Mary Jane Jaenichen, Army, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Mary J. Jaenichen, 20

Army, Specialist

Based: Ft. Stewart, Ga.
Brigade Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: May 9, 2008
Iskandariya, Iraq
Single
Gender: Female
Hometown: Temecula
High School: El Camino High (Oceanside)
Burial: Eternal Hills Memorial Park, Oceanside

Jaenichen, 20, died of a noncombat-related injury May 9 in Iskandariya, Iraq, south of Baghdad, according to the Department of Defense, which has not released details of an ongoing investigation. It was her only tour of Iraq.

The 2006 graduate had signed up for the Army Reserve at age 17 with the promise of a military-funded college education. She attended boot camp between her junior and senior years.
Her father, Alfred Alan "Jay" Jaenichen of Santa Ana, who recently retired as a Marine master sergeant, said she was serving as a military police officer at a "detainee holding area" -- a prison.

He said it was hard for her: "The detainees were young kids -- 17, 16 -- and they'd be there crying. She told me, 'I'd like to comfort them, but knowing why they're there, I couldn't do it.' "

At his daughter's request, he sent her coloring books and stuffed animals to distribute to children.

Born in Fallbrook, Mary Jane Jaenichen lived with her mother, Julieta, in Temecula, and, after her parents divorced when she was 11, visited her father and stepmother every other weekend, her father said.

While in Iraq, one comfort was a stuffed doll from home -- a 2-foot-tall Elmo, the lovable Sesame Street figure with the red fur and goofy smile.

"She said she was always saving Elmo from the rest of the squad," her father said. "The guys in her unit would pin him to the dart board. They would hide him. Once they taped him to the front of her Humvee. They would pick on Elmo just to pick on her. . . . But mostly it was in fun."

On her belt loop, Jaenichen wore a brass medallion, a religious token from her mother's Filipino family that her father had worn during the seven months he had served during Operation Desert Storm. "Now I understand some of the stuff you were going through," she wrote him.


He said he treasures a Bible his daughter gave him, with a note saying, "You've done your time. Its time for me to protect the country."


She was buried with a rifle volley salute May 24 at Eternal Hills Memorial Park in Oceanside. Her high school classmates turned out to mourn her.

In addition to her parents, Jaenichen is survived by two half sisters and two half brothers.

Read the entire LA Times article about Army Specialist Mary Jane Jaenichen here.

Find pictures at her Memorial site

and visit Specialist Mary J. Jaenichen's Guest Book.

Warriors Walk adds three more memorial trees:

Julie Jaenichen is followed by other family members as her casualty assistance soldier escorts her to the Warriors Walk memorial and tree dedication ceremony at Fort Stewart.
Jaenichen's daughter, Spc. Mary Jane Jaenichen, was one of three 3rd Infantry Division soldiers remembered at the service. Also remembered were Spc. Kyle P. Norris and Pvt. Ronald R. Harrison .

Read the Savannah Morning News story here.

Army Specialist Mary Jane Jaenichen previously remembered at Boom3.

Michael T. Manibog, Army, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Michael T. Manibog, 31

Army, Specialist
Based: Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: February 8, 2008
Taji, Iraq
Single, 1 child
Gender: Male
Hometown: Alameda
High School: San Leandro High (San Leandro)
Foreign Country of Birth: Philippines
Burial: Lone Tree Cemetery, Hayward, Calif.

From Military Times:

HONOLULU — The Army says four soldiers in the Stryker brigade based at Schofield Barracks died in Iraq after a roadside bomb hit their vehicle.
The soldiers died in the town of Taji on Feb. 8.

Two of the soldiers were from California: Spc. Michael T. Manibog, 31, of Alameda, and Sgt. Timothy P. Martin, 27, of Pixley.

Manibog and Marting both joined the Army three years ago.

Staff Sgt. Jerald A. Whisenhunt, 32, of Orrick, Mo., and Sgt. Gary D. Willett, 34, of Alamogordo, N.M., also died.

Whisenhunt joined the Army in 2000 and Willett joined in 1995.

The four were assigned to the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team in the 25th Infantry Division.
Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, issued a statement saying the soldiers were part of “our island ohana,” or family.
“I salute these four brave soldiers for their service and sacrifice in a dangerous place far from home,” Inouye said. “We owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.”
The fatal attack was the second involving Hawaii’s Stryker brigade, which deployed in November and December with 4,000 soldiers and over 300 Stryker vehicles.
The first unit’s first combat fatality occurred Jan. 19 when Spc. Jon Michael Schoolcraft III, 26, of Wapakoneta, Ohio, died from wounds received when his Stryker vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.

From SFGate:

Michael Manibog joined the Army several years ago to improve his life and that of his son. The divorced father from San Leandro, who had hung around with the wrong crowd in the past, believed that signing up for the military would put him on the right track, friends said.
Friends remembered him Tuesday as a dedicated soldier, a devoted father to his 9-year-old son, Terrell, and the person guaranteed to be the life of any party.

"He was very loud - his voice ... carried across the room, and he always joked around with everyone," said Carla Dorotheo, 30, of Hayward. "I will always remember him as being the comedian of the group. He made people smile, and he cared genuinely about his friends."

