Interview of Life -- Chad B. Maynard -- His Grandmother Speaks

Today is the Fourth of July.
Happy Birthday America.

How did we get here?
Here's how; real men and real women, and their families at home, give of themselves, give their all, to give to us.

Marine Lance Cpl. Chad B. Maynard, 19, Montrose, CA -- Requiescat in pace

Previously linked on Boom3 within the post for Marine Lance Corporal Dion M. Whitley.


From Military Times:

Hundreds gather to pay respects to fallen Marine 

MONTROSE, Colo. — The father of a Marine killed in Iraq told about 300 people gathered at a memorial in a high school gym Monday that his son knew the risks that went with serving his country.
Lance Cpl. Chad Maynard, 19, died Wednesday in Ramadi, Iraq, when the Humvee he was driving struck an improvised explosive device.
“When you take the oath, you always know the possibility exists,” said the Marine’s father, Gene Maynard, who himself is a former Marine who served in Vietnam.
“It’s just too bad. I think the world was a much better place with him in it.”
Chad Maynard participated in Montrose High School’s Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, elective courses taught by the military services at more than 3,000 high schools nationwide.
“I wanted to be just like him,” said Bob Edie, who was one year behind Maynard at the school. “He was a good man — strong, courageous.”
Friends previously described Maynard as an invincible, natural leader who lived and breathed the Marines. Gene Maynard previously said his son began pestering recruiters years before he could join until they told him to stop.
Chad Maynard’s brother, Jacob, will accompany the fallen Marine’s body to Colorado, where a funeral is being planned in the Denver area.
“We thought he was the guy that nothing would happen to,” friend Tom Sramek said Friday upon learning of Maynard’s death.

Birth of daughter to slain Marine a bittersweet occasion
MONTROSE, Colo. — Gene Maynard is happy to be a grandfather to a 6-pound, 5-ounce blonde-haired baby girl, but he’s sad that she’ll never get to know her father.
Lance Cpl. Chad Maynard was killed in Iraq earlier this year.
“I sometimes wake up and don’t believe it’s true,” he said. The Montrose Marine was killed on June 14 when the Humvee he was riding in hit a roadside bomb.
Chad Maynard’s wife, Becky, gave birth to Lanae Raelyn Maynard at 11:40 p.m. on Tuesday at a Phoenix hospital.
Gene Maynard said mom and baby “are doing fine.”
A college education fund has been set up at First National Bank in Montrose for the baby and has reached $6,000, said bank manager Randy Havens.
Money is also being raised to erect a lighted flagpole and plaque at a park in town. Gene Maynard said that his son organized rallies there to support the troops.

Chad B. Maynard

Bryan A. Brewster, Army, Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Bryan A. Brewster, 24

Army, Sergeant
Based: Ft. Drum, N.Y.
3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: May 5, 2006
Abad, Afghanistan
Married
Gender: Male
Hometown: Fontana

High School: Fontana High (Fontana)

Whenever a U.S. helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, Army Sgt. Bryan Allen Brewster telephoned his family to assure them he was OK.

But when Brewster's family heard news reports that 10 soldiers were killed May 5 in the crash of a CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter along the Pakistan border, there was no call from the 24-year-old sergeant.

"Whenever there was a [helicopter] crash, he would call us," said his father, Louis. "He knew that we would be worried. He always called to tell us he was fine."

On May 7, military envoys arrived at the Brewster home in Victorville to tell them Bryan was killed two days earlier along with nine other soldiers from the Ft. Drum, N.Y.-based 10th Mountain Division.

The helicopter went down in a remote area of the Afghan mountains, where soldiers were searching for Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, a U.S. military official said. It wasn't believed that enemy fire caused the crash.

Louis Brewster, sports editor for the San Bernardino Sun and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in Ontario, confirmed his son's death shortly after he received the news along with his wife, Linda, and son Scott.

He recalled Bryan's charm and noted that his heart belonged to his high school sweetheart and wife, Kati. They didn't have any children.


"She loved that boy, and he loved her," Louis Brewster said. "They were meant for each other."


Bryan Brewster celebrated his 21st birthday in Afghanistan and his 22nd in Iraq. He turned 24 a week before he died.


"It's an awful lot of missed birthdays and anniversaries," Louis Brewster said.

Funeral arrangements will be made when the soldier's body arrives home.

"Every one of us is very proud of what Bryan did and what he accomplished," his father said.

