MEMORIAL DAY 2012

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN AFGHANISTAN: 1,986
TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,486

Army soldier from Salinas dies in Afghanistan

VILMAR GALARZA HERNANDEZ

THE LAST SOLDIER

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN AFGHANISTAN: 1,857 
TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,484

In the twilight of a war that many Americans regard as over, with only a month before all the troops are to be gone, David Hickman may prove to be the last soldier to die in Iraq.

 DAVID HICKMAN

THINGS COULDN'T BE MORE PERFECT

"The couple had a written plan for their future and should be celebrating their one year anniversary next month."

AUGUSTUS VICARI

WE ARE GOING TO MISS HIM

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN AFGHANISTAN: 1,684
TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,474

Beyers leaves behind a wife, Vanessa, and an infant daughter.

NATHAN R. BEYERS

KILLED IN HELMAND PROVINCE

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN AFGHANISTAN: 1,553
TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,450

“He was just a really neat kid. He called his mom two weeks ago. We sent him packages of goodies all the time. He loved Skittles and we sent him Skittles. He was really a wonderful boy, a very smart boy.”

DOMINIC J. CIARAMITARO

THE YOUNGEST OF FOUR CHILDREN

Lt. Omar Vazquez, 25, was one of two soldiers killed Friday morning after his convoy struck an improvised explosive device.

OMAR VAZQUEZ

ONE MONTH BEFORE HE WAS TO RETURN HOME

Spc. Dale J. Kridlo, 33, and another soldier were killed in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked their unit with small arms fire, the Department of Defense announced on its website today.

ALBERTA KRIDLO HOLDING A PHOTO
OF HER GRANDSON, DALE KRIDLO

KILLED BY AN IRAQI SOLDIER

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN AFGHANISTAN: 1,379
TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,427

PHILLIP JENKINS

FINAL FAREWELL

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN AFGHANISTAN: 1,223
TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,414

IN LIVES

The cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in lives.

PHILIP CLARK

ANTHONY MAGEE

IN DOLLARS

The total cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001.

NO LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN AFGHANISTAN: 1,057

1st Lt. Brandon A. Barrett, 27, died May 5 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

BRANDON A. BARRETT

HE WAS JUST A GOOFY KID

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,397

As the sergeant in charge, he was first out of the truck as they arrived for a mission in Khalis, Iraq, his grandmother Dawn Jones said. He was killed by an explosive device used by enemy forces attacking their unit, according to the Defense Department officials.

KEITH A. COE

KEITH A. COE

ERIN WAS THE TYPE WHO COULD GET HERSELF OUT OF EVERYTHING

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,385

Erin's parents thought their daughter had already faced her biggest challenge.

ERIN MCLYMAN

THE BEAT GOES ON

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,374

IRAQ: VETERANS DAY 2009

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,362

Army Spc. Tony Carrasco, Jr., 25, was among troops providing dismounted security in Ad Dawr, Iraq, when insurgents attacked with small arms fire, according to the 1st Infantry Division public-affairs office. Carrasco reportedly was hit by sniper fire.

TONY CARRASCO, JR.

NOVEMBER

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,349

Family members say Army Specialist Paul Anderson died from "indirect fire." His wife learned the same day he died that there were arrangements made for his unit to return home this November.

PAUL ANDERSON

HE WAS 21

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,344

"The Department of Defense announced on Thursday that Army Staff Sgt. Shannon Smith and two other soldiers, including Delaware resident Pfc. Zachary Myers, died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an explosive device."

ZACHARY T. MYERS

THAT QUIET RESPECTFUL BOY

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,328

James Wertish, 20, a specialist with the Minnesota Army National Guard 34th Infantry Division, was one of three Minnesota soldiers killed in a missile attack July 16 near Basra, Iraq.

JAMES WERTISH

MEMORIAL DAY 2009

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,300

George’s time in Iraq was short. He had flown into Kuwait on April 22. He had only been in Baghdad since May 5:

HUGH AND CANDY MASON HOLD ON TO A PHOTO
OF THEIR SON WHO DIED LAST WEEK IN IRAQ

A MISTAKE NOT CORRECTED

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,284

A Freetown sailor, destined to work in an elite unit in the military, his family said, was killed in Iraq Thursday while conducting what the Navy called combat operations against enemy forces in Fallujah.