Manibog joined the Army because he wanted his son to be proud of him, Dorotheo said. "He also felt that this was the change he needed to become a better person and to help out his country," she said.


Brenda Reyes, 26, of San Leandro, the mother of Manibog's son, said he was a "kind-hearted person who always liked to make people laugh. He always helped other people regardless of whether he knew them or not, and basically he always had an extended hand to someone."

Erwin Rodrillo, 32, of Milpitas said Manibog was the reason he met his wife. Rodrillo had just returned from Iraq in 2004 after his second tour there as a Marine. Manibog took him to Dave and Buster's restaurant and bar in Milpitas. Rodrillo saw a pretty woman but was intoxicated, so he asked Manibog to forward a note to her on his behalf.

"I gave it to Mike and said, 'Hey, Mike, I'd really appreciate it if you gave this piece of paper to the lady,' and now we're married," Rodrillo said.

Read the entire SFGate article about Army Specialist Michael T. Manibog here, find more in the LA Times and visit Specialist Manibog's Guest Book.

James K. Healy, Army, Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

James K. Healy, 25

Army, Sergeant
Based: Ft. Knox, Ky.
703rd Explosive Ordnance Detachment
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: January 7, 2008
Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan
Married, 1 child
Gender: Male
Hometown: Hesperia
High School: Hesperia High School (Hesperia)
Burial: Westminster Memorial Park, Westminster

Healy was killed Jan. 7 on his second tour of duty when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Laghar Juy, Afghanistan, southeast of Kabul and in a mountainous region on the eastern border with Pakistan. Also killed in the attack was Army Maj. Michael L. Green, 36, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

Healy and his crew had defused scores of such bombs before, family members said.

"He wasn't drafted; he did this on his own," said Shannon Healy's brother Alan Olney, 15. "He died a hero. He did it for others." ...

Healy's death has been keenly felt in Hesperia, a desert city of 80,000.

"We feel a tremendous loss as a school and as a community," said Ken Jones, 59, who has been teaching at Hesperia High for 18 years. He said the school and town are particularly invested in the war effort.

The military "helps us and we help them," Jones said. "I know several teachers who have children that are over there. . . . We're all proud."

Jones said he had mixed emotions about the high-stakes choices that students make when they join the armed forces.

"I understand the cost of freedom," he said. "I don't like the fact that they have to lay their lives on the line, but that's what it is. I try not to think about it that much because I've had my sons over there."


In addition to his wife and son, Healy is survived by his parents, Timothy and Linda; and a brother, Ian.

Read the entire LA Times article about Army Sergeant James K. Healy here; find more here in the Wild Blue Yonder and find more here.

Matthew W. Ramsey, Army, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Matthew W. Ramsey, 20

Army, Specialist
Based: Ft. Campbell, Ky.
1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: November 29, 2010
Nangarhar province, Afghanistan
Married, 1 child
Gender: Male
Hometown: Quartz Hill
High School: Quartz Hill High (Quartz Hill)

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. — Several ... top national security advisers stood on a silent, windy tarmac Wednesday night to watch as the bodies of six soldiers killed by a rogue Afghan policeman returned to U.S. soil.

The six were killed in Afghanistan on Monday when the border policeman turned his gun on his American trainers as the group headed to shooting practice. The gunman was killed in the shootout in Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border.

The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the officer had enlisted as a sleeper agent to have an opportunity to kill foreigners.

The only sound during the “dignified transfer” was of the wind blowing through the 747 jet engines as the flag-topped caskets, called transfer cases, were lowered to the ground. Teams of white-gloved pallbearers carried each casket to a waiting truck. Fathers, mothers, wives and other family members of five of the soldiers traveled to Dover for Wednesday’s return.

The dead are Sgt. Barry E. Jarvis of Tell City, Ind.; Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen of Beaver Dam, Wis.; Pvt. Buddy W. McLain of Mexico, Maine; Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey of Quartz Hill, Calif.; Pvt. Austin G. Staggs of Senoia, Ga., and Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes of Athens, Ohio

The the entire AP article about Army Specialist Matthew W. Ramsey and his group in Military Times here and find more here.

From the LA Times:

They had some tea and were getting ready for some firing...the lone ABP [Afghan Border Patrolman] fired at them, instantly killed five, then turned to where the platoon leader and the platoon sergeant were and shot the platoon sergeant.
— Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)

Ramsey was among six soldiers shot and killed Nov. 29 by an Afghan border policeman at an observation point near the Pakistani border. The shooter was a lone gunman who fired at five of the six, including Ramsey, from behind as they were gathered together at an observation point in Nangarhar province, according to Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell. A full obituary will follow.

Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, 36, of Tell City, Ind
-- Rest In Peace

Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, 29, of Athens, Ohio
-- Rest In Peace

Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, 20, of Quartz Hill, Ca
-- Rest In Peace

Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen, 21, of Beaver Dam, Wis
-- Rest In Peace 

Pfc. Austin G. Staggs, 19, of Senoia, Ga
-- Rest In Peace

Pvt. Buddy W. McLain, 24, of Mexico, Maine
-- Rest In Peace