U.S. Legacies July 2003
Wartime Memories
Never before in any war that the United States was in, did we as Americans sit in front of the television crying with the families who lost their loved ones. Prayers were heard from the West to the East coast, and the from North and South. Every American shared one common belief, bring our soldiers home safely.
With any war, there are always political issues; but this war was one of a joyous occasion for the Iraqi people. A country who knew not what freedom was, until the day Saddam's statue came crashing down.
Our soldiers, men and women, who served their country with pride, wearing their uniform, leaving their loved ones behind, did not give their lives in vain. They are honored as heroes who freed the Iraqi people, and honored as heroes who have kept freedom, prosperity, hope and the American dream alive. They gave their lives to us to allow us to remain that free country, to not ever fear another September 11.
We thank you the Fallen Hero. We will forever keep your legacy alive. We will forever remember you.
Beginning with this issue, we are listing our Fallen Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Army Capt. James F. Adamouski,
29, of Springfield, Virginia.
Killed in UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash in central Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia. Died April 2, 2003.
Navy Lt. Thomas Mullen Adams, 27, of La Mesa, California.
Killed when two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters collided over international waters. He was assigned as an exchange officer with the Royal Navy's 849 Squadron since October 2002. Lt. Adams would have turned 28 on April 16. He is now buried at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma, California. Died March 22, 2003.
Army Spc. Jamaal R. Addison,
22, of Roswell, Georgia.
Killed when ambushed by enemy forces in Iraq. He was assigned to the 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company, Ft. Bliss, Texas. Like many young soldiers, Addison, who had a 2 year old son also called Jamaal, was more interested in going to college someday than in fighting a war. Although he supported it, said the minister at his family's church. Just before he went into combat, he called his wife, Tekla, and shared his fears with her. Died March 23, 2003.
NO PHOTO AVAILABLE
Army Spc. Edward J. Anguiano,
24, of Brownsville, Texas.
Spc. Anguiano was in a six-vehicle convoy on Highway 7 in Iraq when enemy forces ambushed them on March 23. His remains were recovered on April 24. Anguiano was assigned to 3rd Combat Support Battalion, Ft. Stewart, Georgia.
Army Capt. Tristan N. Aitken, 31, of State College, Pennsylvania.
Killed in action in Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia. Died April 4, 2003.
Marine Lance Cpl. Brian E. Anderson, 26, of Durham, North Carolina.
Killed in a non-hostile accident west of An Nasiriyah, Iraq. Anderson was manning a .50 caliber rifle on top of a 7-ton truck when the vehicle passed under and apparently snagged low hanging power lines. He was assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Died April 2, 2003.
NO PHOTO AVAILABLE
Marine CWO Andrew Todd Arnold, 30, of Spring, Texas.
Killed in a non-hostile accident when a rocket-propelled grenade launcher they were firing for familiarization malfunctioned on a firing range near the city of Al Kut, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Died April 22, 2003.
Marine Maj. Jay Thomas Aubin,
36, of Waterville, Maine.
Killed in a CH-46E helicopter crash in Kuwait. He was assigned to the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-1, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona. His father flew puddle-jumpers in the Maine woods, and Aubin began riding with him in the cockpit when he was 2. He joined the Marines right after high school, hoping to become a fighter pilot, but his eyesight fell just short, so he settled for flying helicopters. Aubin, married to a Marine, with a son and daughter, became one of the 1st casualties of the war when his CH-46 Sea Knight chopper crashed in Kuwait.
Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew Julian Aviles, 18, of Tampa, Florida.
Killed in Central Iraq when an enemy artillery round struck the Amphibious Assault Vehicle in which he was riding. He was a member of the US Marine Corps Reserve assigned to the 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Tampa, Florida. Died April 7, 2003.
(Continued next month)
Fallen Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom
By: Dr. Zoe L. Simmons
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