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

Army Captain Cory J. Jenkins and Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer and Private First Class Dennis M. Williams and Captain John L. Hallett, III were previously remembered here.

Victor M. Fontanilla, Army, Specialist-- Rest In Peace

Victor M. Fontanilla, 23

 Army, Private 1st Class
Based: Ft. Richardson, Alaska
725th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: May 17, 2007
Iskandariya, Iraq
Married, 2 children
Gender: Male
Hometown: Stockton
High School: Tinian High School (U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands)
Burial: San Joaquin Catholic Cemetery, Stockton

The Army private first class breezed through basic training and passed airborne instruction before being deployed last fall to Iraq, where he served as a motor transport operator.

Fontanilla kept in close touch with his family, adding pictures and tributes to his wife and son on his MySpace.com page.

He had planned to return home June 4 on leave midway through his 15-month deployment. He wanted to be with his wife for the birth of their second son, Jonathan-Tobias Ho'Opakele Fontanilla.

He never made it.

On May 17, Fontanilla was among three paratroopers killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee in Iskandariya, south of Baghdad, according to the Department of Defense. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class Jesse B. Albrecht, 31, of Hager CIty, Wisconsin and Spc. Coty J. Phelps, 20, of Kingman, Arizona
...
Having grown up without much involvement from his own father, Fontanilla made sure to play an important role in his son's life.

That's how his aunt, Lysia Espinosa, remembers it. She continues to speak about her nephew in the present tense as if he is still alive.

"He loves his son more than anything," said Espinosa, 41, who helped raise Fontanilla. "He always tells his son that he doesn't want him growing up without a father."


Fontanilla spent his childhood in Stockton. He left while in high school to be with his mother, who was living on the island of Tinian, part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, about 1,000 miles east of the Philippines.
...
Fontanilla was of Filipino ancestry; his wife came from a Hawaiian family. The couple were married in October 2004. Their first son was born the following May, and Noel Fontanilla is awaiting the imminent arrival of their second son.

In the aftermath of his death, the Army posthumously promoted Fontanilla to Specialist.

In addition to his wife, son, and brother, Fontanilla is survived by his father, mother, stepfather and two sisters.

Read the entire LA Times article about Army Specialist Victor M. Fontanilla here. Find more at Military Times and visit Specialist Victor Mykal Fontanilla's Guest Book.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Army Sgt. 1st Class Jesse B. Albrecht -- Rest In Peace

Army Spc. Coty J. Phelps -- Rest In Peace

Steven Hutchison, Army, Major -- Rest In Peace

Steven Hutchison, 60

Army, Major
Based: Ft. Riley, Kan.
2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: May 10, 2009

Basra, Iraq

Widowed, 2 children

Gender: Male

Hometown: Long Beach
High School: Wilson High (Long Beach)

It is never to late to present sincere condolences to the family of a fallen soldier. It is always the right time to remember that I served under his command in Afghanistan and he was like a father to me there. It will never be the same without him arroud. May God rest his soul.

-- February 16, 2011

-- PT Alin GHEORGHE, Roumanian Army

When his fourth wife, Kandy Rhode, died of cancer in 2006, Hutchison was devastated. He put his house in Scottsdale, Ariz., on the market and signed up for the Army's Retiree Recall program, which brings back former soldiers -- up to 64 years old -- who want another shot at active duty.

The decision shocked many in his family.
Hutchison was sent to Ft. Riley, Kan., where the Army's transition teams train before deployment. When he arrived, duffel bag slung over his shoulder, his team members were skeptical; most were three decades his junior.


"I immediately said to myself, 'Are we that desperate that we have to put old people on a transition team?' " Elext Holmes, the team's logistics advisor, recalled at Hutchison's memorial service.

But his men quickly came to respect his quiet leadership. Hutchison never told anyone what to do, but his actions set a high standard. He was always the first to volunteer for grunt work around the base. And after returning from an exhausting patrol, he'd casually ask who wanted to join him for a run.

"He was a psychology professor, and he knew what he was doing," Holmes said.

Hutchison spent the first year of his two-year tour in Afghanistan, the second in Iraq.
His team in Iraq called him "the stubborn old goat." He was set in his ways, had little patience for "New Army" rules, and occasionally ignored some, his family and team members said.

Laia

On May 10, Hutchison left Laia behind when he went out on patrol with his team in Al Farr, Iraq, near Basra. A roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle, and Hutchison died of shrapnel wounds.

He was a month short of his 61st birthday, making him the oldest U.S. casualty in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense.

After a memorial service at Ft. Riley, he was buried in Scottsdale on May 19, and is survived by his mother, brother, a half brother, a half sister and his two daughters.

Read the entire LA Times story about Laia and Army Major Steven Hutchison here.

Find more in the Stars and Stripes

and the Daily Mail

and visit Major Hutchison's Guest Book.

Kristofer D.S. Thomas, Army, Private 1st Class -- Rest In Peace

Kristofer D.S. Thomas, 18

Army, Private 1st Class
Based: Ft. Benning, Ga.
3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: February 18, 2007
southeastern Afghanistan, Afghanistan
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Roseville
High School: Roseville High (Roseville)
Burial: Newcastle District Cemetery, Newcastle, Calif.

When Kristofer Thomas was 15, he told a recruiter that he wanted to join the Army.

For most kids, it could have been a boyhood whim. But Thomas never wavered from his pledge. He graduated from high school in the Sacramento Valley city of Roseville a semester early so he could enlist a month after his 17th birthday. Within months, he became the youngest-ever member of the Army Rangers, an elite, highly trained special operations unit, and soon was deployed to Afghanistan.

On Feb. 18, the 18-year-old private first class and seven other special operations soldiers were killed when their CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter crashed in Afghanistan's Zabol province, south of Kabul. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Ft. Benning, Ga….

In addition to his mother and brother Nicholes, Thomas is survived by his stepfather, Eddie Getz; his father and stepmother, Rodney and Ramona Thomas; and a younger brother, Mason Thomas of Lincoln, Calif.

Do read the entire LA Times article about Army Private 1st Class Kristofer D.S. Thomas here, and find more at Military Times and the Ranger Lead The Way fund site and visit Private Thomas's Guest Book.

According to a Defense Department release, also killed in the crash were:

* Pfc. Ryan C. Garbs, 20, of Edwardsville, Ill.; B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

* Spc. Brandon D. Gordon, 21, of Naples, Fla.; B Company, 2nd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Ky.

* Chief Warrant Officer 3 Hershel D. McCants, Jr., 34, of Arizona; B Co., 2nd Battalion, 160th.

* CW3 John A. Quinlan, 26, of New Jersey; B Co., 2nd Battalion, 160th.

* Spc. Travis R. Vaughn, 26, of Reinbeck, Iowa; B Co., 2nd Battalion, 160th.

* Sgt. Adam A. Wilkinson, 23, of Miskayuna, N.Y.; B Co., 2nd Battalion, 160th.

* Air Force Tech Sgt. Scott Duffman, of La Cueva, N.M., was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.

Pfc. Ryan C. Garbs -- Rest In Peace
Spc. Brandon D. Gordon -- Rest In Peace
Chief Warrant Officer Hershel D. McCants -- Rest In Peace
CW3 John A. Quinlan -- Rest In Peace
Spec. Travis R. Vaughn -- Rest In Peace
Sgt. Adam A. Wilkinson -- Rest In Peace
Air Force Tech Sgt. Scott Duffman -- Rest In Peace

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