Derek J. Plowman, Army Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Derek J. Plowman, 20

Army Specialist
Everton, Arkansas
Army National Guard
1st Battalion
142nd Fires Brigade, Rogers, Arkansas
Died: July 20, 2006 
Baghdad, Iraq




Pfc. Derek J. Plowman, 20, of Everton, Arkansas, died on July 20, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq, from a gunshot wound.

While still a Senior in high school, he joined the Army National Guard. After he graduated, he started his basic training. He knew where he was going when he enlisted, but he wanted to serve his country and he knew it could help pay for his college. He hoped to someday be a Psychologist. Derek was always the life of the party, laughing and joking. Everybody wanted to be around him. He did whatever he could do to be involved with people. He never made it about Derek. It was about what he could do for them. He died from a gunshot wound at age 20.

Derek Plowman is survived by his mother and stepfather, Kim and Andrew Campbell of Everton, Arkansas; father, Donald Plowman Jr. of Cape Coral; grandfather Bill Riley of Lakeview Arkansas; sisters, Ashley Plowman of Des Moines, Iowa, Angela Campbell, Zoie Campbell, Jodie Meeks, Josie Campbell, all of Everton, Arkansas; brothers, USAF Staff Sgt. Corey Plowman of Warner Robins, Ga., Mike Plowman of North Fort Myers, Bryce Plowman and Dustin Plowman of Everton, Arkansas.

Read more about Army Specialst Derek J. Plowman here and at the Iraq Page and see his guest book here.

This is a slightly modified version of

Derek J. Plowman, Army Specialist -- Rest In Peace 

originally posted at Boom3 on Tuesday, July 20, 2010.

Loren Miles Buffalo, Army, Corporal -- Rest In Peace

Loren Miles Buffalo, 20

Army, Corporal

1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment,

2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault),

Fort Campbell, KY.

Died March 9, 2011

Kandahar Province, Afghanistan

Operation Enduring Freedom

U.S. Army Corporal Loren Miles Buffalo, of Mountain Pine, Arkansas, was killed Wednesday, March 9, 2011, in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Buffalo, 20, died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, KY.

Survivors include his father, Cecil M. Buffalo, of Mountain Pine, and his mother, Anjanette D. Buffalo of West Bend, WI, siblings Legend Beck, Lane Buffalo, Dalton Wetherinton, and Kori Wetherington, as well as grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Buffalo joined the Army in May, 2009.

Graveside services will be 11 a.m. Friday, March 18, 2011, at Arkansas State Veterans Cemetary.

Memorial services will be 1 pm. Saturday at Harvey Chapel Baptist Church, 2515 Mountain Pine Road.

Find more about Army Corporal Loren Miles Buffalo here,
at Freedom Remembered, Military Times
and visit Corporal Buffalo's Guest Book

Army Cpl. Loren M. Buffalo

A transfer case containing the remains of Army Cpl. Loren M. Buffalo sits on a loader during a prayer, Friday, March 11, 2011 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Buffalo, 20, of Mountain Pine, Ark., died March 9, 2011 in Kandahar province of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

Micah S. Gifford, Army, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Micah S. Gifford, 27

Army, Specialist

Based: Ft. Richardson, Alaska

3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division

Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom

Died: December 7, 2006

Baghdad (south of), Iraq

Single

Gender: Male

Hometown: Redding
High School: South High (Torrance)
Burial: Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego

The Department of Defense announced [December 10, 2006] the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their unit while on patrol during combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq, on December 7, 2006. Both soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Killed were:

Staff Sergeant Henry W. Linck, 23, of Manhattan, Kansas

Spcecialist Micah S. Gifford, 27, of Redding, Califofrnia

"Don't pray that I come home soon," Micah S. Gifford wrote to friends on his MySpace.com page shortly after his Army unit was deployed in Iraq. "Pray that the people that are causing us to stay out there can see the light and change their ways without harm coming to them first."


Then, in character, the 27-year-old preacher's son with a prankster's heart outlined the retribution he could deliver: "All I gotta do is flex and their brains will explode out of sheer amazement, so again ... don't worry about me."

But Gifford's moxie, Christian faith and cheeky humor could not protect him from a roadside bomb that exploded near his unit while on patrol Dec. 7 in Baghdad. Gifford, an Army corporal who grew up in Torrance and most recently lived in Northern California, and a fellow soldier were killed.

Gifford was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Ft. Richardson, Alaska.

Gifford had not originally planned to go into the military. Born in San Diego, he spent his teenage years in Torrance when his father, Dale, was the minister of Hermosa Beach Church of Christ. Gifford then attended Harding University, a Christian college in Searcy, Arkansas.

Read the whole LA Times article about Army Specialist Micah Stephen Gifford here and find more here.
Specialist Gifford's MySpace page.

Michael A. Smith, Army, Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Michael Antonio Smith, 24

Army National Guard, Sergeant
Based: Arkansas Army National Guard, Texarkana, AR
1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment
Serving with Army 39th Infantry Brigade
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: November 26, 2004
Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Gender: Male
Hometown: Camden, Ark.
High School: Camden Fairview High School

Army Sgt. Michael A. Smith 24, of Camden, Ark.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment, Arkansas Army National Guard, Texarkana, Ark.; died Nov. 26 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., from injuries sustained Nov. 7 when he was attacked by enemy forces using small-arms fire in Baghdad.Arkansas soldier dies from Iraq wounds

From Military Times:

CAMDEN, Ark. — A soldier from Camden has died from wounds sustained while serving in Iraq, the soldier’s father said.

