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Vehicle Crash Claims Sacramento Soldier in Iraq Spc. Frank Cady III A Sacramento family mourned the loss of Army chemical specialist Frank Cady, killed last week in a vehicle accident in Iraq. Cady, 20, died Tuesday when his vehicle rolled over several times in southern Baghdad, according to family members. The family said Army investigators are looking into what caused the crash. Cady's mother, Billie Joe Hull said her son loved serving in the Army. "He got very focused on it after 9-11," she said, adding, "This was his dream, to make his family proud, to do his country proud and he's done that." Cady was a member of the Army's Bravo Company Special Troops Battalion, 4rd Brigade Combat Team. His mother said Cady was always a top student, winning a prestigious Presidential Academic Achievement Award in the sixth grade that was signed by President Clinton. He joined the military after graduating with honors from Sacramento's Visions Charter High School. His family sometimes called him a, "force of nature," because of his energy and unpredictability. "He will be missed, loved, but the respect and pride that his family and his friends have for him is tremendous also," said his mother. Funeral services are planned for Saturday, October 20at Sunset Lawn's Chapel of the Chimes. The family said the public is welcome to pay their respects. Created: 10/14/2007 7:13:09 PM Updated: 10/15/2007 3:17:15 PM |
El Dorado Hills Soldier Dies In Iraq Army Sgt. Kyle Dayton, 22, of El Dorado Hills was killed by an improvised explosive Monday in Ashwah, Iraq, family members said. While U.S. Army officials called Dayton's death a "non-combat" related incident, his grandmother told News10 that Dayton died when he was checking on a dead body in a vehicle. Eleanor Miller of El Dorado Hills said the body was "booby trapped" and exploded, killing her grandson instantly. His commander suffered severe burns in the incident. "He had so much to offer," said Miller, who raised Dayton since he was 7 years old. Miller said Dayton joined the Army after his graduation from Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills. While Miller was looking forward to Dayton coming home for Christmas, she said the family had a feeling that he would never make it home to see his newborn son. Dayton's wife Nicole gave birth to Sean 3 months ago. Nicole, who spoke to News10 over the phone, said she had sent pictures of the baby to Dayton but, "he never got to come home to see him." Neighbor Ruth Horner, who lives across the street from Dayton's grandmother, said she was saddened by the loss. "When he went into the service, I was so happy for him, never thinking this was going to happen," Horner said. Sgt Dayton was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborn Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Funeral services for Dayton are pending. His body is expected to be flown to Sacramento on Friday. Created: 12/5/2007 |
| Auburn Marine Receives Posthumous Silver Star For nine days in Fallujah, Iraq, in November of 2004, Auburn Marine Sean Stokes served as his unit's point man, the first to face the enemy. On the ninth day of combat he was severely injured clearing a house when a grenade exploded beneath him. On Wednesday, the 2001 graduate of Bear River High School was awarded the Silver Star at a ceremony at Camp Pendleton, California, where a Marine spokesman described his heroism. "Though dazed and wounded from the blasts and rather than attempting to save himself and exit the building, he chose to ensure the Marines around him were protected and began suppressing the enemy within the house with his rifle." Sean survived and re-deployed two more times before he was killed by a roadside bomb in July 2007. This week he was recognized on the Senate floor by California Senator Barbara Boxer. "His father urged him to get out, but Sean said, what about everybody else? He felt the need to stick by his buddies who stood by him every single day in Iraq." Sean's family made the trip down to Camp Pendleton, where his father remembered another side of his son. "Best fisherman, catches all the biggest fish and the most. Big-hearted, awesome kid and a big, fearless warrior," said Gary Stokes. Sean was cheered by strangers when he arrived home at Sacramento International Airport in February, 2005, after 7-months in the Sunni Triangle, where he'd won two Purple Hearts and lost many friends. At the time he described the pain of losing fellow Marines in combat. "It was rough. It was rough. We mourn the guys we lost and rejoice the guys that came back." Sean's fiancee Nicole Besier is a Staff Sergeant in the Marine Corps, who says she will remember him with a ring made from his ashes. "He's a great guy. It's indescribable. I love him so much. I still do. I will for the rest of my life." Created: 2/6/2008 10:41:08 PM Updated: 2/7/2008 12:26:00 PM |
Sacramento Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Sgt. Gabriel Guzman Family members were mourning the loss of an Army soldier from Sacramento killed in Afghanistan, the Pentagon confirmed Wednesday. Sgt. Gabriel Guzman, 25, died Saturday from wounds suffered when his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device in Gholam Haydar Kala, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Guzman lived in Sacramento, but attended junior high and high school in Concord before enlisting in the military. Guzman's mother and sister also live in Sacramento. |
