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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Sean D. Diamond, Army, Staff Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Army, Staff Sergeant
Based: Ft. Lewis, Wash.
610th Engineer Support Company, 14th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: February 15, 2009
As Salam, Iraq
Married, 4 children
Gender: Male
Hometown: Dublin
Burial: Cremated

Every March 17, Sally Wiley would call her son Sean Diamond at 7:38 a.m. and his twin Michael Diamond five minutes later -- the moments of their births -- to sing them "Happy Birthday."

Some years, the twins couldn't answer, letting their mother's song go to voice mail.

In the last few years, when Sean, an Army staff sergeant, was stationed in Iraq, Wiley couldn't call him. Instead, she would look at the clock on March 17 and feel something missing and then call Michael.

"We'd laugh because [Sean] didn't have to get the early morning call," she said of the ritual that began during the twins' first year at college.

On Tuesday, Wiley still made two calls, but both to Michael -- one to his home and the other to his cellphone.

Sean was killed Feb. 15 when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in As Salam, , south of Baghdad. He was a heavy equipment operator with the 610th Engineer Support Company, 14th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade at Ft. Lewis, Wash. He was 41.

Read the entire LA Times story about Army Staff Sergeant Sean D. Diamond here.

Sean D. Diamond is survived by his mother and stepfather, Michael; wife Loramay and their four children, Taylor, Madison, Sean Riley and Athena; his twin brother Michael; brother Jason and father Jerry.

Find more about Staff Sergeant Diamond in the Record Courier, at Military Times, and at the Iraq Page.

Read the Army story about the new base to be named for Sean D. Diamond

Specialist James Saunders stands by the sign he built honoring his former squad leader, Staff Sgt. Sean D. Diamond.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Michael S. Probst, Marines, Lance Corporal -- Rest In Peace

Michael S. Probst, 26

Marines, Lance Corporal
Based: Twentynine Palms, Calif.
1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: February 14, 2006
Baghdad (Abu Ghraib), Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Irvine
High School: Irvine High (Irvine)
Burial: Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside

Born and reared in Irvine, the 26-year-old Marine Corps lance corporal was killed Feb. 14 by a roadside bomb near Abu Ghraib, Iraq, west of Baghdad.

Probst was a lead driver in a platoon that was responsible for spotting and clearing improvised explosives along Iraq's busiest highways. His roommate and Humvee crew member, Lance Cpl. Jay Thurin, was injured in the blast and is recovering from shrapnel wounds.

"He was an awesome Marine, a great friend," Thurin said. "He's going to be missed greatly."

The second of two sons, Probst was strong and trim with a square jaw and eyes of gray -- "the color of a storm," as his mother described them.

"He was so spirited," his mother said. "He had such a zest for life."

In Iraq, Probst had the same assignment as his father in Vietnam: to make roads safe for advancing troops and supplies. He carried out more than 100 combat missions covering more than 15,000 miles, surviving roadside bombs on several occasions, said his platoon commander, 1st Lt. Benjamin S. Adams.

In dispatches home, Probst told his parents and brother, Matt, how much he loved them, and gushed about the batches of homemade cookies sent from Wisconsin by his grandmother Bernetta Probst. "Good stuff hahaha," he wrote.

In January, Probst and Thurin were injured by a roadside bomb. Probst, who suffered a concussion, called his parents to say he was OK. His mother told him to keep his head down and "eat your peas," invoking the title of a popular children's book, like she had done since he was a child.

Probst asked for a cross to slip on his dog tags. His mother found one made of silver, sealing it with a kiss so it "would land on his heart and he would know we loved him more than anything."

The cross arrived three days before he died.

Probst also is survived by his grandmother Ruth Stanchi of Florida, and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

His parents ask that donations be sent to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, 825 College Blvd, Suite 102, PMB 609, Oceanside, CA 92057.

Read the entire LA Times article about Marine Lance Corporal Michael S. Probst here, find more at the Iraq Page, on Legacy and visit Corporal Probst's Guest Book.

A Marine reaches out as if to touch his fallen comrade one more time. Marines from TOW Platoon, Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Tank Battalion, assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, gathered at the Camp Fallujah chapel to honor Lance Cpl. Michael S. Probst, who was killed in action Feb. 14. Photo Taken by Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva.

