David Eliah Metzger, Army, Sergeant 1st Class -- Rest In Peace

David E. Metzger, 32

Army, Sergeant 1st Class
Based: Ft. Bragg, N.C.
3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: October 26, 2009
Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan
Married, 2 children
Gender: Male
Hometown: San Diego
High School: Mar Vista Senior High (Imperial Beach)
Burial: Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego

Sgt. 1st Class Metzger, 32, was one of seven Army Special Operations Command soldiers [and one of two from Fort Bragg] killed in Afghanistan Oct. 26 when the helicopter carrying them crashed in the western province of Badghis. Also killed were three Drug Enforcement Administration agents. Most of those on board, including U.S. and Afghan personnel, survived the crash.

Metzger was on his third deployment to Afghanistan. Fellow soldiers lauded his dedication and described him as a strapping, affable comrade who paid close attention to detail.

"He was someone you could count on," Master Sgt. Javier F. Martinez, the senior enlisted sergeant on Metzger's team, said by telephone from Afghanistan. "He was someone you'd want there in the heat of battle. You always knew he was watching your back."

Metzger was buried at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, after several services celebrating his life.

Survivors include Alicia Metzger and the couple's two sons, David Jr., 13, and Grant, 2, of Fort Bragg; and his grandmother Dolores Wallen and parents, David Metzger and Lisandra Holstein, of California.

Read the entire LA Times story on Army Sergeant 1st Class David E. Metzger here, read more here and here and find a story and photographs from NBC San Diego here.
Find one of many articles about Keith R. Bishop here.

Christopher R. Webb, Army, Staff Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Christopher R. Webb, 28

Army, Staff Sergeant
Based: Ft. Hood, Texas
2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: March 7, 2007
Baghdad (northwest of), Iraq
Married, 1 child
Gender: Male
Hometown: Winchester
High School: West Valley High (Hemet)
Burial: Alturas Cemetery, Alturas, Calif.

As a top-notch Army recruiter, Christopher R. Webb stood out because he had lived his message about serving his country, seeing the world and growing up. His honesty also made him effective -- he never claimed that being a soldier would be easy, safe or somewhere other than Iraq.
But it bothered the Hemet-area native that his own assignments had been relatively risk-free, in South Korea as well as Washington state and the recruiting station in Red Bank, N.J.

The Army wanted Webb to remain a recruiter; he opted for foreign duty. And when the moment arrived last October to leave for Iraq, he had long been ready, though it tore him up to leave behind his wife and infant daughter.
On March 7, the 28-year-old staff sergeant was among three soldiers killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee in Baghdad.
...
Also killed were Spc. Shawn P. Rankinen and Spc. Michael D. Rivera.
...
The occasional boisterousness began to fade as Webb made sergeant and became a model recruiter.
But he couldn't relate what things were like in Iraq: "He had a lot of guilt over that," said his mother, Teresa Bullock, a counselor who lives in Perris. "He kept telling me that he wanted to go over there because he was putting soldiers in and he knew a lot of them were ending up over there."
It got worse when his younger brother, Coy, wanted to sign up.
"Chris did not want to do it," his mother said. "He begged me to have Coy talk to someone else. He has this fear of something happening to Coy. But Coy told us if we didn't do something, he'd see another recruiter here in town."
Webb reluctantly agreed to sign up his brother. "We had to make it clear that if something did happen, we would not hold Chris responsible in any way," his mother said.
The Army wanted Webb to stay stateside as a recruiter, "but it wasn't for him," his wife said.

In addition to his wife, 6-month-old daughter, mother, stepfather and brother, Webb is survived by his sister, Susan, of Perris; his father, Robert Webb Jr. of Golden Valley, Ariz.; his grandmother, Pat Webb; and his grandfather, Lawrence Hoffmann.

Read the entire LA Times article about Army Staff Sergeant Christopher R. Webb here, find more at Military Times and the Iraq Page and visit Sergeant Christopher R. Webb's Guest Book.