Calif. Navy SEAL To Receive Medal Of Honor SAN DIEGO (AP) ― A Navy SEAL who sacrificed his life to save his comrades by throwing himself on top of a grenade will be posthumously awarded the nation's highest military honor. The family of Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor will receive the Medal of Honor on his behalf during a White House ceremony, according to a Marine Corps Times report Monday. The report, which cited an anonymous Department of Defense official, said it was not clear when the medal would be presented. Monsoor was part of a sniper security team on Sept. 29, 2006, in Ramadi with three other SEALs and eight Iraqi soldiers, according to a Navy account. An insurgent fighter threw the grenade, which struck Monsoor in the chest before falling in front of him. Monsoor, according to the account, then threw himself on the grenade. Monsoor, a platoon machine gunner, had received the Silver Star, the third-highest award for combat valor, for his actions pulling a wounded SEAL to safety during a May 9, 2006, firefight in Ramadi. Monsoor, of Garden Grove, Calif., was 25. Monsoor will be the second member of the Navy to receive the Medal of Honor since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, and the first sailor to receive it for combat in Iraq. |
Tahoe Soldier Dies in Iraq Sgt. Timothy M. Smith SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CA - A soldier from South Lake Tahoe died of wounds he sustained in Baghdad on April 7, the Department of Defense says. The department confirmed that Sgt. Timothy M. Smith, 25, succumbed to injuries he received when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive devise (IED). Smith was assigned to the 4th Brigade, Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Created: 4/9/2008 1:30:55 PM Updated: 4/9/2008 4:04:15 PM |
| Soldier From South Lake Tahoe Killed In Iraq SOUTH LAKE TAHOE (AP) ― A soldier from South Lake Tahoe was killed in Iraq when the vehicle he was in was struck by a roadside bomb, the military announced Wednesday. The Department of Defense says Army Sgt. Timothy M. Smith died Monday in Baghdad. Smith, 25, was assigned to the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, located at Fort Polk, La. Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons issued a statement expressing his condolences to Smith's family, and ordered flags at the state Capitol to be lowered to half staff in his honor. Gibbons said Smith's mother lives at South Lake Tahoe, and his father lives in Reno. "I would like to offer the state of Nevada's most sincere thanks and heartfelt condolences to Sgt. Smith's family and friends during this difficult time," Gibbons said in a written release. "I truly hope that as everyone who knew him copes with his death, they find some comfort knowing that the state of Nevada, and the entire country, is safer because of his sacrifice." California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement on Smith's death on Wednesday: "Sergeant Timothy Smith served his country with pride, distinction and relentless bravery. Maria and I stand with the people of California in honoring the life of this American hero, who answered the call to defend liberty and safeguard the United States. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Timothy's family and friends as they mourn the passing of a great soldier and an extraordinarily selfless Californian." |
| Sole living son denied benefits post-Iraq By Garance Burke, Associated Press Writer FRESNO, Calif. — Forced to leave the combat zone after his two brothers died in the Iraq war, Army Spc. Jason Hubbard faced another battle once he returned home: The military cut off his family's health care, stopped his G.I. educational subsidies and wanted him to repay his sign-up bonus. It wasn't until Hubbard, who had served in Iraq with his unit from Hawaii, petitioned his local congressman that he was able to restore some of his benefits. Now that congressman, Rep. Devin Nunes, is leading an effort to pass a bill that would ensure basic benefits to all soldiers who are discharged under an Army policy governing sole surviving siblings and children of soldiers killed in combat. The rule is a holdover from World War II meant to protect the rights of service people who have lost a family member to war. "I felt as if in some ways I was being punished for leaving even though it was under these difficult circumstances," Hubbard told The Associated Press. "The situation that happened to me is not a one-time thing. It's going to happen to other people, and to have a law in place is going to ease their tragedy in some way." Hubbard, 33, and his youngest brother, Nathan, enlisted while they were still grieving for their brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Hubbard, who was 22 when he was killed in a 2004 bomb explosion in Ramadi. At their request, the pair were assigned to the same unit, the 3rd Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii, and deployed to Iraq the next year. In August, 21-year-old Cpl. Nathan died when his Black Hawk helicopter crashed near Kirkuk. Jason was part of the team assigned to remove his comrades' bodies from the wreckage. Hubbard accompanied his little brother's body on a military aircraft to Kuwait, then on to California. He kept steady during Nathan's burial at Clovis Cemetery, standing in dress uniform between his younger brothers' graves as hundreds sobbed in the heat. But Hubbard broke his silence when he found his wife, pregnant with their second