You, whose forebodings have been all fulfilled,
You who have heard the bell, seen the boy stand
Holding the flimsy message in his hand
While through your heart the fiery question thrilled
"Wounded or killed, which, which?"--and it was "Killed--"
And in a kind of trance have read it, numb
But conscious that the dreaded hour was come,
No dream this dream wherewith your blood was chilled--
Oh brothers in calamity, unknown
Companions in the order of black loss,
Lift up your hearts, for you are not alone.
~ Henry Christopher Bradby
April 1918
Lance Cpl. Ray A. Spencer II, 20, of Ridgecrest, California
Lance Cpl. Spencer died April 16 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
Three weeks ago, Lance Cpl. Ray Spencer was home in Hawaii. Last week, he died in Iraq.
When two uniformed Marines arrived at her home last week, Athena Spencer's world came crashing down.
"When I went to the door, I knew," she said.
Through her tears and confusion, she first thought it was some kind of terrible joke.
"Anthony," as she called her husband, had dreamed of joining the Marines since he was a little boy.
Not long before his death, he sent his wife a bouquet of white lilies for Easter.
(snip)
Spencer's father, a Navy veteran who lives in Ridgecrest (CA), went to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to escort his son's remains back to California.
After a transfer ceremony Sunday, the flag-draped transfer case was flown back to California, Mrs. Spencer said.
"He just got in today," she said Tuesday.
Source ~ Bakersfield Californian
Lance Cpl. Spencer and his wife, Athena, were newlyweds.
Ray and Athena were introduced by friends via phone and e-mail. Their communications turned to romance during Spencer's first deployment to Iraq from August 2007 to February 2008.
They met face-to-face for the first time in April 2008 and were married on June 18.
They were 20-year-old newlyweds who lived in a small studio apartment in Enchanted Lake in Kailua until Spencer shipped out this month for his second deployment to Iraq.
"He's just a genuinely sweet person," Athena said. "He respects women and people in general. He's never the type of guy to be rude. He was so polite and laid back, never aggressive."
His death has stunned the small town of Ridgecrest, a community of 28,000 people in the high desert of Southern California that has only one high school, Burroughs High School, according to Jim Selle, Burroughs' senior naval science instructor who taught Spencer as a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps Navy cadet.
(snip)
"He was a tall skinny kid who always had a smile on his face," Selle said. "I don't think I ever saw him without one. He came in and wanted to be a Marine and he was going to be a Marine. He achieved his goal."
Source ~ Honolulu Advertiser.
Burroughs High School is mourning Cpl. Spencer, a 2006 graduate.
"Ray was committed to be a Marine from the first day he walked into my class," said retired Lt. Cmdr. Jim Selle, USN, who is the ROTC teacher. "He always had a smile on his face.
"We (the ROTC Cadets) will hold a short ceremony in his honor Thursday at noon at the BHS flagpole," Selle said.
SPC Sue Piatt, US Army, remembers Ray as a great friend.
"He was my football buddy during PT, which is physical training. I remember every time we talked it was, ‘Man, I can’t wait to join the Marines,’ he always said. We joked around with him being a Marine and I was going Army. He would always say, ‘Marines are the best. You should go Marines,’ or something like that. I have no doubt he was a great Marine, because what I saw of him was a great cadet in the NJROTC class. He was a great friend and always made everyone smile and laugh. I want to tell his parents he was a great comrade and friend, and that they have a great son," Piatt said.
(snip)
Dorothy A. Christy (McGoon) graduated from Burroughs with Ray Spencer.
"I’m so sad to hear about Ray. He was a friend of mine. I am currently deployed in OEF," she said.
(snip)
Source ~ The Daily Independent.
On Monday, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued the following statement about Lance Cpl. Spencer:
"Lance Cpl. Ray A. Spencer II will be remembered as a brave marine who spent his young life serving his country with honor. His willingness to put his life on the line to uphold the values of liberty and democracy will never be forgotten. Maria and I join all Californians in offering our deepest condolences to Ray’s family and friends during this painful time."
(snip)
In honor of Lance Cpl. Spencer, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff.
Source ~ Office of the Governor.
