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Army Secretary Expresses Ft. Hood Shooting Condolence

“This is a terrible tragedy that we will know more about in the coming days. For now our focus is squarely on taking care of our soldiers and their families,” said Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who have been killed and wounded. The leadership at Fort Hood is marshalling the medical support and counselors necessary to take care of our soldiers and their families and to notify the next of kin.”

Secretary Gates on Ft. Hood Shooting

“I am deeply saddened by the tragic events today at Fort Hood. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the fallen, the wounded, and all those touched by this incident. There is little we can say at this point to alleviate the pain or answer the many questions this event raises, but I can pledge that the Department of Defense will do everything in its power to help the Fort Hood community get through these difficult times.”

quote:

Originally posted by gzo2:
On nov 2, 1932 in Decatur texas JD was born. On Nov 5, 2008 JD died
in Decatur texas. We buried him on Nov 8, 2008.

He was with the 8th Army in Korea, He was awarded the Purple heart,
a Bronze Star, and a Silver Star. At his funeral today they told the
story where about 50 of his fellow soldiers went in, and only about 9
returned. Every year the Rangers get together for a reunion and I think
he said his group got together every couple of years.

I had the privilege of working with this man for almost 25 years at the
Post Office, I knew he was in the Korean War. But to be at his funeral
today and see him all deck out with all his medals was really something
else. He was a real Hero and I never once heard him ever brag about
what he did.

God Speed John, I will miss you.
Gary.

John, I was talking to Big Jeff the other day. We just remaniced about when we all used to play dominoes at the PO. Randy is up there with you now. I still remember back in 85 when we
all made regulars down at the old PO. Remember working the blue room back in the winter.
There was only 1 bathroom and it was the ladies. We all had to share it. The blue room was
outside on the loading dock and during the winter it got cold. You would always put a bottle
in the top of the toilet tank and every so often one at a time would go in and get a drink,

Management only thought we were going in to get a little heat and warm up and come back to
work. They never caught on why we felt better coming out than going in.

Remember when we moved to the new building. The first time it rained the roof leaked and
the gutters could not handle all the water, the whole place was flooded.

The areas we worked in called the city section, is no longer there. Alot of the people we worked with are either retired or passed away.

So John, you Randy, harlow, Cook, and all the other Vets that have passed on, keep the
dominoes handy as I am ready for a good game again. Maybe Bill will so us how at the Golf
Course that was at carswel AFB how he just drove the cart off in the creek. Those were alot
of good memories back in the day.

Remember those who have passed on, but also remember the good times while they were here.

Always, Gary.

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Spc. Julian L. Berisford, 25, of Benwood, W.V., died Nov. 4 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Staff Sgt. Amy C. Tirador, 29, of Albany, N.Y., died Nov. 4 in Kirkush, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. She was assigned to the 209th Military Intelligence Company, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

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Died at Ft. Hood at the hand of Maj. Hasan:


Pfc. Kham S. Xiong


Capt. John Gaffaney


Pfc. Michael Pearson


Sgt. Amy Krueger


Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka


Spc. Jason Dean Hunt


Pvt. Francheska Velez


Dr. Russell Seager


Staff Sgt. Justin M. DeCrow


Lt. Col. Juanita Warman


Spc. Frederick Greene


Maj. Libardo Eduardo Caraveo


Michael Grant Cahill

Rest in peace all who perished at Fort Hood in that tragedy.

Spc. Tony Carrasco Jr., 25, of Berino, N.M., died Nov. 4 in Ad Dawr, Iraq, of a gunshot wound suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

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The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died Nov. 5 in Jelewar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. The soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

Killed were:

Spc. Aaron S. Aamot, 22, of Custer, Wash.

Spc. Gary L. ***** Jr., 22, of Ocala, Fla. [The name is G o o c h.]

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Sgt. Charles I. Cartwright, 26, of Union Bridge, Md., died Nov. 7 while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died Nov. 8 in Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries sustained when their OH-58D helicopter crashed. They were assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

Killed were:

Chief Warrant Officer Mathew C. Heffelfinger, 29, of Kimberly, Idaho; and

Chief Warrant Officer Earl R. Scott III, 24, of Jacksonville, Fla.

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In memory of my fallen Coast Guard Brothers and Sisters lost while trying to do what the Coast Guard does best - Saving lives - October 29, 2009:

Coast Guard Rescue 1705:

Lieutenant Commander Che J. Barnes, USCG;

Lieutenant Adam W. Bryant, USCG;

Chief Petty Officer John F. Seidman, USCG;

Petty Officer 2nd Class Carl P. Grigonis, USCG;

Petty Officer 2nd Class Monica L. Beacham, USCG;

Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason S. Moletzky, USCG;

Petty Officer 3rd Class Danny R. Kreder, II, USCG.

In memory of those lost from our Marine Corp Family:

Major Samuel Leigh, USMC;

1st Lieutenant Thomas Claiborne, USMC.

God Bless and comfort the families and friends of these wonderful men and women. Because of their sacrifice and dedication to duty and those like them we are the nation that we are.

Rest easy now, we will keep the watch till it is our time to come home to the House of the Lord.

Frisco

This Veterans Day...we persevere...

And will NEVER forget...

*****

Lance Cpl. Justin J. Swanson, 21, of Anaheim, Calif., died Nov. 10 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/

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There were 133 reported active-duty Army suicides from January 2009 through October 2009. Of those, 90 have been confirmed, and 43 are pending determination of manner of death. For the same period in 2008, there were 115 suicides among active-duty soldiers.