child, had been cut off from the transitional health care the family needed to ease back to civilian life after he was discharged in October. "This is a man who asked for nothing and gave a lot," said Nunes, R-Calif., who represents Hubbard's hometown of Clovis, a city of 90,000 next to Fresno. "Jason is one person who obviously has suffered tremendously and has given the ultimate sacrifice. One person is too many to have this happen to." Hubbard went to Nunes, who began advocating for the former soldier in December, after hearing the Army was demanding that he repay $6,000 from his enlistment bonus and was denying him up to $40,000 in educational benefits under the GI bill. After speaking with Army Secretary Pete Geren, Nunes got the repayment waived, and a military health policy restored for Hubbard's wife. But the policy mandated that she be treated at a nearby base, and doctors at the Lemoore Naval Air Station warned that the 45-mile trip could put her and the fetus in danger. Hubbard said doctors offered alternative treatment at a hospital five hours away. Meantime, Hubbard and his 2-year-old son went without any coverage for a few months. The Hubbard Act, introduced Wednesday, would for the first time detail the rights of sole survivors, and extend to them a number of benefits already offered to other soldiers honorably discharged from military service. The bill — co-sponsored by Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga. — would waive payback of their enlistment bonuses, allow them to participate in G.I. educational programs, give them separation pay and access to transitional health care. "I'm honored to be a part of this process, and although it's me that is involved directly, it's more than that. There are numerous other people out here who have been discharged under this sole survivor code," Hubbard said in a phone interview from Washington, where he joined lawmakers who introduced the bill Wednesday. The Department of Defense has identified 52 sole survivors since the Sept. 11 attacks. Meanwhile, Hubbard, his wife Linnea and his son Elijah, have permanent health coverage now that he is once again working as a Fresno County sheriff's deputy, the job he left in 2004 to serve in Iraq. The Army will adopt to any changes in policy springing from the legislation, Army spokesman Maj. Nathan Banks said. "Foremost the Army itself sympathizes with him for the loss of his brothers," Banks said. "We will do everything within our means to rectify this issue. He is still one of ours." Hubbard's father, Jeff, said that resolving the family's bureaucratic difficulties would provide some comfort, but would not help lessen their pain. "We're still very much deeply involved in a grieving process. We're pretty whacked," he said. "This doesn't relate back to the loss of our boys, it can't, but we would consider it a positive accomplishment." |
| Hundreds Mourn Tahoe Soldier Killed In Iraq Army Engineer Hit By Roadside Bomb SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. -- Hundreds of people gathered Friday to mourn the loss of a soldier from South Lake Tahoe who was killed April 7 after a roadside bomb exploded during routine patrol in Iraq. Sgt. Timothy Smith, 25, was remembered as perpetual joker who was close to his family and had enlisted in the military to make the world safer for his one-year-old son, Riley. The crowd, which included soldiers and police officers as well as bikers and ski bums, spilled into the parking lot of the Sierra Community Church. Smith, an Army engineer, was a 2001 graduate of South Tahoe High School. He was assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Polk, La. He was killed in Baghdad. "We had the same birthday, Sept. 20," said longtime friend Tyler Erickson. "When he lived here, we'd always all go over to the Smith house. Even after (he left), he'd try to make it up to see us. All I can say is I'm really gonna miss him." Sgt. Sammy Baker, who met Smith in the military, called him "a great leader." "This is the third brother-in-arms I've lost, but it's the first best friend," Baker said. "Sgt. Smith, it seems like yesterday I was giving you advice on how to be a good sergeant." "Every leader wants his soldiers to end up being better leaders than he is, and for the first time, Sgt. Smith, I'm going to say this: You were." |
| Petaluma Marine critically injured in Iraq The young Marine who made headlines three years ago when he asked to wear his uniform at his Petaluma High School graduation was critically injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq on Sunday. Cpl. Steven Kiernan lost his right leg below the knee and his left foot and suffered other serious injuries when a bomb detonated under his vehicle at 11 a.m. in Fallujah, according to his family. He was transported to Baghdad for medical treatment. His mother, Kim Petersen of Petaluma, said she received a call from the Marine Corps this morning. She has received no further updates and is worried that her son’s injuries might be life-threatening. “They give you this horrible news, and then they can’t update you,” Petersen said. “I think he might not be stable yet, and that’s why they are not calling me back. I really need to talk to someone who can give me more information.” Kiernan had been stationed at Camp David in Maryland for the past three years and was deployed to Iraq on April 11. Kiernan enrolled in the Marines in 2005 when he was 17, after fulfilling his Petaluma High School requirements early. He finished boot camp in time to come home and participate in the school’s graduation. He wanted to forego the cap and gown and wear just his uniform for the ceremony. However, school policy mandated a cap and gown. After much public debate on the issue, Kiernan agreed to comply with the policy. He accepted his diploma wearing his uniform under his graduation gown. |