Read the entire LA Times about Army Sergeant Bryan A. Brewster article here. Find more at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

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Also killed were:

Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr. -- Rest In Peace

Spc. David N. Timmons Jr. -- Rest In Peace

Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp -- Rest In Peace

Sgt. John C. Griffith -- Rest In Peace

Specialist Justin L. O'Donohoe -- Rest In Peace

Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick -- Rest In Peace

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson -- Rest In Peace

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten -- Rest In Peace

Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty -- Rest In Peace

Justin L. O'Donohoe, Army, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Justin L. O'Donohoe, 27

Army, Specialist
Based: Ft. Drum, N.Y.
A Troop, 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: May 5, 2006
Abad, Afghanistan
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: San Diego
High School: Mira Mesa High (San Diego)
Burial: Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego

Wanting to see action, he chose to become an Army scout, a dangerous, skilled job requiring him to go out in a combat zone ahead of a main force, surreptitiously locating and providing target information.

"He didn't want to be in the back," said his father, Pat. "He wanted to be in the front."

The 27-year-old specialist was among 10 soldiers killed May 5 in a nighttime helicopter crash in a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province, near the Pakistani border.

As soon as O'Donohoe left for boot camp in 2004 at Ft. Knox, Ky., his brother, Kyle, noticed how much Justin enjoyed himself.

He later became a top gunner and was certified as an emergency medical technician.

"You could tell from the way he talked, he loved what he was doing," his brother said. "To him, it was like a big camping trip," getting muddy and "sleeping out under the stars -- something that we always liked to do when we were growing up."

O'Donohoe's last call home was a 10-minute conversation just after midnight a week after Easter. He had no complaints about sleeping under his truck, saying it was "not bad," his father said.

O'Donohoe's parents had told him not to worry about the 12-hour time difference, saying, "Whenever you find a phone, call, and we'll wake up."

"He was a kid worth knowing," his father said.

In addition to his father and brother, O'Donohoe is survived by his mother, Pam; his grandparents, Joe and Liz O'Donohoe of Bella Vista, Ark.; and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

Read the entire LA Times article about Army Specialist Justin L. O'Donohoe here 

and find more at Iraq War Heroes. 

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Also killed were:

Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr. -- Rest In Peace

Spc. David N. Timmons Jr. -- Rest In Peace

Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp -- Rest In Peace

Sgt. John C. Griffith -- Rest In Peace

Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster -- Rest In Peace

Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick -- Rest In Peace

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson -- Rest In Peace

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten -- Rest In Peace

Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty -- Rest In Peace

Thanksgiving With America's Finest

Or, we get Thanksgiving because of America's finest.

John L. Hallett, III, Army, Captain -- Rest In Peace

John L. Hallett, III, 30

Army, Captain

Based: Ft. Lewis, Wash.

1st Batallion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division

Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom

Died: August 25, 2009

southern Afghanistan, Afghanistan

Married, 3 children

Gender: Male

Hometown: Concord

High School: De La Salle High School (Concord)

Burial: Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Lafayette, Calif.

On Aug. 25, Hallett was among four soldiers killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in southern Afghanistan. He was 30.

Hallett was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Ft. Lewis, Wash.

Also killed were Capt. Cory J. Jenkins, 30, of Mesa, Ariz.; Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer, 38, of Trenton, Mo.; and Pfc. Dennis M. Williams, 24, of Federal Way, Wash.

Hallett's father, John L. Hallett II, said the four men had gone on a mercy mission to a village suffering a cholera outbreak.

"Knowing my son, he volunteered," the elder Hallett said.

Soon after John Hallett III died, the Army released a statement from his wife, Lisa, who lives in DuPont, Wash.:

"Capt. John Louis Hallett III was an amazing father, devoted and joyful husband, thoughtful son, loving brother and inspiring friend. . . . He would always put the needs of others before his own. He was a patient teacher to our children.

"He had the warmest and most genuine smile. John would always make people laugh by his clever ways and kind humor. . . . John's amazing example and memories will live in and guide his three young children."

In addition to his wife, Hallett is survived by two sons, Jackson, who will be 4 on Dec. 31, and Bryce, who turned 2 in early September, the day before his father was buried at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Lafayette, Calif. Hallett also is survived by an infant daughter, Heidi, who was born in August and whom he never got to see.

Do read more about Army Captain John L. Hallett, III and follow links here, here and here.

Capt. Cory J. Jenkins, 30, of Mesa, AZ. -- Rest In Peace
Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer, 38, of Trenton, MO -- Rest In Peace
Pfc. Dennis M. Williams, 24, of Federal Way, WA -- Rest In Peace