I Got The News Today (IGTNT), the oldest continuous series on Daily Kos, provides members of this community a venue to pay their respects to those who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The IGTNT title is a reminder that nearly every day the family of an active duty service member receives the terrible news that their beloved has died.
Seaman Philip Frazier Manes
USS Gladiator (MCM-11) underway off the coast of Bahrain, in August 2007 ~ Wiki
The Department of Defense has announced the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve. Seaman Philip Frazier Manes, 21, of Fairfax, Virginia, died on September 27, 2015, of a non-combat related incident. The circumstances of his death are under investigation.
Very little information is available about Seaman Manes at the time of writing this tribute. According to the Navy, he enlisted March 2014, and he was assigned to USS Gladiator in August 2015. The Gladiator, an Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship, was in port in Bahrain when Seaman Manes died.
USS Gladiator, Courtesy US Navy
Sources: DoD, Stars and Stripes, Navy Times, and Wikipedia
1914 IV: The Dead
~ Rupert Brooke ~
These hearts were woven of human joys and cares,
Washed marvellously with sorrow, swift to mirth.
The years had given them kindness. Dawn was theirs,
And sunset, and the colours of the earth.
These had seen movement, and heard music; known
Slumber and waking; loved; gone proudly friended;
Felt the quick stir of wonder; sat alone;
Touched flowers and furs and cheeks. All this is ended.
There are waters blown by changing winds to laughter
And lit by the rich skies, all day. And after,
Frost, with a gesture, stays the waves that dance
And wandering loveliness. He leaves a white
Unbroken glory, a gathered radiance,
A width, a shining peace, under the night.
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.
The DoD news releases are here, and all of the U.S. fatalities can be seen here. These men and women all had people who they loved and who loved them.
Click the IGTNT tags to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by i dunno, Monkeybiz, Noweasels, Blue Jersey Mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, SisTwo, Spam Nunn, True Blue Majority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, Maggie Jean, Jax Dem, The Fat Lady Sings, Ekaterina, Sandy on Signal, and me, Joy of Fishes.
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.