| Poway High School Graduate is Killed in Afghanistan Last Update: 5/01 8:48 am A Poway High School graduate who achieved his childhood dream of becoming an Army Ranger has been killed in Afghanistan, it was reported Thursday. Sgt. 1st Class David L. McDowell, 30, of Ramona died Tuesday in Bastion, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked using small arms fires, according to the Defense Department. McDowell was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, based in Fort Lewis, Wash. McDowell's father was also an Army ranger and following in his father's footsteps was a childhood dream, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. "Down to the last bone in his body, the guy believed in what he did," friend Jesse Carlson told the newspaper. Carlson played football with McDowell at Poway High School. McDowell is the sixth person with ties to San Diego County to be killed in Afghanistan since the war there began in 2001. He had been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq seven times and was a recipient of two Bronze stars and a Purple Heart, according to the Union-Tribune. He is survived by his wife, Joleen; son, Joshua, 11; daughter, Erin, 3; his parents; and two sisters. |
| Explosion Claims Merced Soldier Serving in Iraq MERCED, CA - A Merced soldier has died from injuries he suffered when an explosive device struck his vehicle near Diwaniyah, Iraq on Sunday. The Pentagon identified the soldier as 25-year-old Sgt. Frank J. Gaspar. Gaspar was a radio operator assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group in Fort Carson, Colorado. He was conducting resupply operations when he was fatally wounded, the Pentagon said. Created: 5/27/2008 3:26:45 PM Updated: 5/27/2008 3:30:18 PM |
| May 28, 2008 10:24 pm US/Pacific Santa Rosa Soldier Killed In Afghanistan SANTA ROSA (AP) ― The Pentagon announced a 21-year-old soldier from Santa Rosa was killed in Afghanistan. Army Spc. Christopher Gathercole died Monday after being injured by small arms fire during combat in Ghazni. He had been assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, based at Fort Lewis, Washington. According to special-operations command, Gathercole was a light machine gunner. He had earned a combat infantryman badge, a parachutist badge and the Ranger Tab, Army officials said. |
| Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:40:05 GMT Antioch soldier killed by roadside bomb in Iraq ANTIOCH, Calif. (AP) When John Aragon told his mother during his senior year of high school that he wanted to join the Army, she urged him to wait at least a year before making the decision. Aragon completed a year at a community college, but the delay did nothing to diminish his passion for the military, his mother said. He called his parents once he reached Fort Campbell, Ky., to tell them all about it. ''He said, 'I love the Army and the Army loves me,''' Denise Aragon said. ''The two just clicked.'' Aragon served for just over two years before he was killed Thursday by a roadside bomb in Iraq, the Department of Defense announced Friday. Officials said the 22-year-old died of wounds suffered when his Humvee struck the bomb in Kadamiyah, just northwest of Baghdad. Aragon's father, John Aragon Sr., said his son wanted to be near the action: ''He would say, 'A true soldier is a fighting foot soldier.''' But, the elder Aragon said, his son never harbored any romantic notions of war. ''He'd tell us it was pure hell,'' he said. ''Those were his words: 'pure hell.''' Both parents said they are proud of what he accomplished, including the rank of sergeant in two years with the 101st Airborne Division. The Antioch High School graduate, a die-hard Oakland Raiders fan with the team's name tattooed above his heart, always kept close ties to home, calling his parents once a week and looking forward to care packages they would send filled with his favorite snacks. Denise Aragon said she had planned to send one more round of snacks before he was due home for a break next month. ''We never got to send them,'' Denise Aragon said. |
Originally Posted By Noname:
cbs5.com/californiawire/22.0.html?type=local&state=ca&category=n&filename=CA--IraqCasualty-Arag.xml |
| Vacaville Soldier Dies In Afghanistan VACAVILLE (CBS13/AP) ― A paratrooper from Vacaville died this week in Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense. Army Spc. Ryan Connolly, 24, died in Khogyani, Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border, just two weeks before he was scheduled to come home, his family said. Connolly was riding in a vehicle with four other troops when the bomb hit. One other soldier also died. "He was a patriot. Strong guy. Funny. Just one of the best men you'd ever meet," said Bob Nelson, Connolly's stepfather, in an interview with KTVU news. Connolly was married to Stephi Connolly and the couple had a 1-year-old daughter, Kayla. |
