Monday, February 25, 2013

US Marine Staff Sergeant Jonathan Davis killed in Helmand

34-year-old US Marine Staff Sgt. Jonathan D. Davis, from Kayenta, Arizona, was killed during operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on 22nd February 2013. Sgt. Davis served with Headquarters Battalion, 32nd Georgian Liaison Team, part of the 1st Marine Division based at Camp Pendleton, California.

Sgt. Davis, of the Navajo Nation, joined the US Marine Corps in October 1997. His awards and medals include the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the NATO Medal-ISAF Afghanistan, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal.

He is the first reported foreign military fatality in Afghanistan for over a month.


More information to follow.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Bomb kills NATO soldier in southern Afghanistan

A US soldier was killed in a bomb explosion in southern Afghanistan on Friday 22nd February, according to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

The serviceman was identified as US Marine Staff Sergeant Jonathan Davis.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

British towns name streets after soldiers killed in Afghanistan

The east London suburb of Barking and Dagenham has recently renamed two streets after military personnel who died in Afghanistan, with a third street to be dedicated soon.

Jim Murphy, shadow Defence Secretary, told the Daily Telegraph that the plan would allow local people to show their “solidarity and sympathy” with grieving families. He said: "A lasting personal memorial would demonstrate the value we place on individuals who have served but been lost in the defence of our country."

Now the scheme is to be offered to councils throughout the country offering families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan the chance to have a local street named after their loved ones.

Read the full story at Daily Telegraph

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

French Foreign Legion veteran of Afghanistan killed in action in Mali

French Foreign Legion Sergeant Harold Vormezeele, a veteran of three tours in Afghanistan, was killed in action during an operation in Mali on 19th February 2013.

Sgt. Vormezeele, born in Belgium in 1979, had served with the Foreign Legion for almost 14 years.

His unit, 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2REP), parachuted in to Timbuktu on 27th January this year. On 19th February, Sgt. Vormezeele was part of an armoured patrol, 50km south of Tessalit, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces. During this engagement, he was fatally wounded.

He served in Afghanistan in 2008, 2010 and 2011. He had also previously served in Bosnia, Gabon, Djibouti, Cote d'Ivoire and the Central African Republic and had been awarded four Cross of Military Valour medals during his career.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

US Army Sergeant Aaron Wittman buried at Arlington National Cemetery

US Army Sergeant Aaron X. Wittman was buried at Arlington National Cemetery yesterday, 8th February 2013. More than 100 family members, friends and colleagues attended. His coffin was draped with an American flag and carried on a horse-drawn caisson. He was buried with full military honors.

Sgt. Wittman, from Chester, Virginia, was the first American fatality of the year in Afghanistan. He was killed during a mounted patrol in Nangahar province on 10th January, when enemy forces opened fire with assault weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. 28-year-old Sgt. Wittman was serving with the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment. This was his second deployment.

Sgt. Wittman was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, among others.

Read more at Washington Post

Friday, February 1, 2013

Fallen soldier saves four lives with his donated organs

British Army Kingsman Dave Shaw, who died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham on Wednesday 16th January 2013 from wounds sustained after being shot in Afghanistan on 14th January, has saved the lives of four seriously ill patients in Birmingham.

Following the 23-year-old soldier's death, his parents donated his organs in the hope that his death would save the lives of others.

Kingsman Shaw was serving with the 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment when he was shot by enemy forces near Lashkar Gah in Helmand Province. He was on his second deployment to Afghanistan.

Read the full story at the Daily Mail