The ghosts of American soldiers
wander the streets of Balad by night,
unsure of their way home, exhausted,
the desert wind blowing trash
down the narrow alleys as a voice
sounds from the minaret, a soulfull call
reminding them how alone they are,
how lost. And the Iraqi dead,
they watch in silence from rooftops
as date palms line the shore in silhouette,
leaning toward Mecca when the dawn wind blows.
- Brian Turner, "Ashbah" (NPR story)
Tonight, as we leave a weekend of holiday festivities, let us pause to honor these three soldiers who labored and died in service to our country: Spc. Michael L. Gonzalez, Sgt. David K. Cooper, and Pfc. Tan Q. Ngo.
Spc. Michael L. Gonzalez
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Michael L. Gonzalez, 20, of Spotswood, N.J., died Aug. 28 in Baghdad, of wounds suffered by an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 340th Military Police Company, Fort Totten, N.Y.
Gonzalez joined the Army after graduation from high school. He wanted to be a police officer, friends told the Asbury Park Press.
Gonzalez twice participated in a junior police academy program Bierman operates each summer.
"His ambition was to become a police officer and he wanted to learn everything he could. He was an outstanding person," said Bierman, who said Gonzalez occasionally visited him at police headquarters following his graduation.
"He was very proud of his decision to join the military," Bierman said.
Gonzalez also made an impact on his fellow soldiers.
As a soldier wrote at Legacy.com:
Spc. Michael Gonzalez was in my platoon, I was one of his SGT's... He was an amazing person and a good friend, he is missed greatly here in Iraq.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. A grateful nation salutes his service.
Sgt. David K. Cooper
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. David K. Cooper, 25, of Williamsburg, Ky., died Aug. 27 in Baghdad, of wounds suffered in Qadasiyah, Iraq, when his dismounted patrol came under small arms fire. He was assigned to Forward Support Company, 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Cooper was an athlete in his hometown of Williamsburg, where family and friends remembered him to WBIR-TV:
"He was a great football player and a great teammate and he would just get so excited about Friday nights," high school friend Bill Conn said.
David Cooper was in the Class of 2001 at Williamsburg High School. Now a couple of his close friends are teachers at their alma mater.
"I was looking in our weightroom yesterday kind of thinking back on 'Coop' as we called him," high school friend Steven Moses said.
"I'll always remember David as the guy smiling," Conn said
"You were going to have a good time if you were hanging around David Cooper and people like that are special," Peters said.
According to Kentucky.com, "he is survived by his wife, Amanda Cooper of Corbin, Ky.; his parents, Ronald and Judy Cooper of Williamsburg, and two sisters, Veronica and Vanessa Cooper, of Richmond."
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. A grateful nation salutes his service.
Pfc. Tan Q. Ngo
source
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Pfc Tan Q. Ngo, 20, of Beaverton, Ore., died Aug. 27 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, when his mounted patrol received small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, Hohenfels, Germany.
No additional information was available about Pfc. Ngo.
Please remember Pfc. Ngo's family and friends, though we do not know much about him, he is surely missed by those who knew him best.
To date, there have been 30,324 U.S. military personnel injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and 4148 confirmed U.S. military dead, along with 577 who have died as a part of Operation Enduring Freedom (NYT source) out of a total 4432 coalition dead. (source: Icasualties)
About "I Got the News Today" (IGTNT) I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor service members who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; its title is a reminder that almost every day a military family gets the terrible news about a loved one.
These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but, we believe, an important service to those Americans who have died, and to our community’s respect for and remembrance of them. If you would like to volunteer, even once a month, please contact Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, or noweasels.
Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, noweasels, MsWings, greenies, blue jersey mom, chacounne, twilight falling, moneysmith, labwitchy, joyful, roses, SisTwo, monkeybiz, and me, mediaprof.
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