Tonight, we honor three soldiers who were killed while clearing the roads in Afghanistan. During the sweep, they hit a 200 pound IED.
So far in 2011, 354 American troops have been killed in Afghanistan. Since 2001, there have been 1800 American troops killed in Afghanistan. Since 2003, there have been 4477 American troops killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom and 49 killed in Operation New Dawn. 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 Announces Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
They died Sep 28, in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 5th Engineer Battalion, 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
Killed were:
1st Lt. Ivan D. Lechowich, 27, of Valrico, Fla.,
Spc. Steven E. Gutowski, 24, of Plymouth, Mass., and
Pfc. David A. Drake, 21, of Lumberton, Texas
From the
Tampa Tribune:
Ivan Lechowich was a dad for a week.
On September 21st, Ivan Lechowich watched via Skype as his baby daughter, Natalie Marie, came early into the world. He was due home for her birth, instead on September 28th, he was killed along with three others in Afghanistan.
Natalie Marie Lechowich - 1st Lt. Lechowich had this photo as his profile picture on FB. How proud he was of his beautiful daughter.
"That is so beautiful and sad," said the Rev. William Swengros of St. Stephen Catholic Church in Riverview, who had performed the wedding ceremony in November for Lechowich and his wife Jen. He had been scheduled to soon christen their daughter.
"It shouldn't be this way; it is so wrong," he said.
In a bittersweet moment his minister, Rev. William Svengros of St. Stephen Catholic Church, told the
Bloomingdale- Riverview Patch:
"If she'd been born on time, she would have been born after her father died and he never would have seen her,"
Rev. Svengros added:
"He had a great sense of humor and was very mature for his age," said Swengros. "He was smart and funny, a family man and a patriot. This is just very, very sad, an unbelievable tragedy."
Ivan Lechowich graduated from King High School and the University of Florida. He majored in history. In November, 2010, Ivan married his wife, Jen. They wanted a family right away and to settle down. Rev. William Svengros told the Tampa Tribune:
"They were madly in love," he said. He said they discussed their dreams as part of the church's marriage preparation. "They wanted the big house, the white picket fence and the three or four kids."
Funeral arrangements are pending. Lechowich is survived by his wife, daughter, and parents.
Rest in peace, 1st Lt. Ivan Lechowich.
From KDFM:
"Got a call saying there was two people in military uniforms. I rushed to the house. I kinda knew. It really didn't sink in till they actually told me the news." said Drake's brothter, William, to the television station.
William Drake , who was also serving in the Army in Iraq, had been home on leave when he heard the devastating news, an IED over 200 lbs. had killed his brother and three others. William told the KDFM:
"I believe he was doing what he wanted to do," added Drake's brother, William.
Drake's mother, Tommye Clark-Rivers, told the KDFM:
"He was fun," said Tommye. "He was my serious child but he was fun-loving. He was a good boy. Just somebody you'd be proud of."
and
"Since he was in grade school or junior high," said Tommye Clark-Rivers, the soldier's mother. "He wanted to be in the military and then be a cop."
Pfc. David Drake graduated Lumberton High School in 2008. He attended the fire academy to become a fireman, then joined the Army.
"For him it was pride serving our country. Serving the people. Keeping our freedom," said William.
Funeral arrangements are pending. Rest in Peace, Private First Class David Drake.
Spc. Steven Gutowski's facebook page gave insight into the kind of man he was, from his favorite quote:
i was put here on earth to make everyone smile and i simply receive a thank you from those people smiling
His facebook is filled with condolences from heartbroken friends, who remember and miss an all around fun guy. Steve Gutowski grew up in Plymouth, Mass. He graduated from Plymouth North High School in 2005. He became a Combat Engineer with the Army in 2009.
A family friend, Steve Agnew, recently saw Steve Gutowski, when he was home on leave. He told the
Plymouth Enterprise:
“He was just a nice kid, the kind who would do anything to help you,” Agnew said. “His dad showed him the right way, to work for what you have in life. I think he wanted to come back and be a police officer.”
and
“He was happy. He was definitely happy. He said he loved it. He loved what he was doing.”
Spc. Steve Gutowski knew his job was dangerous and had faced danger more than once, he wrote on his facebook page:
im current in afganisatn my job is rte clearance drive down the road and looking for bombs or ied's as we call them i been blown up twice i hate it sucks almost done here
Spc. Steve Gutowski is survived by his parents, and two siblings. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Rest in peace, Spc. Steve Gutowski.
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.