Since 2001, 1833 U.S. troops have lost their lives while serving in Afghanistan, and since 2003, 4483 U.S. troops have died while serving in Iraq.
The IGTNT (I Got The News Today) series is a reminder that nearly every day, somebody gets the heartbreaking news that a friend, former classmate, or beloved family member will not be coming home from war.
Tonight we remember a young soldier killed in Afghanistan:
Pfc. Cody R. Norris, 20, of Houston, Texas
Please take a moment below to remember him,
and all those who have lost their lives in these wars.
The Department of Defense announced an infantry soldier killed in action in Afghanistan:
Pfc. Cody R. Norris, 20, of Houston, Texas
Pfc. Norris died November 9 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds from small arms fire. He was assigned as a gunner to the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, based in Fort Riley, Kansas.
Cody Norris was ten years old when the United States went to war in Afghanistan. His friends said Cody grew up with a strong sense of duty and service, wanting to serve his country and loved ones as a soldier. His older brother Michael, is a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Cody was a good student who had learned American Sign Language. He had fun in high school and liked to restore old surplus military vehicles and drive them to school.
Cody and his friends were part of a Junior ROTC platoon since their freshman year at La Porte High School, class of 2010. He fulfilled his life-time dream and entered the Army in October 2010, and deployed to Afghanistan.
Chron.com reports that Cody's JROTC buddies gathered last night with Norris’ other friends and classmates to remember him.
They lit a candle and built a makeshift memorial in the front yard with an M-16 rifle, helmet and combat boots. Then everyone sat under a tree and talked about Norris — a fun-loving prankster whose goofy side was balanced by a strong sense of duty.
“It’s just shell-shocking for some of us who were so close to him,” said Schaefer, 19. “It’s not fair that he’s taken from us, but I’m proud of him for what he did, and I’m not disappointed because he knew what he signed up for. He knew the risk of it, and he went out there and did what he did anyway. I can’t be more proud of him for what he’s done for us.”
Chron.blog goes on,
"From the very first moment I met Cody, that was his lifelong dream - to be a soldier," said Joe Glennan, a retired Army sergeant first class who served as Norris' instructor in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps at La Porte High.
"Cody was raised with a sense of selfless service," Glennan said. "Just an incredible young man, like so many are."
He said that he was living his dream.
Glennan last saw Norris when he came home from Afghanistan on mid-tour leave.
"He said that he was living his dream, and he really thought that he could do a lot of good as a soldier," his former instructor said. "He enjoyed the helping part of it, you know - serving with his buddies."
KTRK abc Houston reports:
The La Porte Independent School District honored Cody's service and sacrifice with a moment of silence at the La Porte High School Top 100 Academic Honors Banquet thursday night, and during the annual community Veterans' Day Program hosted by La Porte High School, where a packed Bulldog Stadium stood for a moment of silence. And LPISD issued the following statement:
Throughout the district today, we are observing Veterans Day with a number of activities. As we honor the men and women who have bravely served our country, we are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our own.
We received the news yesterday that Cody Norris, a 2010 graduate of La Porte High School, was killed in the line of duty this week while serving in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. Cody was a product of La Porte schools and was actively involved in the Army JROTC program at LPHS.
The thoughts and prayers of the entire school district are with Cody's family and friends during this difficult time.
Among those Pfc. Norris leaves behind are his father, mother, and older brother, and his friends from JROTC and high school.
Pfc. Cody Norris is Missed. May he rest in peace.
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Thanks to Timroff for our faithfully lighted candle IGTNT logo;
Other Photos by CalNM and linked Sources
Helping our troops: If you wish to assist our military and their families, consider Operation Helmet, or sponsoring a deployed service member at TroopCarePackage.com. Fisher House provides housing for families of injured troops and veterans who are recovering in hospitals, and Guardian angels for soldierspet assists the animal companions of our deployed military.
When our veterans come back home, they can find support at Welcome Back Veterans. Our recently returned veterans need jobs, and Veterans Green Jobs is now hiring for positions and filling training sessions. VGJ corps retrains veterans as leaders in forest and resource conservation, green construction, and energy efficient upgrades of homes in rural areas. Encourage a Veteran, and see if you can help out.
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About the IGTNT series: I Got the News Today is intended to honor, respect, and remember the fallen, and to remind us that each casualty has family and friends who received the terrible news that their loved one has died at war.
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. The US Department of Defense news releases are found at defense gov/releases. Icasualties lists the names of those killed, and shows the number of wounded. Published AP photos of the returning war fatalities are found on the Dover AFB page. Click the IGTNT tags below for previous diaries in 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, Proud Mom and Grandma, Sandy on Signal, Wide Awake in Kentucky, Ms Wings, maggiejean, racheltracks, ccasas, JaxDem, Ekaterin, TheFatLadySings, and me, CalNM. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but are an important service to those who have died, and show our community’s respect for our fallen brothers and sisters.
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.