I Got The News Today (IGTNT) 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.
Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew I. Holzemer
The Department of Defense has announced the death of a U.S. Navy sailor who was deployed in support of Special Operations Command Forward - East Africa for U.S. Africa Command. Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew I. Holzemer, of Tennessee, died on June 17, 2018 at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, as a result of a non-combat related incident. The incident is under investigation.
According to the Navy, Holzemer served as a hospital corpsman assigned to Naval Branch Health Clinic Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas. At Camp Lemonnier, he was part of the support of Special Operations Command Forward-East Africa. Camp Lemonnier is a U.S. Navy-led installation serving as the primary base of operations for U.S. Africa Command in the Horn of Africa and supporting combat readiness and security of ships, aircraft, detachments and personnel for regional and combatant command requirements.
Matt Holzemer was from Nashville, Tennessee, where his father, Jim Holzmer, had previously been the Metro Assistant Emergency Medical Services. Joseph Pleasant, Public Information Officer for the Nashville Fire Department, said, "We are deeply saddened and asking for the community to pray for his family and all who loved him."
The Dead
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.
The Collected Poems of Rupert Brooke (1915)
Sources: DoD, Stars & Stripes, PopularMilitary.com, WKRN, Facebook, Navy
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. 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.