts of Remembrance and Other Ways to Support the Troops" * Noweasels’ diary, "Top Comments: In Honor of Major Edition"
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About "I Got the News Today" (IGTNT)
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended 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. 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.
Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, noweasels, MsWings, greenies, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, moneysmith, labwitchy, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn and A Girl in MI.
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