| Santa Rosa soldier's body returns By SHADI RAHIMI THE PRESS DEMOCRAT Published: Thursday, July 3, 2008 at 8:59 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, July 3, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. A motorcycle procession led the body of Army Sgt. Ryan J. Connolly back to Santa Rosa today. The motorcade started at Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport at about 11:15 a.m. It passed the new downtown monument honoring the county's war dead on its way to Daniels Chapel of the Roses in Santa Rosa. Some 150 well-wishers were gathered at the corner of Sonoma and Santa Rosa avenues near the memorial . A plane carrying Connolly's casket arrived at the airport shortly before 11 a.m.. A mass and military funeral are scheduled Monday for the 24-year-old paratrooper, who was killed June 24 when his vehicle was hit by an explosive in Khogyani, Afghanistan. Connolly grew up in Santa Rosa. He had just been promoted to sergeant and had 14 days left in his tour when he was killed. His procession was led by an American Legion motorcycle team, the Patriot Guard Riders and police and fire escorts, along with some of Connolly’s friends on motorcycles. Connolly loved fixing up classic cars and riding motorcycles, said his father, Jim. The route went from Airport Boulevard to Old Redwood Highway and then south, continuing on Mendocino Avenue to Sonoma Avenue. On Monday, Connolly’s name was added to the Veterans’ Memorial Monument at Santa Rosa City Hall. The five granite columns bear the names of the 449 Sonoma County veterans who have died in seven wars. A mass for Connolly is scheduled at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Rose Parish Center, 398 10th St. A military funeral and burial will be held at 11:30 a.m. at Santa Rosa Memorial Park, followed by a reception at Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Hall, 1351 Maple Avenue. Donations can be made to the Ryan Connolly Trust Fund, c/o Washington Mutual Bank, 835 Fourth St., Santa Rosa 95404. His family said all proceeds will go to his year-old daughter, Kayla, who is arriving today in San Francisco with her mother, Stefanie, on a military flight from Germany. Connolly, a Piner High School graduate, joined the Army in December 2005. He was assigned to the 173rd Special Troops Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, based in Germany. A dozen North Coast soldiers and Marines have died since 2002 in Iraq and Afghanistan. |
| Marine from Lake County is killed in Afghanistan Tuesday, July 22, 2008 A Marine from Lake County was killed by a bomb Monday in Afghanistan, a family friend said today. Pfc. Ivan Wilson, 22, was on his second tour of duty in overseas war zones, said Ginny Craven, who runs a group called Operation Tango Mike. The volunteer group, whose name is made up of military code words representing "thanks much," assembled care packages for Wilson when he was in Afghanistan, Craven said. Wilson was a 2004 graduate of Clearlake Community School. He joined the Marine Corps on the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and was a rifleman in the 3rd Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Division, Fox Company. Wilson served in Iraq from January to August 2007, Craven said. The Lake County Board of Supervisors issued a proclamation in his honor when he returned to the United States. On his MySpace page, Wilson wrote that the "desert is rad ... well maybe if you don't live there. I'm a U.S. Marine stuck here, but it's alright. My time is usually spent training to deploy. You know got to protect America." Wilson listed his parents as his heroes and said he enjoyed music, concerts and surfing. In a message to her brother that she posted on MySpace after receiving word of his death, Jackie Wilson wrote, "Hey big brother - I know you're in a better place and with all your loved ones who passed before you. ... We won't let you go unforgotten. Many people are missing you." Wilson is survived by his sister; his parents, Chris and Denise Wilson; and a brother, Nathaniel. |
| Aug 5, 2008 12:24 am US/Pacific American Canyon Soldier Dies In Iraq AMERICAN CANYON (AP) ― An American Canyon soldier serving in Iraq has died from injuries suffered in what U.S. military officials described as an incident unrelated to combat. The Defense Department announced Monday that 34-year-old Army Pfc. Jennifer L. Cole died Saturday in Bayji, Iraq. Officials offered no other details about the circumstances surrounding her death, but said the cause was under investigation. Cole was assigned to the 426th Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, out of Fort Campbell, Ky. She enlisted in the Army a year ago after spending years as a designer in her mother' floral business and had been working as a driver for a supply unit since getting dispatched to Iraq in March, according to her mother, Candace Gholson. "She loved Iraq," Gholson said. "She thought we were really over there for a good purpose, and she loved the people and thought we were helping them, that we were making a difference." Cole had been scheduled to come home on an 18-day leave on Aug. 11, her mother said. Her military funeral has not been scheduled. |
Merced Soldier Dies In Iraq Military officials say a 23-year-old Merced woman died in Iraq on Thursday. Army Pvt. Janelle F. King died of injuries suffered "in a non-combat" incident in Iraq, the Department of Defense announced Tuesday. Military officials did not immediately return calls to explain the circumstances surrounding King's death. Her death is under investigation. King was assigned to the 115th Combat Support Hospital in Fort Polk, La., which treats troops planning to return to active duty. According to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, 4,143 American troops have died since the war in Iraq began. |