Richard A. Soukenka, Army, Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Richard A. Soukenka, 30

Army, Sergeant
Based: Ft. Drum, N.Y.
2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: February 27, 2007
Baghdad (southwest of), Iraq
Married
Gender: Male
Hometown: Oceanside

High School: Oceanside High (Oceanside)

Soukenka spent a part of his childhood homeless. He was eventually adopted by a man who volunteered at an Oceanside soup kitchen near where the child and his mother were living along a riverbed.
...
Soukenka was among three soldiers killed Feb. 27 when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in Baghdad. They were all assigned to the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) at Ft. Drum, N.Y.
...
Also killed in the incident were Cpl. Lorne E. Henry, Jr., 21, of Niagara Falls, N.Y.; and Spc. Jonathan D. Cadavero, 24, of Takoma Park, Md.

Read the entire LA Times article about Army Sergeant Richard A. Soukenka here, find more at Freedom Remembered and at the Iraq Page and visit Sergeant Soukenka's Guest Book.

Sergeant Soukenka previously remembered on Boom3.

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

Caesar S. Viglienzone, Army, Private 1st Class -- Rest In Peace

Caesar S. Viglienzone, 21

Army, Private 1st Class
Based: Ft. Campbell, Ky.
1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: February 1, 2006
Baghdad (south of), Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Santa Rosa
High School: Ridgway High School (Santa Rosa)
Burial: San Francisco National Cemetery, San Francisco

When Caesar Viglienzone was too little to even fit into a wetsuit, he was so eager to get in the water where his father was diving for abalone that he boldly ran into the freezing ocean without one. His love for diving for the large mollusks only grew from there.

The father and son were looking forward to returning to the rocky coast west of Sonoma, Calif., for some diving during a two-week leave the 21-year-old soldier had coming up next month. Viglienzone said on his Internet blog that the leave would be "no doubt the best two weeks of my life!"

Army private first class, was among three soldiers killed Feb. 1 when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee in Baghdad. Also killed were 1st Lt. Garrison C. Avery, 23, of Lincoln, Neb., and Spc. Marlon A. Bustamante, 25, of Corona, N.Y. All were assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, at Ft. Campbell, Ky.

Dennis Viglienzone, Caesar's father and a retired Navy officer, said his son "went over there trying to do good."


"He understood where he was going and what he was getting into," his father said. "He was proud of his service. He went over there as a soldier with the best of intentions.... He said, 'Hey, if something happens to me, I know you are going to suffer. But I don't want you to suffer too long.' "
...
He joined the Army in October 2004, and earned his air assault wings in June. Over the summer, his parents traveled to Ft. Campbell to watch their only child join the 101st Airborne Division and spend time with him before he was deployed to Iraq in September -- two weeks after his 21st birthday.

"It was the best time of our lives," his father said. "We camped out there. He chose to spend time in a non-air-conditioned pop-up trailer with his parents when he could have been back in a cool room with the others."

Viglienzone called home frequently once in Iraq, about every week or two, his father said.

Read the entire LA Times article about Army Private 1st Class Caesar S. Viglienzone here and see more about him on the Iraq Page and visit Private Viglienzone's Guest Book.


The painting of Private 1st Class Viglienzone was found here.

David Eliah Metzger, Army, Sergeant 1st Class -- Rest In Peace

David E. Metzger, 32

Army, Sergeant 1st Class
Based: Ft. Bragg, N.C.
3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: October 26, 2009
Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan
Married, 1 child
Gender: Male
Hometown: San Diego
High School: Mar Vista Senior High (Imperial Beach)
Burial: Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego

Sgt. 1st Class Metzger, 32, was one of seven Army Special Operations Command soldiers [and one of two from Fort Bragg] killed in Afghanistan Oct. 26 when the helicopter carrying them crashed in the western province of Badghis. Also killed were three Drug Enforcement Administration agents. Most of those on board, including U.S. and Afghan personnel, survived the crash.

Metzger was on his third deployment to Afghanistan. Fellow soldiers lauded his dedication and described him as a strapping, affable comrade who paid close attention to detail.

"He was someone you could count on," Master Sgt. Javier F. Martinez, the senior enlisted sergeant on Metzger's team, said by telephone from Afghanistan. "He was someone you'd want there in the heat of battle. You always knew he was watching your back."

Metzger was buried at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, after several services celebrating his life.

Survivors include Alicia Metzger and the couple's two sons, David Jr., 13, and Grant, 2, of Fort Bragg; and his grandmother Dolores Wallen and parents, David Metzger and Lisandra Holstein, of California.

Read the entire LA Times story on Army Sergeant 1st Class David E. Metzger here, read more here and here and find a story and photographs from NBC San Diego here.
Find one of many articles about Keith R. Bishop here.