Victor A. Dew, Marines, Private 1st Class -- Rest In Peace

Victor A. Dew, 20

Marines, Private 1st Class
Based: Camp Pendleton
3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: October 13, 2010
Helmand province, Afghanistan
Engaged
Gender: Male
Hometown: Granite Bay
High School: Granite Bay High (Granite Bay)
Burial: East Lawn Memorial Park, Sacramento

From the LA Times:

Family members say he had been preparing for duty since he was 12, when he first draped a giant Marine Corps flag over his bed.

Victor Dew and his fiance, Courtney Gold, seen in August, were planning… (NULL)
November 14, 2010|By Esmeralda Bermudez, Los Angeles Times
Their plan seemed simple: a wedding in the fall, a nice house on a big lot, a big truck and, some day, when the time was right, a few kids.

Before Marine Pfc. Victor Dew, 20, of Granite Bay, northeast of Sacramento, was sent on his first tour of Afghanistan, his fiance, Courtney Gold, bought her dress — a long, white, strapless gown.

"I wanted it to be a promise for him," she said. "To say, 'Look at all that will be waiting for you. Come home.' "

But about two weeks after the anti-tank assault specialist reached Afghanistan, everything changed. Three Marines came to his parents' home to tell them that their son had been killed.

He was among four Marines killed Oct. 13 when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. Also killed were Cpl. Justin J. Cain, 22, of Manitowoc, Wis.; Lance Cpl. Joseph E. Rodewald, 21, of Albany, Ore.; and Lance Cpl. Phillip D. Vinnedge, 19, of St. Charles, Mo.

Family members say Dew had been preparing for duty since he was 12, when he first draped a giant Marine Corps flag over his bed. As a boy, he would sit for hours watching old war documentaries on the History Channel.

"He wanted to be on the front lines where it counts," Gold said. "He always thought it was his duty."

For a while, his parents, Tom and Patty Schumacher, persuaded him to go to college, but after a semester and a half, their eldest son insisted on enrolling in the Marines.


When he set out for boot camp, his close-knit family supported him, glowing with pride as they watched him fulfill his goal. Nearly every month, they packed into their minivan, sometimes with Gold, and drove eight hours south to see him at Camp Pendleton.


He was a strong individual, his mother said, "who always liked to take care of things himself."

When he was about 2, he disappeared from his parents' bedroom one naptime, settling instead in front of the TV with a box of cereal. By age 10, he knew how to do laundry and cook dinner. And at around 15, he bought his first car, an old, black Nissan Ultima, from an uncle.

From an early age, he was shaped and disciplined by martial arts. His jujitsu teacher, Clint LeMay, was one of his closest friends.

"When I met him, he was a like a 30-year-old man walking in a 13-year-old's body," LeMay said. "He was wise beyond his years and knew how to deal with all kinds of people."

Whenever Dew struggled with a sweep or a throw, LeMay said, he would grow frustrated, then focus and work harder than most other students to improve. Over the years, Dew moved up to a second-degree black belt. He also began teaching.

Gold and Dew grew up within five miles of each other. They met when they were15. But it wasn't until they found themselves at the same college in late 2008 that they began to date. Last August, Dew took Gold to Disneyland, one of his favorite places, and proposed.

"I said 'Yes! Yes! Yes!' " Gold said.

The two had planned to move to Southern California while Dew finished with the Marines. She was going to become a medical assistant. He thought he might become a nurse. Eventually, they wanted to return to the Sacramento area to buy a home.

Now, Gold said, the future is a blur.

Days before Dew's burial, she put on her wedding dress and had someone take photographs. They were placed in her fiance's casket.

"I bought that dress for him," she said. "He deserved to see me in it."

Read more about Marine Private 1st Class Victor A. Dew 

at Darkhorses Heroes Remembered, 

the Roseville Press Tribune 

and visit Victor A. Dew's Guest Book.

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Cpl. Justin J. Cain, 22, of Manitowoc, WI -- Rest In Peace

Lance Cpl. Joseph E. Rodewald, 21, of Albany, OR -- Rest In Peace

Lance Cpl. Phillip D. Vinnedge, 19, of Saint Charles, MO -- Rest In Peace

Mathew D. Taylor, Army, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Mathew D. Taylor, 21

Army, Specialist
Based: Vicenza, Italy
1st Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: September 26, 2007
Sarobi district, Afghanistan
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Cameron Park
High School: Ponderosa High (Shingle Springs)

From the LA Times:

Taylor, 21, a private first class and .50-caliber machine gunner, died Sept. 26 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio of wounds suffered two months earlier when a roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee in Afghanistan's Sarobi district, east of Kabul. He had been the only survivor of the July 23 blast in which four other soldiers were killed.

Deployed to Afghanistan in May and often on missions in remote parts of the country, Taylor tried hard to stay in touch with his family and friends. He e-mailed and called, or communicated via MySpace.com. Sometimes he was too tired, and the missions were too frequent to allow much more than a brief greeting, his family said.

And from Fallen Heroes:

He suffered burns to more than 75 percent of his body and had both legs amputated.