Merced soldier, 23, dies in Baghdad The county recorded its fifth death from the war in Iraq as the Army reported that Pvt. Janelle F. King, 23, of Merced, died Aug. 14 in Baghdad "from a noncombat-related cause." King was a health care specialist with the 115th Combat Support Hospital from Fort Polk, La. In previous Iraq deployments, the military hospital helped treat Iraqi detainees as well as U.S. troops. In a news release, the Army said that "circumstances surrounding the soldier's death are under investigation." Since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, 4,143 U.S. troops have died there. Jamecia Jackson, 45, King's mother, declined to comment on her daughter's death beyond saying, "We're really close-knit as a family and we haven't decided what to do yet." Jackson said she spent 10 years in the Air Force and that King's father, from whom she is divorced, is in the Air Force. King did not attend schools in the Merced area. The Army said King had arrived at Fort Polk in January after joining the service in May 2007. Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, called it "a shame that we've lost another of American's finest. We need to honor those who have served, and I think we need to bring an end to the conflict as soon as we possibly can." "My heart goes out to the family," Merced Mayor Ellie Wooten said. "We worry about the little things, and they're putting their lives on the line." She added that though it's an election year, she doesn't hear many people talking about the war in Iraq. "I think things like this deepen the wound and make it harder to talk about," Wooten said. "All we can do is pray this is over soon." The city of Merced will fly the flags at municipal buildings at half-staff in honor of King and will remain so until after services have been held for her. Capitol flags also will be flown at half-staff in King's honor. Gov. Schwarzenegger released a statement: "Our nation has suffered a great loss with the death of Pvt. Janelle King. She served bravely to protect the safety of her fellow citizens and Californians will never forget her sacrifice. Maria and I send our heartfelt sympathy to Janelle's family and friends as they mourn this tremendous loss." Air Force veteran Ed Mentz, 70, who served from 1956 to 1976, said the death will hit those in the military community harder than average residents. "There's a camaraderie among veterans. A bond forms," he said. "It affects them harder. Unless you have been in that situation you can't understand. It's like losing a part of yourself, but it's unexplainable really." Mentz is president of the San Joaquin chapter of the National Association of Uniformed Services and is a commander with the local chapter of the Disabled American Veterans. Merced County's first fatality in Iraq was Army Pfc. Karina Lau of Livingston, who was killed Nov. 2, 2003. Army Cpl. Cesar Granados of Le Grand was killed Sept. 15, 2006. Marine Cpl. Josh Pickard was killed Dec. 19, 2006. Army Staff Sgt. Frank Gasper was killed May 25. |
  Vet's family still seeks compensation for illness that killed him By Sam Stanton - sstanton@sacbee.com Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, September 6, 2008 They'll hold a fundraiser in Auburn next Friday to help pay Matt Bumpus' medical bills. The Roseville man and his family worked on the event for months in hopes of raising money to treat his leukemia. But Bumpus won't be there. The 31-year-old father of two died a month ago after a series of battles with his disease. He believed – and his family still does – that he became ill because he was exposed to depleted uranium at a chemical weapons site while serving with the Army in Iraq. "All of them were very concerned about what they were exposed to, very concerned," said his stepmother, Laura Bumpus. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rejected one claim Bumpus filed seeking compensation for his illness. But on Friday, a VA official told The Bee the agency will revisit the case and see whether Bumpus' widow, Lisa, and their two sons are eligible for assistance. "Lisa and Matt's parents all have the right to come in and file a claim, and I would really welcome that," said Lynn Flint, the VA's regional director in Oakland. The family plans to file another claim but has seen firsthand the difficulty of proving that an illness diagnosed post-service may have stemmed from wartime conditions. Veterans from the 1990-91 Gulf War worked years to convince officials that Gulf War syndrome illnesses were real. And just last month, researchers at UC Davis Cancer Center said veterans exposed to Agent Orange are twice as likely to get prostate cancer as are other veterans – a finding that comes decades after the herbicide was used in Vietnam. Bumpus, a staff sergeant in the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, was sent Dec. 23, 2003, to guard the Al Muthanna Chemical Weapons complex in Iraq and spent two nights there, his family said. When they arrived, Bumpus and his comrades encountered a sign that read "Welcome to Mustardville," and eventually were moved because of radiation readings emanating from the site, according to his family. Bumpus, a 1995 Roseville High School graduate and defensive lineman for the school's football team, was a strapping young man who never had been seriously ill, family members said. He joined the Army in August 1996. He returned from Iraq in late 2004 and left the Army the following year, coming