Art Interlude -- Car Wash Files

Daniel L. Hansen, Marines, Staff Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Daniel L. Hansen, 24

Marines, Staff Sergeant
Based: Iwakuni, Japan
Marine Wing Support Squadron 171, Marine Wing Support Group 17, 1st Marine Air Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: February 14, 2009
Farah province, Afghanistan
Engaged
Gender: Male
Hometown: Tracy
High School: Merrill F. West High (Tracy)
Burial: Ft. Richardson National Cemetery, Anchorage

They were born 15 seconds apart and were best friends. The Hansen twins were competitors and athletes, and both enlisted in the Marines.

"Everything we did, we did together," said Matthew of his slightly older brother, Daniel. "We spent the first nine months huddled up together -- it's hard to separate after that."

It took a war to break them apart. Staff Sgt. Daniel Hansen died in Afghanistan on Feb. 14 after his foot patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device.

Hansen, 24, joined the Marines just days after he graduated from Merrill F. West High School in Tracy, Calif., in 2002. He and Matthew left for boot camp in San Diego one week apart, with Daniel heading off first. Daniel was assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 in Iwakuni, Japan, in January 2008 and deployed to Afghanistan's Farah province.

Hansen was buried at Fort Richardson National Cemetery in Anchorage on March 2 after an official memorial service at nearby Elmendorf Air Force Base on Feb. 28. His parents now have a home in Alaska. Another memorial ceremony was held at West High School on March 7.

Read the entire LA Times article about Marine Staff Sergeant Daniel L. Hansen here, find more at Military Times and at Freedom Remembered.

Master Chief Shannon S. Williamson gives a moment of silence to Staff Sgt. Daniel L. Hansen during his memorial service at the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni chapel

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Chad Gonsalves, Army, Sergeant 1st Class -- Rest In Peace

Chad Gonsalves, 31

Army, Sergeant 1st Class
Based: Ft. Bragg, N.C.
3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: February 13, 2006
Dihrawud, Afghanistan
Married, 3 children
Gender: Male
Hometown: Turlock
Burial: Turlock Memorial Park, Turlock, Calif.

"I knew from the day I brought him home and rocked him -- I knew he was destined for the military," Marsha Gonsalves said of her elder son.

She was right. As a boy growing up in the Central Valley city of Turlock, Calif., Chad Gonsalves outfitted himself as a fantasy soldier in camouflage fatigues. As a young man who became a member of the Army's elite Special Forces, he wore the group's fabled green beret.

"That was his calling. He was just military all the way. He absolutely loved it," his mother said. "I guess if he had to die, that was the way to go."

Gonsalves, 31, a weapons sergeant first class assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Ft. Bragg, N.C., was on patrol with Afghan troops Feb. 13 in the volatile Dihrawud district of Afghanistan's Oruzgan province when his armored Humvee struck a roadside bomb, according to military officials and news reports. Gonsalves and three other U.S. soldiers were killed.

Also killed were Staff Sgt. Edwin H. Dazachacon; Staff Sgt. Clinton T. Newman and Sgt. Alberto D. Montrond.

Do read the entire LA Times article about Army Sergeant 1st Class Chad Gonsalves here, find pictures and story here and more at Military Times and visit Sergeant Gonsalves' Guest Book.

Brig. Gen. John F. Mulholland Jr. presents a U.S. flag to Marsha Gonsalves, who is holding her grandson Blake. Chad's brother Joshua and his father, Larry, are beside her.

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Sergeant Allberto D. Montrond

Staff Sergeant Edwin h. Dazachacon

Sergeant Clinton Thomas Newman

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Eydie Gorme Españoles Interlude -- Chanteuse Files

Here's a twofer:

Miss Gorme con translation y sin Steve Lawrence.

Bonus Gorme:

Abraham Lincoln -- Manly Hearts Day

Happy Birthday Mr. President.

Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in future be our enemy. Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the materials for our future support and defence.

-- January 27, 1838 Lyceum Address

And having thus chosen our course, without guile, and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear, and with manly hearts.

-- July 4, 1861 Message to Congress

Signage We Really Like

Signs of Spring:
Today's Arkansan daffodils out front...

Eric U. Ramirez, Army National Gurard, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Eric U. Ramirez, 31

Army National Guard, Specialist
Based: National City, Calif.
670th Military Police Company
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: February 12, 2004
Baghdad (Abu Ghraib), Iraq
Married, 2 children
Gender: Male
Hometown: San Diego
High School: Mount Dora High School (Mount Dora, Fla.)
Burial: Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, Fla.