TYLER TRAHAN

The Obama Administration should recognize that with each day that passes more young men die for no reason:

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: LAST TO DIE

A COSTLY TIMELINE

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,275

If the current deadline for pulling out of Iraq remains in place there are going to be a lot of American soldiers who won't be coming home. On April 10th alone, five were killed in Mosul. One of them was Staff Sargent Gary Lee Woods, Jr. who planned to open a cabinet shop when he returned to Kentucky.

GARY LEE WOODS, JR.

HE WOULD HAVE BEEN HEADING BACK TO GERMANY IN MAY

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,256

Spc. Brian M. Connelly of Union Beach died Feb. 26, after his vehicle was struck by an explosive device. The 26-year-old was assigned to the 40th Engineer Battalion, Task Force 1-6, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division based in Germany.

Connelly had married his wife, Kara, last September.

While speaking with her via webcam just four hours before he was killed, he told her his tour in Iraq had been shortened by three months and that he would be heading back to Germany in May.

BRIAN M. CONNELLY

AMERICAN KILLED BY IRAQI POLICE

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,251

Lt. William E. Emmert was shot and killed in Mosul, Iraq Tuesday while assisting local police. Two Iraqi policemen opened fire during a U.S. military inspection visit in northern Iraq, killing Emmert and an interpreter in an attack that deepened worries of possible infiltration of security forces battling insurgents in their last major base.

WILLIAM E. EMMERT

WAR DEAD NO LONGER HIDDEN FROM VIEW

Defence Secretary Robert Gates said photographs of the flag-draped caskets of US war dead being returned home will be allowed if their families agree.

MEMO TO THE NEW PRESIDENT: END THE IRAQ WAR

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,232

RICKY LEE TURNER

HE WAS DUE TO COME HOME IN TWO WEEKS

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,221

Tony Gonzales had talked about becoming a police officer, like his father. There's every reason to believe he would have been a good one.

THE FAMILY OF TONY JEROLD GONZALES

MAYBE, SHE THOUGHT, HE'D EVEN BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,213

WILLIAM JUSTIN MCCLELLEN

"When they were taking care of him on the field, he had told his guys to hold his place because he'd be back in two weeks," (wife Heather McClellan) said. But his injuries, which she described as shrapnel damage to the head, hand and foot, were more serious than he realized.

AARON ALLEN WAS KILLED FIVE WEEKS BEFORE HE WAS DUE TO COME HOME

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,205

MARINE SGT. MAJOR JEFF MCKEONE HUGS KELLY ZAJAC, LEFT, AARON ALLEN'S GIRLFIEND, AND AMY ALLEN, AARON'S SISTER AFTER A FLAG CEREMONY MONDAY MORNING AT SANTA YNEZ VALLEY UNION HIGH SCHOOL.

She said he described his second deployment to Iraq, not long after his first, as “a last hurdle” to coming back home, proposing to his girlfriend, and enrolling in the Hancock College fire academy after his hitch was up in March. He was due back in the United States from Iraq on Dec. 20.

THE SIXTH VETERANS DAY SINCE THE START OF THE IRAQ WAR

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,193
TOTAL U.S. WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 30,634

TIMOTHY H.WALKER

Staff Sgt. Timothy H. Walker, 38, served as a medic with the 64th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, stationed at Fort Carson, Colo. This was his second tour of duty in Iraq, where he provided training for the Iraqi army and Iraqi police officers.

HE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO EXPERIENCE LIFE

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,189

CODY J. EGGLESTON

Pfc. Cody J. Eggleston married in June, turned 21 in September, and left for Iraq the next day. He had been in the combat zone less than a month on Oct. 16, when he was wounded in a mortar attack northeast of Baghdad.

On Friday, the Eugene native died of his wounds at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland, the Defense Department said.

