Tonight we honor the memories of three members of our military who served our country in Afghanistan. Cpl. Michael J. Dutcher was a Marine who lost his life during combat operation in Afghanistan. Sgt. Chester G. Stoda was a soldier who lost his life in an accident while on rest and recreation leave from Afghanistan, and Sgt. Rodolfo Rodriguez Jr. was a soldier who was killed by an IED in Afghanistan. Please follow me below the fold to learn more about the lives of these three service members.
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 to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, Monkeybiz, Noweasels, Chacounne, Twilight Falling, Joyful, SisTwo, Spam Nunn, True Blue Majority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, Maggie Jean, Jax Dem, Kestrel 9000, TheFatLadySings, Ekaterin and me, blue jersey mom.
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.
On Friday, the Department of Defense announced that:
Cpl. Michael J. Dutcher, 22, of Asheville, N.C., died Sept. 15 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Cpl. Michael Dutcher was a 2007 graduate of Ashville High School,, and he joined the Marines after graduation because he wanted to serve and honor his country. He was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan at the time of his death. Dutcher was due to come home from Afghanistan next month at the end of his service in the Marine Corps. He had planned to ride his motorcycle across the country from California to North Carolina once his tour of duty was over, and then he planned to go to college to prepare to become a history teacher.
Cpl. Dutcher was engaged to be married. His fiancee, Rachel Adams, also lives in Ashville. His mother, Teresa Dutcher, described Michael as having
a good outlook on life."... "He was loving and caring. He was an awesome dude." ~source
Cpl. Michael Dutcher was a heavily decorated Marine. His awards and honors include:
the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Sea Service Deployment with three Bronze Stars, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and NATO Medal ISAF-Afghanistan. ~source
In addition to his fiancee, Cpl Dutcher is survived by his parents and a twin brother, funeral arrangements are pending.
Thank you, Cpl. Michael Dutcher, for your selfless service to our nation. Our prayers are for your family.
On Friday the DoD also announced that:
Sgt. Chester G. Stoda, 32, of Black River Falls, Wis., died Sep. 2, from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 8th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.
Sgt. Stoda had worked as a logger before enlisting in the Army. In addition to working in his father's logging business, he had also worked for Webster Lumber and several logging operations in the Bangor area. He was working as a self-employed logger at the time he entered the service. Chet Stoda was an outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing.
Stoda joined the military in February of 2008 and was trained as a combat engineer. He served in Korea until 2009 when he was transferred to Fort Hood. He was deployed to Afghanistan in December of last year. He was sent on leave to Hawaii where he passed away following a SCUBA diving accident (~source).
Sgt. Stoda earned a number of awards and honors for his service in Korea and Afghanistan including:
the NATO medal, two Army Achievement medals, the Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korea Defense Medal, Afghan Campaign Medal with campaign star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, two Overseas Service Ribbons, and a Combat Action Badge. ~source
Chet Stoda is survived by a large and loving family including his parents, grandparents, and two sisters. His funeral will take place tomorrow in Tomah, and he will be buried with full military honors.
Thank you, Sgt. Stoda for your service in both Afghanistan and Korea. My you rest in peace and may your family find comfort in your memory.
Two days ago the Department of Defense also announced that:
Sgt. Rodolfo Rodriguez Jr., 26, of Pharr, Texas, died Sep. 14 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
"Rudy" Rodriguez was a basketball star at Weslaco High School, where he was named Defensive Player of the Year in his district as a senior in 2003. Rodriguez joined the Army in March of 2006. He received his basic and advanced individual training at Fort Benning in Georgia and then served three years with the 2nd Battalion, 505th Infantry at Fort Bragg. During that time, he served two combat tours in Iraq, from November 2006 to October 2007 and from December 2008 to November 2009. Rodriguez arrived in Fort Wainwright in March of 2010. He was part of a 4000-member Stryker brigade that began a year-long deployment to Afghanistan in april.
Mark Aguilar, one of the soldiers who served along side Rudy in Iraq, remembers him as follows:
“That was my boy, man,” said Aguilar, 24. “I just want everybody to know he was a good f---ing leader.”
~snip
“He would joke around with them,” he said. “But when it came time to work, he would work. And he always made sure his guys were taken care of first.” ~source
The Governor of Alaska, Sean Parnell, remembered Sgt. Rodriguez and his service:
“Sandy and I were saddened to learn of the loss of another Stryker,” Governor Parnell said. “Sergeant Rodriguez exemplified the courage and commitment of our finest soldiers. This young man has served our country for five years, including two tours in Iraq, and for that we are grateful.
“This conflict continues taking a huge toll on our military family. These brave men and women have our unwavering support. Sergeant Rodriguez’s family and fellow soldiers are in our thoughts and prayers.”
Sgt. Rodriguez is survived by his wife, a 7-year-old son, Derek, a 5-year-old daughter, Melissa, and his parents.
That you, Sgt. Rodriguez, for you three tours of duty in the Middle East. Our prayers are for your young family.
Poppies are the universal symbols of remembrance. May we always remember the sacrifices that these three men were willing to make for our nation.