Spc. Eric U. Ramirez's last letter from Iraq arrived in Florida two weeks later, as his wife and parents were making plans for his funeral.

"That letter said to please pray for his wife, Tracey," said his father, Feliciano Ramirez, who lives in Mascotte, Fla. "He was always thinking of his family and other people."

Ramirez, who was assigned to the 670th Military Police Company, Army National Guard, in National City, Calif., was killed Feb. 12 in Abu Gireb, according to military officials. The 31-year-old soldier was attacked with small-arms fire, a rocket-propelled grenade and an improvised explosive device.
Ramirez attended Mount Dora High School in Florida, where he played soccer, baseball and football. After graduating in 1991, he joined the Navy and was stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas; Europe; and San Diego.

After leaving the Navy in 2000, he enlisted in the California National Guard, and went to work for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, serving warrants.

In San Diego, he also met his future wife, Tracey Benson. The couple traveled to Florida in August 2001 to be married in his father's church.

"That was the last time I saw him," his father said. "He had been so busy fulfilling his military obligations."

Ramirez was deployed to Iraq in January 2003. He returned briefly in December for the birth of his second child, Chase Eric Charles. The couple's daughter, Isis, is 2.

Ramirez was due to return home in 42 days, when he would have been discharged from the National Guard, his family said.

He also is survived by his maternal grandparents, Juan and Juana Gutierrez of Naranja, Fla.

Read the entire LA Times article about Army National Gurard Specialist Eric U. Ramirez here. Do find more at Military Times and at Fallen Heroes and at the California Army National Guard site.

Friends and relatives attend the military burial of 31-year-old Army Spc. Eric U. Ramirez at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Fla.
Photo from USA Today

Friday, February 11, 2011

Shabbat Shalom -- Old Jaffa

Tel Aviv Beach - Old Jaffa Skyline

Israeli art found here.
Previous Old Jaffa here and here.

Sharia -- They Shoot Christians Don't They?

The government of Afghanistan is about to execute Said Musa for the crime of: Being a Christian.
Why are we propping them up again?
Why are our noble men and women giving their precious lives for these worthless Religion of Losers losers?

This from An Australian Ally:

The Said Musa case is one of those landmark beacons which throws a glaring light on where we are and what we are doing.

Why Are Our Soldiers Dying?
By Hal G.P. Colebatch on 2.11.11 @ 6:07AM

Another question which this matter presses home to us is: What are we doing allying in war with these [Afgan] barbarians? What evidence have they given us that they are actually a better government than the Taliban would be? How does propping them up as a government in Afghanistan, even if we win the war there, benefit us or humanity? I believe it does, but please remind me why. It is true that we may be stopping the Taliban from taking over Pakistan and getting their hands on Pakistan's nuclear weapons, but are there other ways of achieving that?
...
It is hard to see any need at the present time to spend our soldiers' lives in defense of a regime that stinks to high heaven of vile savagery, a regime which plainly cares nothing for our values and plainly cares nothing even for what we think of it, and which in fact shows by its deeds that it regards the Judeo-Christian West and its ideas and values as abomination and a mortal enemy.

Read the entire piece at the American Spectator.
Find more about Said Musa and Infidel Blogger and Persecution Blog and PBPrisoner Focus.
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Our Sharia Sampler:
Sharia Compliant Home Loans
The Religion of Filicide
Shop-Rite Sharia
Art Interlude -- Bosch Fawstin: Rifqa Bary
Sharia Sharia: "Grad Student" Murders Jewish Professor: Asshole Muslimism At It Again

Trig Palin's Mom's Birthday -- 1000 Words File

Happy Birthday Governor Mrs. Todd Palin.

And congrats on another successful trip around the sun.

Many more to come!

Dennis L. Sellen Jr., Army National Guard, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Dennis L. Sellen Jr., 20

Army National Guard, Specialist
Based: Fresno
1st Battalion, 185th Infantry Regiment
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: February 11, 2007
Umm Qasr, Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Newhall
High School: John F. Kennedy High (Granada Hills)
Burial: Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, Glendale
From Oregon Live:

Though Dennis L. Sellen Jr.''s father died before he ever met him, his family recalled that he sang, walked and clowned just like his dad. "Friends loved them; they're the same," said Silvia Sellen Jara, Sellen's mother. "Every time I'm thinking about that--how amazing and good is God--my son is exactly like my husband even though he didn't know him."

Sellen, 20, of Newhall, Calif., died Feb. 11 in Umm Qasr of non-combat related injuries. He was assigned to Fresno.