Lance Cpl. Spencer, a rifleman, joined the Marine Corps in June 2006 and had just deployed to Iraq for the second time in April. His first tour was from August 2007 to February 2008. His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
Thank you, Lance Cpl. Spencer. Godspeed. Your mission is done.
Cpl. William C. Comstock, 21, of Van Buren, Arkansas
Cpl. Comstock died April 22 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Supply Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 25, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Those who knew him say Craig Comstock was searching for a place to belong.
Stephen Comstock, father of Cpl. William Craig Comstock, said he believed his son found that place in the Marine Corps and planned to make a career of the military.
(snip)
He said the military flew his son to an American military hospital in Germany where he died.
He described Craig as independent, an outgrowth of his mother having left home when he was a baby. Comstock said he let his son have his independence and that his son was happy as a child.
"Even though he was from a single-parent home, he used that as motivation to excel and be a success," he said.
He described his son as outgoing and a defender of the weak. He belonged to several churches and was active in various youth groups.
He said his son attended grade school and high school up to his junior year in Cedarville. In 2004, he transferred to Alma High School, from which he graduated in 2005.
Craig Comstock was an outstanding athlete in football and track at both schools. Coaches said he was a hard worker.
(snip)
"Craig did not have a lot," (one of his coaches) said. "His way of achieving was to do it out on the field or on the track."
Source ~ Arkansas Democrat Gazette
If someone was calculating the odds for a successful life, he would probably figure they were stacked against Cpl. William Craig Comstock.
Raised in a single-parent household and later a succession of foster homes, Comstock faced adversity from an early age.
He could have used all those circumstances in his upbringing as excuses to stay back," recalled Paul Fletcher, a minister who met Comstock in 2001. "He could have gotten into the wrong crowd, but he didn’t."
(snip)
Comstock’s father, Steve Comstock, said he received word Monday of his son’s grave injury. He said within hours, the Marines had sent him on the beginning of a 15,000-mile succession of jet flights that brought him to Germany, where his son, on life support, had already been airlifted.
He gave consent to discontinue that support Wednesday. The Marine was 21.
Steve Comstock said he has yet to hear the details of his son’s injury, which the Department of Defense has classified a "non-hostile incident."
"Rather than focus on the size of the bullet, I think we should be talking about his contribution to his country," he said. "I think that is much more important than the gory aspects of his death. He needs to be honored, not exploited."
"He was ‘the perfect Marine,’" said Janet Parmenter. The Crawford County woman said she met Comstock when he and her son, Nick Harrison, played football in high school. She said their friendship continued after school, with the two getting together when he would come home to Van Buren on leave.
"He was so nice," Parmenter said, adding that her son, "really looked up to him."
(snip)
Steve Comstock said his son was heavily involved in church activities and often headed out for one outing or another.
(snip)
"If you needed a helping hand, you got it," he said. "That was in Craig, very much a part of him."
Comstock excelled in sports, both at Cedarville, where he began high school, and Alma, where he transferred in his junior year and graduated in 2006.
"He was just a great kid," Alma track coach Tom McMurray said of Comstock. "He was a kid you love coaching. Anything you would ask him to do, he was more than willing."
(snip)
McMurray said Comstock was great to be around, and always seemed to be "looking for a place to belong."
(snip)
He said Comstock would occasionally stop by the school, and that he visited the school in his dress blues before he shipped off for Iraq in January.
(snip)
Paul Fletcher said he considers Comstock his "son of faith," having introduced him to Christianity and been his spiritual adviser from 2000 to 2004.
Fletcher said he was youth minister at Pleasant Valley Church of Christ when he met Comstock, then a 13-year-old junior high school student.
(snip)
"He was not a church kid," Fletcher said, "but he had a need for it all." He said Comstock’s faith "had a practical, everyday meaning for him."
He said his friend was "full of life, fun and had a vibrant personality."
Fletcher said there were difficulties at Comstock’s home, and his family took him in "for days at a time."
Comstock eventually ended up in the foster care system, where it became difficult for the minister, who was also on the move, to keep track of him. Now an associate minister in a mission in San Francisco, Fletcher said he and Comstock last saw each other when he was a high school senior.
Fletcher said Comstock, despite his circumstances, "came out of nowhere and touched our lives for a short time."
