Tonight, we honor a fallen Marine and a Soldier. The Marine was killed by an IED explosion in Afghanistan. The Soldier died from an illness in Iraq.
Tonight marks the seventh anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom. We have been in Afghanistan for nearly nine years. Since 2001, there have been 1022 American troops killed in Afghanistan. Since 2003, there have been 4385 American troops killed in Iraq. Please take a moment to honor their sacrifice.
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DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Lance Cpl. Garrett W. Gamble, 20, of Sugarland, Texas, died March 11 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
As soon as the word of Garrett Gamble's death was made public, neighbors and friends worked quickly to show their community support for the Gamble family. The subdivision of "New Territory" in Sugarland, Texas is where Garrett grew up and was dearly loved. The neighbors put up a sign at the entry of New Territory in honor of Lance Corporal Garrett Gamble. Eagle Scouts put up more than 100 flags to greet the Gamble's when they returned from Dover Air Force Base.
Neighbors spoke with T.V. Station -Click 2 Houston about Garrett. He is remembered as an outgoing, polite, young man who loved life. This was Lance Corporal Garrett's first deployment. He enlisted in the Marines, right after graduation.
Many knew him from Little League or their kid's friend. He was well loved and is dearly missed. His life and loss have impacted Sugarland, Texas. A spokesperson for the family told the station:
"He was doing the thing that he wanted to do. He volunteered for this and he was in the place that he wanted to be," Gamble family spokesperson Mary Williams said.
The whole community is devastated by Garrett's death. Please watch the Click 2 Houston video of how Lance Corporal Garrett Gamble touched so many lives.
Lance Corporal Garrett Gamble will be laid to rest tomorrow, March 20, 2010, the Patriot Guard Riders will escort the family. The family requested donations be made to Houston Marine Moms.
Semper Fi, Lance Corporal Garrett Gamble.
DoD Identifies Army Casualty.
Spc. Steven J. Bishop, 29, of Christiansburg, Va., died March 13 in Tikrit, Iraq, while supporting combat operations. He was assigned to the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, 352nd Civil Affairs Command, U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Spc. Steven Bishop worked on helping with reconstruction in the city of Tel Afar, Iraq. His job involved bringing different ethnic and religious groups together to build schools and roads to the city. His supervisor, Sgt. 1st Class Chris Kern, told the Roanoke News Bishop's team "completed about 50 projects, working 12- to 18-hour days six days a week, Kern said. They were scheduled to return to the United States in June."
Sgt. 1st Class Kern described Spc. Bishop as the right man for this type of job:
"He stayed even-keeled all the time," his supervisor, Sgt. 1st Class Chris Kern, said over the phone. "He was very mature, and that's the kind of person you wanted. He was not very excitable."
Bishop died from an illness, not combat related, on March 13th in Iraq. His friends back home in southwestern Virginia remember him as a high school football player, volunteer firefighter, and worked for Steel Dynamics in Roanoke. His friend and classmate, Ben Hall, with whom he communicated daily via email, told the Roanoke News:
"He was enjoying what he was doing," Hall said. "He talked real well about the military and his fellow soldiers."
Rest in Peace, Spc. Steven Bishop.
We Remember Them
In the rising of the sun and its going down,
We Remember Them.
In the bowing of the wind and in the chill of winter,
We Remember Them.
In the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring.
We Remember Them.
In the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer,
We Remember Them.
In the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn.
We Remember Them.
In the beginning of the year and when it ends,
We Remember Them.
When we are weary and in need of strength,
We Remember Them.
When we are lost and sick of heart,
We Remember Them.
When we have joys and special celebrations we yearn to share,
We Remember Them.
So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are part of us.
We Remember Them.
~From the Jewish Book Of Prayer~
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, roses, SisTwo, a girl in MI, Spam Nunn, JeNoCo, Janos Nation, True Blue Majority, CalNM, 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.