Soldier, rest! Thy warfare o'er,
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking;
Dream of battled fields no more.
~ Sir Walter Scott, The Lady of the Lake
Last Wednesday, a U.S. soldier, Cpl. Brad A. Davis, of Garfield Heights, Ohio, was killed in Iraq. Please join us below to celebrate his life and to honor his memory.
Please note that another IGTNT diary has also been posted tonight.
If you are new to the IGTNT diaries, thank you for coming to pay your respects. IGTNT stands for "I Got the News Today." The phrase is meant to symbolize that terrible knock on the door that any number of families got today, bringing with it the news that a loved one has died. IGTNT is a diary series intended to honor, respect, and remind.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members honored here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.
BRAD A. DAVIS: "He was always there for people"
On Friday, the death of Cpl. Brad A. Davis while serving in Iraq was announced:
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Cpl. Brad A. Davis, 21, of Garfield Heights, Ohio, died April 22 near Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 82nd Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
The youngest of four children, Brad Davis played football at Garfield Heights High School. Davis enlisted in the army in August 2006, following his graduation from high school. He served a tour in Iraq from March to October 2007 and was deployed there again in November 2008. He was home with his family on leave in December 2008 and was due to see them again on two weeks' leave this coming June. Davis planned on going to school to prepare for a career in pharmacy or law enforcement after his military commitment ended in December 2009.
Davis's family received the news of his death on Wednesday night last week. A family member who was briefed by the military said that Davis was hit while riding as the gunner in the lead vehicle of a convoy and that he was the only one killed in the incident.
Lt. Col. Louis A. Zeisman, commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 505th Parachute Infantry Battalion, said that Davis "was the model paratrooper every commander strived to have in his unit ... physically fit, mentally tough, and well disciplined." He added that "this heartfelt loss will be felt by the entire Task Force ‘2 Panther’ family, both near and far."
Capt. Jerimiah Corbin, commander of the battalion’s Company F, described Davis in this way: "Cpl. Brad Davis was an experienced and seasoned soldier who exemplified the Army values on a daily basis. ... Davis was one of the finest paratroopers I have had the privilege of serving with, and today our heartfelt prayers are with the Davis family as we grieve a true friend, a gifted junior leader, and an outstanding young man."
High school football coach Chuck Reisland remembered Davis as "a kid everybody liked, just a great kid, ... just the sort of young man you want to have on your team." He added that Davis's death "is really a shame because he had a lot of life to live."
One of Davis's friends from school said that "Brad was everyone's friend": "He was always there, always the life of the party, always had something good to say." Another remembered him as "just comforting everyone" and "always there for people." "He never gave up on things," she said.
Brad Davis is survived by his parents, Bob and Terri Davis; a brother, Robert; and two sisters, Jennifer Gardner and Beckie.
I encourage you to learn more about this soldier and his family by watching the brief TV news clips here and here.
May he rest in peace.
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If you want to do something to assist our military and their families, please visit anysoldier.com or Fisher House. If you have frequent flyer miles you would like to donate to hospitalized veterans or their families, see Fisher House's Hero Miles program. If you would like to assist the animal companions of our deployed military, information is available here. Sending a care package to a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan is; read how at anysoldier.com. Other ways to support the troops are in this diary. And don't forget them when they get home. Visit welcomebackveterans.org and Hire Heroes USA to learn what you can do.
As of this writing, 4,276 members of the U.S. armed services have been confirmed killed in action in Iraq, 2 are pending confirmation, and one is missing or captured; in Afghanistan, 679 U.S. forces have died. (The Department of Defense news releases cited in IGTNT diaries can be found here.) In addition, 318 other coalition forces from Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom have died in Iraq, and 455 other coalition forces from Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have died in Afghanistan. More than 31,000 U.S. servicemen and women have been wounded in Iraq, and the suicide rate among servicemen and women is very high. The death toll among Iraqis is unknown but exceeds 100,000 and probably is several hundreds of thousands. At least 156 journalists have been killed in Iraq during the war.
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor service members who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; 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 series, which was begun by i dunno, is currently maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, noweasels, greenies, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, JeNoCo, mediaprof. If you would like to participate in writing these tributes, please contact Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, or noweasels. The IGTNT logo was designed by our friend Timroff.
Many thanks from me to my fellow IGTNT team members for the standing text I have borrowed to include in this diary, as well as for the many other forms of help they always so willingly and graciously provide.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and families of the service members chronicled here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.