"He really didn't have time to experience life," said his uncle, Rick Eggleston, of Fairbanks, Alaska.

THE IRAQ WAR CONTINUES

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,186

CHRISTOPHER A. MCCRAW

The 23-year-old Schofield Barracks private killed Tuesday in a firefight while on patrol in Baghdad was planning to marry the mother of his infant son when he returned from Iraq next spring.

Pfc. Christopher A. McCraw, 23, of Columbia, Miss., was wounded when his patrol encountered small-arms fire in Nasar Wa Salam, the Pentagon reported yesterday.

"The whole family is pretty much in shock," the soldier's uncle Jerry McCraw told the Associated Press. "It's about the worst thing you can have is a military chaplain and (a sergeant) show up at your house."

2004 COOPER HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE KILLED IN IRAQ

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,183

REUBEN M. FERNANDEZ III

His grandfather, Ruben Fernandez Sr., said his grandson was a kind-hearted man who wanted to make the military his life.

“He just about loved everybody,” Fernandez Sr. said.

The elder Fernandez said he last saw his grandson about five months ago before he was deployed to Iraq in June.

A SOLDIER'S POINT OF VIEW

Soldiers Revisted (Vermont Public Radio):

"We came back in 2006. That's 2 ½ years beyond what I had signed up for, so in my mind going over there was a breach of contract, but at the same time I knew that getting deployed is part of being a soldier. But I was a little angry. I felt I'd been short-changed."

646

Number of U.S. dead in Iraq since the surge began (June 2007): 646

This is one of them:

STEVEN J. CHEVALIER

WHY ARE WE THERE (A SURGE WITHOUT END)?

Before the surge, there were about 132,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. Now the Pentagon says there are still 148,000.

The surge is over!

Long live the surge!

Joe Conason does a nice job of putting to rest all this surge nonsense.

Obama campaign take note.

P.S. See headline above. Ask.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE WITH $648 BILLION?

The new report by the Congressional Research Service estimates the U.S. has spent $648 billion on Iraq war operations, putting it in range with the $686 billion, in 2008 dollars, spent on the Vietnam War, the second most expensive war behind World War II. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. has doled out almost $860 billion for military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere around the world.

All estimates, adjusted for inflation, are based on the costs of military operations and don't include expenses for veterans benefits, interest on war-related debts or assistance to war allies, according to the nonpartisan CRS.

A HANDFUL OF IMAGES

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,124
TOTAL U.S. WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 30,324

“The fact that the images I took of the suicide bombing — which are just photographs of something that happens every day all across the country — the fact that these photos have been so incredibly shocking to people, says that whatever they are doing to limit this type of photo getting out, it is working,” he said.

WHERE IS OSAMA?

A Florida man has stirred up controversy in the Orlando area by buying ad space on billboards that show an image of the falling World Trade Center’s Twin Towers alongside the words, “Please don’t vote for a Democrat.”

Let's go back one more time to September 11, 2001 and watch the response of the REPUBLICAN President of the United States George W. Bush who was in office at the time and failed to protect the nation from attack.

If something happens on your watch YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for letting it happen:

DEADLINES? NO. TIMETABLES? NO. A GENERAL TIME HORIZON? YES.

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,123

After the Bush White House spent the last five years berating anyone who suggested a timetable for withdrawal, the United States and Iraq have agreed to seek "a general time horizon" (timetable) for reductions in American combat troops.

The announcement was a little late for Jeremy Vrooman.

JEREMY D. VROOMAN

NOT IMPORTANT? (PART II)

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,116

He was planning to resume work on an undergraduate degree in hotel management when his four-year enlistment was up next April.

MARCUS PREUDHOMME

ONE GUY IN A UNIFORM

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,110

“One guy in uniform looks like any other guy in a uniform.”

-CBS News producer responding to a piece done by Lara Logan on Navy Seals, reflecting network television's increasing disinterest in the Iraq War.