Family and friends said he had been alert and appeared to be doing well, but his condition took a turn for the worse a few days ago.

"Everyone is just stunned," said Jean Carey, a neighbor and longtime family friend. "We really thought he was going to make it."

On the phone from San Antonio, Patty Taylor is taking a break from her wounded son's bedside at Brooke Army Medical Center.

"I didn't want him to go," says Taylor, 52, a widow who lives in Cameron Park. "Being my only son, he didn't have to go to the front lines. I didn't want him doing that."

But Mathew Taylor did, because he wanted to honor his late father, Richard, an Army veteran who died in a car accident in 2003, the year before he graduated from Ponderosa High School.

This is how it happens, one soldier at a time, across the country.

Read the whole article about Army Specialist Mathew D. Taylor at Fallen Heroes and read more here and visit a guest book tribute here.

Army Specialist Mathew D. Taylor previously remembered at Boom3 on Sunday, September 26, 2010.

William River Emanuel IV, Army Specialist -- Rest In Peace

William River Emanuel IV, 19

Army, Specialist
Based: Schweinfurt, Germany
1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: July 8, 2004
Samarra, Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Stockton
High School: Enterprise Alternative (Clovis)
Burial: San Joaquin Catholic Cemetery, Stockton

"I was a single parent and I worried a lot," his mother said. "... He knew he and his sister were the world to me, and they were very protective of me. I wanted them to be happy, but as a mother, I always had that fear. I wanted them to come home, to keep them safe with me."
Two weeks ago, Emanuel left a message on her voicemail, telling her that he was sending money, that he was fine and that he loved his family.
His mother tried to recover the message from her answering machine Thursday, a week after the 19-year-old Army specialist and four other soldiers were killed.
"I try to listen to it, but I can't get it back," his mother said, weeping. "I don't even have my last message from my son. I'll never hear his voice again."
Emanuel was killed when insurgents attacked a military headquarters with mortar rounds in the town of Samarra, north of Baghdad. The five soldiers killed were members of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, based in Schweinfurt, Germany.

Read more about Army Specialist William River Emanuel IV here, here and here.

Reposted: Army Specialist William River Emanuel IV was previously remembered on Boom3 Thursday, July 8, 2010.

Russell J. Proctor, Army, Staff Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Four days ago.

Russell J. Proctor, 25

Army, Staff Sergeant
Based: Ft. Hood, Texas
4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division
Supporting: Operation New Dawn
Died: June 26, 2011
Diyala province, Iraq
Gender: Male
Hometown: Oroville

Great soldier and a great man, had the honor to go through basic training and serving with him in Iraq, see you on the high ground brother.

— Ernest Ramos
June 28, 2011 at 8:16 p.m.

From the Sanctuary of Mary:

Staff Sgt. Russell J. Proctor, age 25, of Oroville, California, died on June 26, 2011, in Diyala province, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

He was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Russell was serving his third tour in Iraq. He entered active duty in June 2005.

Russell is the oldest son of Russell Proctor Sr. and his wife Renee, of Oroville, California.

Let us pray to God the Father, Jesus, all of the saints and all of the angels that Russell J. Proctor is in heaven. Let us pray that he is at peace and is with God. Amen.

Read more about Army Staff Sergeant Russell J. Proctor 

at Chron.com, 

in the Mercury News 

and at Freedom Remembered

Also killed was Pfc. Dylan J. Johnson, 20, of Tulsa, Oklahoma

Army Pfc. Dylan J. Johnson

Died June 26, 2011 serving during Operation New Dawn

Dylan J. Johnson, 20, of Tulsa, Okla.; assigned to the 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died June 26 in Diyala province, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Russell J. Proctor.

Shin W. Kim, Army, Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Shin W. Kim, 23

Army, Sergeant
Based: Ft. Carson, Colo.
2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: June 28, 2007
Baghdad (southern part), Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Fullerton
High School: Sunny Hills High (Fullerton)
Foreign Country of Birth: South Korea
Burial: Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier

He could get anything with that smile. It made him one of the more popular kids in high school. He was definitely one of the cooler kids. We never figured him for a soldier.
— Shinae Kim, sister

Kim was born in South Korea and was awarded U.S. citizenship posthumously. He volunteered to be a medic and planned to attend USC and become a pharmacist after his enlistment.

Read more about Shin Woo Kim here, here and here.

Reposted from Boom3, Monday, June 28, 2010

Victor H. Cervantes, Army, Sergeant First Class -- Rest In Peace

Victor H. Cervantes, 27

Army, Sergeant 1st Class
Based: Ft. Bragg, N.C.
1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: June 10, 2005
Orgun, Afghanistan
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Stockton
High School: St. Mary's High School (Stockton)

"It`s been a little over a year since you have been gone. Not a day goes by that i havent`t thought of you. We talk about you a lot on the team. I pass on all the stuff you tought me on to the new guys, so in my mind your still with us. We are getting ready for another trip to the desert. It is going to be strange not having you watching my back, but i guess that is how it goes. You will never be forgotten. Until we meet again pal.

