Since 2001, 2308 U.S. troops have lost their lives while serving in Afghanistan, and between 2003 and 2012, 4468 U.S. troops lost their lives 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 three soldiers, husbands, and fathers who died in Afghanistan:
Sgt. Daniel T. Lee, 28, of Crossville, Tennessee
Sgt. Drew M. Scobie, 25, of Kailua, Hawaii
Chief Warrant Officer Andrew L. McAdams, 27, of Cheyenne, Wyoming
Please take a moment below to remember them,
and all those who have died in these wars.
The Department of Defense confirmed the death a Special Forces soldier during combat operations in Afghanistan.
Sgt. Daniel T. Lee, 28, of Crossville, Tennessee
Sgt. Lee died January 15, in Parwan Province after his unit was attacked with small arms fire. Sgt. Lee was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), based at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Daniel Lee grew up in northern Kentucky's Kenton County and graduated from Dixie Heights High School in Fort Wright in 2003. His family, friends, and classmates remembered the Green Beret as a hometown hero.
“He lit up a room when he came in and he was always smiling,” said his father, Daniel Patrick Lee, according to a story in the Army Times and Kentucky Enquirer.
“He had such a positive outlook in life, was very strong and very dedicated to the U.S. Army. We are very proud of him.”
Sgt. Lee and his wife Suzy have a 6-month-old son named Daniel Roderick.
Daniel Lee enlisted in the Army Infantry in 2007. In 2009 he was deployed to Iraq as a scout with the First Cavalry Regiment. Sgt. Lee volunteered for Special Forces training in 2011 and graduated a year later as a communications sergeant, according to the Crossville Chronicle.
Sgt. Lee was deployed to Afghanistan with Company C last August. His father said that Sgt. Lee was shot in the chest during a combat mission, reported the Army Times.
Among those Sgt. Lee leaves behind his wife and their baby, as well as his parents, an older sister, and his Special Forces brothers.
Sgt. Daniel T. Lee is missed. May he rest in Peace.
The Department of Defense confirmed the deaths of two Army National Guard soldiers in Parwan Province, Afghanistan.
Sgt. Drew Scobie and Chief Warrant Officer Andrew McAdams died January 10 in the crash of their MC-12 aircraft at Bagram Airfield. The accident also took the life of an American civilian working with the military. The team had been performing a nighttime reconnaissance mission when the plane went down. The MC-12 twin turbo-prop airplane has a primary mission to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to ground troops. The incident is under investigation, according to Stars and Stripes.
Sgt. Drew M. Scobie, 25, of Kailua, Hawaii
Sgt. Scobie died along with CWO McAdams and one other in the January 10 crash of an MC 12 aircraft. Sgt. Scobie was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery, Wahiawa, Hawaii Army National Guard, based in Oahu, Hawaii.
Drew Scobie was born and raised in Kailua, Oahu, and later employed at Straub Clinic & Hospital. Sgt Scobie was married. The couple have a young son named Duke, and Sgt. Scobie's wife is pregnant with their second child.
Sgt. Scobie joined the Hawaii Army National Guard in 2009. He was deployed to Afghanistan in October 2013 as a Fire Direction Operator.
According to Hawaii News Now,
Gifts to support the Scobie children can be made at any branch of Bank of Hawaii. The Scobie family released a statement in their loved one's honor:
"We continue to celebrate the life of Drew Scobie, loving father, husband, son, grandson, brother, friend and hero. Drew loved his family deeply, proudly and heroically carried the Aloha spirit wherever he went to defend our country.
Drew's zest for life was contagious and always made his family proud. He will remain an example for his son Duke, his unborn baby, his entire family and the many who were touched by his upbeat and positive attitude for everything he did.
Drew will always be in our hearts and his spirit will live on and become part of the essence of our islands just like the breeze on the ocean. Love knows no distance and Drew is here and will always remain in our hearts."
Among those Sgt. Scobie leaves behind are his wife, son, unborn child and other family, friends, and colleagues on Oahu.
Sgt. Drew Scobie is missed. May he rest in Peace.
Chief Warrant Officer Andrew L. McAdams, 27, of Cheyenne, Wyoming
Chief Warrant Officer McAdams died in the January 10 crash of an MC-12 aircraft along with two others. He was assigned to Detachment 53, Operational Support Airlift Command, Joint Force Headquarters, Wyoming Army National Guard, based in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Andrew McAdams grew up in Cheyenne and graduated from East High School in 2004. He attended the U.S. Army Warrant Officer Candidate School at Fort Rucker, in Daleville, Alabama in 2006 and graduated at the rank of Warrant Officer 1, and was later promoted to CWO 3. CWO McAdams had also served in Kuwait in 2011.
Seven servicemen from Cheyenne have died in the Middle East since 2001, according to a story in the Trib.
The Wyoming National Guard is a tight-knit, family-oriented group, and one of his colleagues set up a fundraiser in McAdams’ name on the crowdsourcing website GoFundMe.com reported The Wyoming News:
“Andrew leaves behind his wife, three-month-old daughter and countless people whose lives he touched,” his friend wrote. “My intention with this fundraiser is to collect whatever people are able to give, put it directly into a long-term CD so we can help send his daughter to college.”
Among those Chief Warrant Officer McAdams leaves behind are his wife and baby daughter, and his family, friends, and National Guard comrades in Cheyenne.
Chief Warrant Officer Andrew L. McAdams is missed. May he rest in Peace.
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 soldiers pets 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, JaxDem, theFatLadySings, Ekaterin, Joy of Fishes, 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.