home to Roseville to be with Lisa, his wife and high school sweetheart, and their son, Nathaniel. Soon, Lisa was pregnant with their second son, Aaron, and Bumpus was working as a technician for Comcast. "In July of 2006, I was home, had a job with a bright future, we were expecting our second child, we had just moved into a house, and life was good!" Bumpus wrote this year on www.iraqradiation.com, a Web site his family set up to alert veterans of potential health risks from service in Iraq. After returning from Iraq, Bumpus worried he might have been exposed to something at the weapons site that could have long-term effects, his family said, but was assured by the Army there was no reason for concern. Everything seemed fine until one July night in 2006, when he was having trouble sleeping. "We thought he had the flu, and he got up to use the bathroom," his wife said. "I heard a bang and went to check, and he had hit the floor." Bumpus was rushed to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, where doctors diagnosed appendicitis. Tests done there also found he suffered from a rare form of leukemia – acute myeloid leukemia. According to his medical records, his doctor told him the illness "was related to radiation exposure." He began a regimen of chemotherapy and other treatments and eventually racked up $1 million in medical bills, most of which were covered by his health insurance. His illness was in remission by late 2006. "I returned to work and an almost normal life," he wrote on the Web site. "I was alive, in remission, and very thankful." When his leukemia returned in 2008, he filed a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs saying the illness was related to his service. The VA denied the claim, noting in the rejection letter that his diagnosis had come more than a year after his separation from the Army. The VA's Flint said the original claim did not specifically indicate that Bumpus was claiming he had been exposed to radiation. She said the agency indicated at the time it would consider new information if Bumpus provided it. Bumpus' stepmother, Laura, said he told the family he had not mentioned the exposure in the claim because he believed that information was classified. He assumed VA officials would ask him about it, she said. Earlier this year, Bumpus wrote to Congress seeking help, and he and his family set up the Web site detailing his case and others they had heard of. He was hoping for a bone-marrow transplant, and from his hospital bed helped plan Friday's silent auction and dinner. Bumpus died Aug. 3. Two weeks later, his widow received notice from the VA that his case had been the subject of an inquiry from Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and that Bumpus could pursue benefits. The VA asked Bumpus to schedule a new examination at a VA hospital. His widow is drafting a reply noting that "obviously as he is now deceased he cannot comply with this request." Today, his family waits to see whether the VA will provide compensation to Lisa and their sons, 11-year-old Nathaniel and Aaron, who turns 2 in October. Nathaniel, who started sixth grade earlier this week, is old enough to understand his father is gone. "The youngest, I don't think he really understands. He just thinks (his dad) hasn't come home from the hospital," Lisa Bumpus said this week. She sat crying on the deck of Laura Bumpus' Foresthill home. Around her neck hung a chain that holds her husband's wedding ring. The VA's regional director said the Bumpus family is eligible for benefits if the leukemia can be tied to Bumpus' service. His widow could receive $1,091 in tax-free benefits monthly, and her children $271 a month. "I'm so sorry this happened," Flint said, adding that she hopes Bumpus can be recognized as having sacrificed much for his country. |
| Marine praised by Bush won't get Medal of Honor Thu Sep 18, 5:52 AM ET  A Marine sergeant singled out by President Bush for throwing his body on a grenade to save his comrades in Iraq will receive the prestigious Navy Cross rather than the nation's highest military award, military officials said. The family of Sgt. Rafael Peralta, who was posthumously nominated for the nation's highest military honor, told the North County Times of Escondido, Calif., they were disappointed he was not receiving the Medal of Honor. "I don't understand why if the president has been talking about him," his mother, Rosa Peralta, told the newspaper, which was the first to report the bestowing of the Navy Cross. Rosa Peralta said she was informed during a meeting with Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski that a committee could not agree on awarding the Medal of Honor to her son, who Marine Corps officials say was first wounded by friendly fire. She said the general mentioned the friendly fire aspect as part of her son's death during the discussion. Marine Corps spokesman Mike Alvarez confirmed the meeting, saying only that it was a personal briefing between Natonski and Rosa Peralta to inform her that the secretary of the Navy would award the Navy Cross posthumously for extraordinary heroism. The Navy Cross is the second highest honor for combat heroism a Marine can receive. The secretary of the Navy's public affairs office in Washington, D.C., did not immediately return an after-hours telephone call Wednesday seeking comment. Headquarters Marine Corps spokesman Maj. David Nevers told The Associated Press that the Navy Cross for Peralta "is not bestowed lightly." Nevers said