--Operational Detachment Alpha 732
--Keith of FT BRAGG

From the LA Times:

Victor Cervantes didn't let any challenge get past him without grabbing it by the tail and hopping on for a ride.

And he would always do it with a twinkle in his eye, recalled friends mourning the death of the 27-year-old Army Special Forces sergeant first class, who was killed June 10 by insurgent small-arms fire in southeastern Afghanistan.

He once told longtime friend Rene Bayardo that he was inside a tank on Army maneuvers when it unexpectedly rolled over. Everyone scrambled out, unhurt.

"That's hard to do -- roll a tank -- but it seemed to amuse him. It fit with his personality. He liked to push the envelope," said Bayardo, 26, of Falls Church, Va.

Cervantes' taste for thrills made him drive too fast at times, Bayardo remembered with a chuckle.

During his eight years in the military, the soldier threw himself into challenging sports such as mountain biking and rock climbing, sometimes entering competitions.

"When he did something, he did it all the way," Bayardo said.

Former classmates said that was true even when Cervantes attended St. Mary's High School in Stockton, where he grew up.

Cervantes, his sister and their two best friends joined the Catholic school's badminton team. While the others played for fun, Cervantes played to win, and spent long hours perfecting his technique.

"Victor was really into it, and he was really good," said Issac Boutte, 27, of Fresno.

Cervantes also trained hard on the wrestling team, showing that he could be good-natured as well as competitive.

"The coach would yell at us," Boutte said. "It really bothered some of us, but Victor never seemed to mind. He was always mellow and relaxed."

After graduating in 1995, Cervantes briefly studied engineering at a community college before entering the Army as a cavalry scout.

He planned to have a military career, said Adena Rollins, 28, of Lathrop, Calif., a close friend for 15 years.

To those around Cervantes, it was evident that he had found his calling. When Rollins attended Cervantes' boot camp graduation in Kentucky, "I saw exactly how much he loved what he was doing. To say he was grinning from ear to ear is an understatement."

Cervantes began training for the Special Forces in 1999. The weapons sergeant was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Ft. Bragg, N.C., and had been in Afghanistan since February.


"He would tell anyone he met how proud he was to serve his country," Rollins said.


The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks motivated him even more, she said. "He took that event personally," Rollins said. "He knew that what he was doing in Afghanistan was in response to 9/11, and he fully supported that."


At his request, Cervantes' tombstone was inscribed with the words "Freedom is not free," his family said in a statement.


Cervantes is survived by his parents, Fidel and Nisla, and a sister, Elizabeth, all of Stockton.

Read more about Army Sergeant Victor H. Cervantes at Special Forces

and at Military Times.

Visit Sergeant Cervantes' Guest Book.

Army Sergeant Victor H. Cervantes previously remembered at Boom3

Thai Vue, Army, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Thai Vue , 22

Army, Specialist
Based: Hanau, Germany
127th Military Police Company, 709th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, V Corps
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: June 18, 2004
Baghdad, Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Willows
High School: Willows High (Willows)
Foreign Country of Birth: Thailand
Burial: San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery, Santa Nella, Calif.

Twenty-five years after his parents fled a repressive Communist regime in their homeland of Laos, Thai Vue realized that the American dream they had given him was slipping out of his grasp.

The Willows, Calif., teenager had spent much of his senior year in high school partying and staying out late, and his grades showed it. A few days after his graduation in 2001, he drove to Chico, Calif., and joined the Army in hopes of getting his act together. "He said, 'I don't want to go, but I just need to get my life straight -- and get some money,' " his brother, Alan, recalled.

Thai Vue served his three-year stint in the Army, but military officials extended his service this year so he could serve in Iraq, his family said. He was killed June 18 when a mortar round struck a motor pool in Baghdad, where he was working as a mechanic.

With a new sense of discipline instilled by the Army, Vue, 22, had hoped to leave the military to take advantage of the educational opportunities that had attracted his parents to the United States.

His plan was to join his longtime girlfriend, Nancy Lee, 21, and attend college in Las Vegas. "He was going to come back," Lee said. "And we were going to get married and just live our life."

Vue, the third of six siblings and a member of the Hmong ethnic group, was born in Thailand a few years after his parents, Chou Vue and Chia Thao, fled across the Mekong River.

They were among thousands of Laotians who left to avoid the farming collectives and re- education camps of the communist government that was ascendant in Laos in the mid-1970s. Chou Vue spent much of his teenage years fighting the communists. So did his father and brother, who were killed in the fighting, said Thai Vue's older brother, Thor, 27.

In addition to his parents, Alan and Thor, Vue is survived by two other brothers, Kevin, 8, and Vincent, 6; a sister, Mai Yang, 24; and his grandmothers, Dia Yang and Chue Lee.

A traditional, three-day Hmong funeral was planned to start Saturday at Memorial

Read the entire LA Times article about Army Specialist Thai Vue here and find more at Military Times and from Hmong Today and see remembrances and messeges about Specialist Vue at Fallen Heroes.