Michael Smith, 24, died Saturday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., his father, Donald Ray Smith of Camden, told the Camden News.

Donald Smith said in a telephone interview from the family’s hotel room near the hospital that his son had not been conscious in his two weeks at Walter Reed. Smith had been treated at a military hospital in Germany before being flown home.

Smith was serving with the 39th Infantry Brigade near Baghdad when he was shot in the head by a sniper, his father said. The soldier was riding in a Humvee on patrol when he was wounded.

“It was hard to watch my only son go through this,” Donald Smith said.

The soldier’s mother, Deborah Smith, and his sister, Lai D. Smith, were also in Washington.

“We have received so many prayers and phone calls,” Donald Smith said. “The outpouring of love has been remarkable. The number of calls we have received has been impressive.”

Donald Smith said he and his family planned to return to Camden on Thursday.

Michael Smith was a 1999 graduate of Camden Fairview High School. His father said his son had plans to return home and attend Southern Arkansas University Tech once he completed his military service.

“He was a computer whiz and that’s what he wanted to go to school for,” Donald Smith said. “He was a good child. Never gave us any problems. He was a good man. He was never affected by peer pressure. He was an individualist.

Also from Military Times:

Michael Smith of Camden died Saturday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. after his father says he was shot by a sniper near Baghdad.
A 24-year-old soldier from Camden has died from wounds sustained while serving in Iraq, the soldier's father said. Spc. Michael Smith died Saturday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C.

His father, Donald Ray Smith of Camden, told the Camden News that his son had not been conscious in his two weeks at Walter Reed. Smith had been treated at a military hospital in Germany before being flown home.

The father said Smith was serving with the 39th Infantry Brigade near Baghdad when he was shot in the head by a sniper. The soldier was riding in a Humvee on patrol when he was wounded.

Donald Smith said his son was a computer whiz and planned to attend college when he completed his military service. He said his son never succumbed to peer pressure and was a good child and a good man. (THV & The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Clayton D. McGarrah, Army Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Clayton D. McGarrah, 20

Army Specialist
Based: Fort Bragg, N.C.
508th Parachute Infantry Regiment
4th Brigade Combat Team
82nd Airborne Division
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: July 4, 2010
Arghandab, Afghanistan
Married
Gender: Male
Hometown: Harrison, AR
Burial: Maple Leaf Cemetery in Harrison

In a letter read at the service that McGarrah wrote to his wife, Emily, upon his deployment, he first joked about getting a much-needed vacation. Then he said, “I’m going to miss you very much. I’ll be home before you know it. Today marks our one-month anniversary.”
McGarrah wrote the letter June 7. He was killed July 4.

Speakers told a packed Faith Assembly of God Church in Harrison that McGarrah lived a very full life, spending time with his wife, parents, siblings and many nieces and nephews, hunting and vacationing.
The Rev. Arlis Thrasher said McGarrah, who went by the nickname Clayboy, had two goals: marriage and military service.
“He got those,” Thrasher said, and noted that much of the service — filled with country songs and slideshows of family photographs — had been planned by McGarrah and his wife before his deployment.
“Just in case,” Thrasher said.
Thrasher told the mourners to consider July 4 a day to remember McGarrah’s life, not just the bitter memory of his death.
“Our lives are like a mist that appears over these Ozark valleys,” Thrasher said. “Don’t waste another minute of the life you have.”

Clayton D. McGarrah is survived by his wife, Emily McGarrah, and his parents Michele and Orville McGarrah.

Read more about Army Specialist Clayton D. McGarrah here, here, here, here, and here.

Derek J. Plowman, Army Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Army Spc. Derek J. Plowman, 20

Army Specialist
Everton, Ark.
Army National Guard
1st Battalion
142nd Fires Brigade, Rogers, Ark.
Died: July 20, 2006 
Baghdad, Iraq

Pfc. Derek J. Plowman, 20, of Everton, Ark., died on July 20, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq, from a gunshot wound.

While still a Senior in high school, he joined the Army National Guard. After he graduated, he started his basic training. He knew where he was going when he enlisted, but he wanted to serve his country and he knew it could help pay for his college. He hoped to someday be a Psychologist. Derek was always the life of the party, laughing and joking. Everybody wanted to be around him. He did whatever he could do to be involved with people. He never made it about Derek. It was about what he could do for them. He died from a gunshot wound at age 20.

Derek Plowman is survived by his mother and stepfather, Kim and Andrew Campbell of Everton, Ark.; father, Donald Plowman Jr. of Cape Coral; grandfather Bill Riley of Lakeview Ark.; sisters, Ashley Plowman of Des Moines, Iowa, Angela Campbell, Zoie Campbell, Jodie Meeks, Josie Campbell, all of Everton, Ark.; brothers, USAF Staff Sgt. Corey Plowman of Warner Robins, Ga., Mike Plowman of North Fort Myers, Bryce Plowman and Dustin Plowman of Everton, Ark.

Read more about Derek J. Plowman here and here and see his guest book here.