Tonight we gather to remember three U.S. soldiers who died in service to their country last week: Spc. Casey L. Hills of Salem, Illinois, and Spc. Joshua L. Hazlewood of Manvel, Texas, who were killed in Iraq, and 1st Lt. Brian N. Bradshaw of Steilacoom, Washington, who was killed in Afghanistan. Please join with the Daily Kos community below to celebrate their lives and to honor their memory.
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
CASEY L. HILLS: "He always carried his fair share"
On Friday the Department of Defense announced the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom:
Spc. Casey L. Hills, 23, of Salem, Illinois, died June 24 in Iraq of injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover. He was assigned to the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment, Pago Pago, American Samoa. The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
Casey Hills enlisted in the Illinois Army National Guard in March 2005, then transferred to the Army Reserve. He was assigned to the 100th Battalion after it was called to active duty in August, and this was his first deployment and was scheduled to return home next month.
Lt. Col. Mike Peeters, commander of the 100th Battalion, described him as "a hard working, quiet, unassuming soldier who worked very hard." Peeters added, "He was well liked by his buddies and was going through life when he was recalled back to service from the IRR (Individual Ready Reserve). He never complained about being called back and always carried his fair share."
Hills' brigade was sent to Kuwait last November to provide security for U.S. installations there and has also been driving into Iraq while protecting convoys. Hills died from injuries he received when the Humvee he was in rolled over after a multiple-vehicle accident on Wednesday. To other soldiers were injured in the accident, but not seriously.
According to Peeters, Hills was not supposed to have been on the convoy security mission. "This was an extra mission he volunteered to do because another soldier is going through his final preparation to receive his citizenship, and we needed someone to pull extra duty," Peeters said.
Several family members traveled to Delaware in order to be present when Hills' casket arrived at Dover Air Force Base from Iraq. A memorial service for Hills was held last Saturday at Camp Virginia, his base in Kuwait, and his funeral will be held in Salem this coming Saturday. Salem's mayor has told the family that Hills will be honored with a police and fire escort. The family has also invited the Illinois Patriot Guard Riders to honor Hills' service. Governor Pat Quinn has also expressed his condolences to the family and indicated that he wanted to attend the funeral.
Hills' awards include the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with "M" Device, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Overseas Service Ribbon.
May he rest in peace.
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JOSHUA L. HAZLEWOOD: Valued in his community
On Friday the Department of Defense also announced today the death of another soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom:
Spc. Joshua L. Hazlewood, 22, of Manvel, Texas, died June 25 in Arifjan, Kuwait, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 614th Automated Cargo Documentation Detachment. The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
Not very much information is available about Joshua Hazlewood online, but I did find a batch of photos from a "surprise celebration escort" by the Brazoria County Cavalry motorcyclists in honor of Hazelwood and his friend Marine Lance Cpl. Monte Johnstone that was held on November 1, 2008. The two photos of Hazlewood in life that appear here are from that collection. As the photos from that event show, Hazlewood and his service to his country were tremendously appreciated by his community.
I also found a mention that volunteers from the Military Moms and Wives of Brazoria County placed U.S. flags at Hazlewood's home on Saturday.
The family has asked the Patriot Guard Riders to attend the services, once arrangements have been made.
May he rest in peace.
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BRIAN BRADSHAW: He wanted "to try and help people"
On Friday the Department of Defense also announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom:
1st Lt. Brian N. Bradshaw, 24, of Steilacoom, Wash., died June 25 in Kheyl, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Brian Bradshaw grew up in a military family in Steilacoom, Washington - his father, Paul Bradshaw, is a retired National Guard helicopter pilot, and his mother, Mary Bradshaw, a retired army nurse. During high school Brian Bradshaw was member of Pierce County Search and Rescue and a summer camp counselor. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoyed bicycling, backcountry skiing, and mountain climbing.
Bradshaw joined the ROTC program at Pacific Lutheran University and graduated in 2007. His father said that Brian had joined the military and "to try and help people": "That was his hope. He didn’t go to win a war." Brian Bradshaw arrived in Afghanistan in March 2009. Whenever his son spoke about the dangers of his deployment, "he was worried about the people he was responsible for, not himself," his father said.
His father also noted, "He would be tired when he called us. But ... he was always upbeat. He was very happy when we sent packages. What he asked for was things to give away to local children there. When they were out on patrol they would take crayons, colored pencils and books and toys to give to the children."
Last Thursday Bradshaw and the other soldiers with him escaped without injury when an improvised bomb exploded near their vehicle, but a passing civilian truck detonated a second roadside bomb, killing Bradshaw.
"We are proud beyond belief," said Bradshaw's father. "...You know what can happen. You hope it doesn’t. You pray a lot."
Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell offered his condolences to Bradshaw's family, friends, and fellow soldiers: "We mourn the loss of Lieutenant Bradshaw. We can only respond with gratitude and honor him for serving us and our country. May his family and friends find God’s comfort and strength in this difficult time."
Bradshaw's parents flew to Dover Air Force Base for the arrival of their son's body. A memorial service for Brian Bradshaw is planned and will probably be held after July 4.
May he rest in peace.
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If you want to do something to assist our military and their families, please consider contributing to the Daily Kos community's Netroots for the Troops care package project. Or 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 your own care package to a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan is easy; 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, 4,316 members of the U.S. armed services have been confirmed killed in action in Iraq, one is pending confirmation, and one is missing or captured; in Afghanistan, 715 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 486 other coalition forces from Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, NATO, 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 157 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, and mediaprof. If you would like to participate in writing these tributes, please contact Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, or noweasels. We are grateful to our talented friends llbear for our forget-me-nots IGTNT logo and Timroff for our candle logo.
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.