only 23 sailors and Marines out of the thousands who have served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have received the Navy Cross. "The awarding of a medals of valor is a methodical process and carefully conducted to ensure the sacrifice and service of our Marines and sailors is appropriately honored," he said. Peralta was shot several times in the face and body during a house-to-house search in Fallujah on Nov. 15, 2004, during some of the fiercest fighting of the war. According to a report by a Marine combat photographer who witnessed the act, Peralta lay wounded on the floor of a house and grabbed a grenade that had been lobbed by an insurgent. He absorbed the blast with his body, dying instantly. In 2005, Natonski, then-commanding general of the 1st Marine Division, ordered an investigation to determine the source of a bullet fragment recovered from Peralta's body. "Following multiple and exhaustive reviews, the evidence supports the finding that Peralta was likely hit by 'friendly fire,'" the Marine Corps said Wednesday in a press release. "This finding had no bearing on the decision to award the Navy Cross medal." Bush cited Peralta's heroism in a Memorial Day speech in 2005, saying the Marine "understood that America faces dangerous enemies, and he knew the sacrifices required to defeat them." Peralta, who was assigned to Hawaii's 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, moved to San Diego from Tijuana as a teenager. He was 25. |
| Pols ask Bush to review denied Medal of Honor A California congressional delegation asked President Bush on Friday to posthumously award the Medal of Honor to a Marine who was chosen to receive only the second-highest medal the Navy can bestow for valor. The delegation, spearheaded by Rep. Duncan Hunter, sent a letter asking for a review of the case of Sgt. Rafael Peralta, who witnesses say covered a grenade with his body to save comrades on Nov. 15, 2004, during fighting in Fallujah, Iraq. Already wounded by gunfire, he died immediately. A copy of the letter given to The Associated Press was signed by a bipartisan group of five other representatives and Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. It urges Bush to award the nation's highest honor, the same medal he gave to Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, who was killed in 2004 after covering a grenade with his helmet. "Intentionally absorbing a grenade blast to protect one's comrades in arms has been traditionally recognized by awarding the Medal of Honor. The sacrifice of Sergeant Peralta manifests the same devotion to one's comrade's and country as that displayed by Jason Dunham," the letter said. The White House had no immediate comment Friday. The bipartisan delegation formed after Peralta's mother said publicly this week that she was told her son would be awarded the Navy Cross, rather than the Medal of Honor, because the nomination was tainted by reports he was accidentally shot by a fellow Marine shortly before an insurgent lobbed the grenade. "It's difficult as a mother to lose your son, but it's good that people are remembering him. He was a person who gave everything and took nothing," Rosa Peralta said after the AP informed her of the congressional effort. "I'm very pleased to hear this news; we wanted justice," she said. Bush singled out the Marine's actions in a 2005 Memorial Day speech, saying Peralta "understood that America faces dangerous enemies, and he knew the sacrifices required to defeat them." The question of whether to award Peralta the Medal of Honor centers on whether the mortally wounded Marine, who had been shot in the head and upper body during a house-to-house search, could have intentionally reached for the grenade and covered it with his body. The initial recommendation that he receive the Medal of Honor went through reviews by the Marine Corps, U.S. Central Command, the Department of the Navy and, ultimately, Defense Secretary Robert Gates. After all the evidence was scrutinized, officials determined the nomination did not meet the standard necessary to support the Medal of Honor, said Capt. Beci Brenton, spokeswoman for Navy Secretary Donald Winter. Defense Department officials have said that because there was some contradictory evidence, Gates took the extra step of asking for a review by a panel consisting of a former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, a Medal of Honor recipient, a civilian neurosurgeon who is retired from the military and two forensic pathologists who also are military retirees. The panel recommended against the Medal of Honor, and Gates made the decision this month, officials said. Peralta, 25, was assigned to Hawaii's 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. He had moved to San Diego from Tijuana as a teenager. |
| California Native Killed In Iraq Governor Calls Clark 'Courageous Soldier' SACRAMENTO -- The Department of Defense said a soldier from Sacramento has been killed in Iraq. Officials said Sgt. Michael Kyle Clark died Oct. 7 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds he suffered from small arms fire while on foot patrol. The 24-year-old was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colo. Clark, a fire support specialist, joined the Army in August 2004 and completed a previous tour in Iraq from November 2005 to October 2006. In a statement, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called Clark "a courageous soldier who sacrificed his life in defense of our nation's freedom." |
