Posts Tagged ‘regimen’
Wednesday Hero – SSgt. Darrell R. Griffin, Jr.
This Weeks Soldier Was Suggested By Jenn
36 years old from Alhambra, California
2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division
March 21, 2007
“He was a really patriotic young man”, said Darrell Griffin Sr. “He said that the people there really needed us and he felt it was the right place to be. He wished we didn’t have to have wars, but since that’s the way mankind is, he felt he was contributing an important part to his country”.
SSgt. Griffin lost his life in Balad, Iraq when his unit came under fire as it was returning to base after conducting security operations in the Iraqi capital.
The eldest son of six children, SSgt. Griffin worked as an EMT before joining the California Army National Guard in 1999. He enlisted in the Army two years later, and in July 2001, was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, in Ft. Lewis, Washington. He served with that unit in Iraq from October 2004 to September 2005.
On his second tour of duty, SSgt. Griffin had been awarded the Bronze Star for valor in 2005 when he was credited with saving the lives of three U.S. and two Iraqi Army soldiers injured during battle in Tal Afar. He had also received the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Combat Infantry Badge, Expert Infantry Badge, Parachute Badge, and the Meritorious Unit Citation.
“Griff was the type of man you want to have by your side in a fight,” Maj. Brent Clemmer, his former company commander, wrote from Iraq. “He was the type of squad leader every young soldier wants to have”.
“Darrell was my husband, my Soldier, my gift from God who was also the love of my life and always will be.” Said his wife, Diana. “He was also ‘a Soldier’s Soldier of Strength and Honor’ whose commitment to duty, honor and loyalty will be forever remembered by all who know and love him. The news of his death saddens us deeply and we ask for your prayers in our time of grief. Please also continue to keep our Soldiers in your prayers
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. To find out more about Wednesday Hero, you can go here.
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Wednesday Hero
This Weeks Soldier Was Suggested By Cindy
20 years old from Hondo, New Mexico
2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force
March 14, 2007
Tears ran down cheeks and strong men choked back emotion as the city of Hondo, NM payed tribute to fallen Marine, Steven Chavez. LCpl. Chavez lost his life on March 14, 2007 in a non-combat incident in which he was accidentally shot.
Chavez enlisted in the Marine Cops. right after he graduated in 2005. “You pray and you pray that the day never comes, and then it does,” said Novelda Chavez, Chavez’s mother. “Your emotions are mixed — it’s not true, it’s a bad dream, a bad dream you never wake up from.”
In a letter Chavez wrote before he was sent to Iraq, he wrote:
“First of all I would like to thank everyone for your support. When I’m home on leave and when I’m away. That is so important to me. Thank you for your kind, supporting words in your letters and for the packages I’ve received. Those are awesome.
I’ve been through some pretty hard times, in the short time I’ve been in the Marine Corp. None harder then what I’m about to face. Yes I’m scared; nothing is scarier than the uncertainty of what your future holds for you. I’m prepared to face whatever lies ahead.
I put my life in the hands of the Lord. And pray that He guides my fellow soldiers and I down a safe path, that He will calm our fears, and give us the strength to do the job we have been trained to do, and to do that job well.
There are many lonely nights, when you’re lying in your bunk thinking of family and friends, wondering what they are doing at that very moment. Wondering what mom is cooking for supper. I can almost taste the tortillas on the griddle.
I want to say to all of you tonight, I wouldn’t change one thing about my life.
I’ve never been more proud of the choices I made in my life than the day I graduated from basic drill instructor placed that Anchor, Globe and Eagle Pin in my hand I knew then I was a UNITED STATES MARINE!
I’m Proud to protect and serve My Country
I’m Proud to protect and serve My Community
I’m Proud to protect and serve you
Thank you so much for your Support. Keep those letters coming. Mail is a precious commodity when you’re so far from Home.
YOUR U.S. MARINE
LANCE CORPORAL STEVE CHAVEZ”
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. To find out more about Wednesay Hero, you can go here.
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Wednesday Hero — From last week
I messed up and missed posting this last week when my computer exploded. I am posting this today and will have another hero up for tomorrow.
21 years old from Irving, Texas
2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division
October 14, 2004
Louise Vandertulip fussed at her son about his spending. He bought wild, overpriced hats that had flames on them or horns coming out of the top, she said.
While in Army basic training, he bought portraits of himself. His mother told him to save his money.
She’s glad he didn’t listen.
The hats and the pictures are all a part of her memories now.
Spc. Josiah H. Vandertulip was killed in Baghdad when his patrol came under small arms fire.
Josiah Vandertulip joined the Army right after his graduation from Irving High School in 2002. He spent a year in South Korea before being stationed at Texas’ Fort Hood in February. Against his mother’s advice, he volunteered to go to Iraq. She told him to wait, to go to college.
“When he was determined to do something in his heart, he would do it and hell or high water couldn’t keep him from it,” she said
By going, he knew someone else with a young family could be saved from serving, relatives said.
He always had the important things right, Louise Vandertulip said.
“There’s a lot of rest in knowing that he died doing what he believed in and doing what he thought was right,” she said.
“We have a much more real sense of the cost for the freedom that we enjoy now,” said his father, Robert Vandertulip.
“Josiah was the first brand new soldiers I recieved as a dismounted team leader in Korea. He was one of the Best soldiers I have had the honor to train and work with. He loved being a soldier as much as any guy I have met. He was a great leader in the absence of his superiors. I could always count on him to make sure the mission was accomplished. I watched him change over the year I had him from a goofy kid, to a hard charging soldier.”
Sgt. Nickolas Faul
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. To find out more about Wednesay Hero, you can go here.
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