(snip)
Sara Mahan, a friend of Comstock’s since high school, said she set up (a page on Facebook) to encourage prayers for Comstock when she learned he had been injured. In the space of a few days, those joining the page grew from about 30 to more than 300.
"He changed a lot of peoples’ lives for the better," Mahan said by telephone Friday. A number of those writing on the page share their memories and experiences.
"He was my best friend. And I am proud of him," Mahan said.
Source ~ Southwest Times Record
Cpl. Comstock’s foster mother is in mourning.
"I didn't want to believe it," said Leona Marston, Comstock's foster mother. "I wouldn't believe it until I heard it with my own ears from somebody I knew."
(snip)
Marston said she'll never forget the day her son surprised her with a visit.
"He came (to) church in uniform and I was real proud of him," said Marston.
(snip)
Marston said her son touched a lot of lives in ways he'll never know.
"Everything was a challenge for him," Marston said. "He was just up for anything that came along and he laughed a lot. He had a big smile and he always showed that."
Source ~ KHBS 4029 TV.
Video ~ A Foster Mother Remembers.
When news of Cpl. Comstock’s death was reported on a local television station, a flood of emails and telephone calls poured in. The station recorded a tribute to him that is now up on its website.
Friday we talked with Marco Jones, Corporal Comstock's best friend, about how a bus ride would forever change the two of their lives.
"My first day riding on the bus he was one of the first people that went up to me and introduced himself and asked me to sit with him," best friend Marco Jones recalls.
They never looked back from that day in the 4th grade. Jones says they became fast friends; more than that in fact
"He was like my brother."
(snip)
"Man we would laugh about some of the stuff that people would never laugh about and we would just crack his big smile, his teeth would be showing," Jones laughed. "It was genuine. You knew he was really, really pouring out from his heart."
They were best friends, neighbors, and on the football field and track they were teammates. He once ran track and played footballs at Cedarville High but later played at and graduated from Alma.
(snip)
Coach (Brad) Rey and Craig's best friend recall the big heart Craig had. Now, Marco Jones is trying to focus on the time they had but says it's tough.
"It's just so much stuff that I'm going to miss with him."
In the end what can one really say? His fiance Kyra ended an email with this: "
words will never truly give him the honor he deserves."
Kyra gave us a list of words she says describes Craig:
He was loving, prideful, compassionate, stubborn, hardworking, funny, inspiring, hopeful, determined, goofy, a showoff, protective and caring.
(snip)
It's clear that while Corporal Comstock loved many people. They loved him back. The corporal was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. He had been shot on his first tour but wanted to return. His fiance says he had just proposed to her and they had plans to marry, but she says he told her: "I'm doing this so that those Marines over there can come back and be with their families. It's time for them to come home, I'll make that sacrifice."
And he did.
Source ~ KFSM
Slideshow and Tribute.
Cpl. Comstock joined the Marine Corps in January 2007 and was assigned to the 2nd Supply Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 25, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. He deployed to Iraq in January and was trained as an ammunition technician.
Cpl. Comstock’s awards include the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.
A private service for Cpl. Comstock is being planned at Ocker Funeral Home. A memorial with full military honors is scheduled for 11 a.m. May 2 at Fort Smith National Cemetery.
Thank you, Cpl. Comstock. Godspeed. Your mission is done.
_______________________________________________________________________
Remember them. Honor their sacrifice.
To date, 4278 members of the United States military have lost their lives in Iraq. The death toll thus far in 2009 is already 57. More than 31,000 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, 679 members of the United States military have lost their lives in Afghanistan. The death toll thus far for 2009 is 49. 455 members of the military from other countries have also lost their lives.
Slide Show ~ The Final Salute
Other sites have stories, video, pictures and remembrances, including: Honor the Fallen. A group of runners is crossing the United States, dedicating a mile to each fallen soldier, sailor, Marine, Airman and National Guardsman. You can read about ~ and see photos and video of ~ Run for the Fallen here.
Assisting our military: Supporting our troops is the RIGHT THING to do.
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.
Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and is currently maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, greenies, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, JeNoCo, mediaprof, and me, noweasels.
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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 your political comments for appropriate diaries; this is not one of them.