Here's what another guy in a uniform looked like:

DWAYNE KELLEY

WINTER SOLDIER

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan

APACHE 7 IS DOWN

RHONDA AND CHARLES MCKINNEY WITH JEFFREY R. MCKINNEY'S MEDALS AND DOG TAGS AND THE FLAG THAT COVERED HIS COFFIN

On July 11, 2007, a convoy that included Jeff and the company commander left the base to go on patrol.

The company commander told Army investigators that Jeff "gave me a blank look" when he asked him to lead the casualty evacuation rehearsal before leaving. Nevertheless, the commander allowed Jeff to go on the mission, later telling investigators that "if I would have sent 1SG McKinney back to his rack, I'm afraid his soldiers would have lost confidence in his leadership."

During the mission, Jeff failed to respond to radio calls, said almost nothing to anyone and played with an M-4 round in his hand, according to statements. The other soldiers in the Humvee covered for him on the radio and figured he was just tired.

Finally, around 2 p.m., 12 hours after he reported for duty that day, Jeff yelled "F--- this!"

He stepped out of the Humvee and fired two rounds into a vacant building.

Then he pointed the gun at himself and pulled the trigger.

"APACHE 7 IS DOWN!" his driver screamed into the radio. "HE SHOT HIMSELF. I NEED HELP NOW!"

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE

"The Wars We Choose to Ignore" by David Carr

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,083

JESSICA ANN ELLIS

THEY KEEP ON SENDING THEM. HIS LUCK RAN OUT.

Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.

-George Bush (May 1, 2003)

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,065

CLAY A. CRAIG

The 22-year-old from John Horn High school wanted a military career. He enlisted right before graduation. After two tours in Iraq, the call came for a third.

“He didn't want to go,” said Roger Craig, his father.

A YEAR AGO HE WAS GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,037

"Penley's three sisters and his girlfriend sat in the front row of the church with his parents. As at the cemetery, the family lingered in church, as if trying to delay the inevitable. His father and mother, David's arm gently wrapped across Dena's shoulders, were the last to say goodbye."

DENA PENLEY RESTS HER HEAD ON THE CASKET OF HER SON, SHANE PENLEY, WHO WAS SHOT TO DEATH AT THE AGE OF 19 BY A SNIPER WHILE ON GUARD DUTY OUTSIDE A MILITARY BASE IN IRAQ.

HE HAD SO MANY FRIENDS

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 4,013

"Spc. Durrell L. Bennett’s tour of duty in Iraq was supposed to end Friday, his father said. The 22-year-old Spanaway solider was killed Saturday in Baghdad after encountering an improvised explosive device and small arms fire, the Department of Defense reported Tuesday."

DURRELL L. BENNETT

HE WANTED TO BECOME A TEACHER

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 3,974

KEVIN MOWL

HE GRADUATED THREE YEARS AGO AND WAS VOTED 'BEST EYES' IN HIS SENIOR YEAR BOOK

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 3,972

DREW WEAVER

COMING HOME

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 3,945

On his MySpace page, Joshua Young is still telling all of his friends that he’ll be “coming home” from Iraq in February. The former resident of Eugene will arrive home in Southern Oregon this week to be buried at Roseburg National Cemetery after a military funeral. The 21-year-old soldier, who graduated from Churchill Alternative High School in 2004 before moving to Riddle, was killed in an ambush in Mosul, Iraq, on Monday.

WAR IS NOT OVER

TOTAL U.S. WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 39,298
TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 3,927

EVIL

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 3,911

The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil but because of the people who don't do anything about it.

-Albert Einstein

HAPPY? NEW YEAR

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 3,902

This year was the deadliest for the U.S. military since the 2003 invasion, with 899 troops killed.

BENJAMIN B. PORTELL

I DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS ALREADY GONE

TOTAL U.S. DEAD IN IRAQ: 3,882

KENNETH BOOKER’S MOTHER BECKY GRAHAM AND STEPFATHER ROBERT GRAHAM

She got the news the same day she had mailed a Christmas package to her son, whom she calls Kenneth. The note inside said that since he couldn't be home for Christmas, Christmas was coming to him. In the package were a little Christmas tree, a movie, Christmas music, a Christmas mug and cocoa. "I didn't know he was already gone when I sent it," she said Friday.