He sang in the high school chorus and was a dynamite mascot for the football and basketball teams, where he would breakdance on the smooth gym floor. He also was on the drill team, twirling rifles with one hand. Sellen attended College of the Canyons for one semester as a part-time student in spring 2006. He took classes in graphics, media design and computer networking.

Sellen enlisted in the Alabama National Guard in November 2003, transferring to the California National Guard in March 2006, and was serving his first tour in Iraq. His father was on active duty in Panama in 1987 when he was debilitated by a circulatory disease, and died a year later.

Read more about Army National Guard Specialist Dennis L. Sellen, Jr. at the Iraq Page, in the LA Times and at Spread The Word and visit Specialist Sellen's Guest Book.

California Army National Guard

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Robert B. Thrasher, Army, Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Robert B. Thrasher, 23

Army, Sergeant
Based: Ft. Bliss, Texas
2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: February 11, 2007
Baghdad, Iraq
Married
Gender: Male
Hometown: Folsom
High School: Folsom High (Folsom)
Burial: Mount Vernon Memorial Park, Fair Oaks, Calif.

From Military Times:

FOLSOM, Calif. — Army Sgt. Robert Thrasher joined the military so he could see the world, learn about other cultures and earn money to attend college.

The 23-year-old was enthralled by the centuries-old architecture he saw while stationed in Europe, said his grandmother, Elsie Pfister of Orangevale. He had little other opportunity to explore, however, after a 13-month tour of Iraq and a second deployment just before Christmas.

Thrasher, who served with the Army’s 1st Calvary Division, was killed by a sniper Feb. 11 while on patrol in a neighborhood north of Baghdad, the Department of Defense said.

His family said Thrasher knew the danger and told them before setting off for a second time that he understood he might not come back.

“He told everyone that if he came back, it would be great. But if not, that would be OK, too,” Pfister said.

Thrasher joined the Army after graduating from Folsom High School in 2002. He and his high school sweetheart, Christine — a soldier stationed in Texas — had been married for four years.

In addition to his wife, mother and grandmother, Thrasher is survived by his father, Charles; a brother, Ian James Thrasher, 21; his stepfather, Jesse Keen; and three other grandparents, all of Sacramento.

Do read the LA Times article about Army Sergeant Robert B. Thrasher here and find more at Freedom Remembered and visit Sergeant Thrasher's Guest Book.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Javier Chavez Jr., Marines, Private 1st Class -- Rest In Peace

Javier Chavez Jr., 19

Marines, Private 1st Class
Based: Camp Pendleton
3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: February 9, 2006
Fallouja (near), Iraq
Married
Gender: Male
Hometown: Cutler
High School: Orosi High (Orosi)
Burial: Hanford Cemetery, Hanford, Calif.

Javier Chavez Jr.'s 19-year-old widow doesn't know what to call herself.

Janie Gonzales says she didn't even have a chance to change her last name to Chavez in the blur of her husband's final months.

He graduated from high school early to join the Marine Corps, went to Camp Pendleton for boot camp and then to infantry school. He came home, proposed to her, was married a week later and then got on a plane for Iraq.

On Feb. 9, somewhere near Fallouja, Chavez got out of a Humvee and stepped on a roadside bomb. It took his life, along with that of another Marine [Cpl. Ross A. Smith, 21 of Wyoming, MI].
...
The private first class was a quiet 19-year-old from Cutler, Calif., a Central Valley farming town a few miles from Visalia, where he was born. He left behind a family grasping at unfulfilled plans.

"They were going to have a church wedding, buy a house," said his father, Javier Chavez Sr. "He wanted to work with the government, the Highway Patrol, or the FBI as a detective."

"I'm kinda mad," his wife said. "He was young. He wanted so many things in his life. It's not fair for anybody."

She had known Chavez, who went by the nickname of Javi, since grade school.

"He liked me, but I never paid attention to him," she said. "By high school, I liked him and he never paid attention to me. He was all shy. Really quiet. I had to make the move on him."

She remembers how Chavez loved pets. He had an iguana named MoJo, along with guinea pigs and turtles. Their first date was a movie, but Chavez brought his dog, Pancho, so they couldn't get in. Instead, they went to dinner.

Later, Janie said, Chavez told her how he wanted to join the Marines. He was eager to go to Iraq. He wanted to see how it was.

"How can you be a Marine?" Janie said she asked him. "You're so quiet." She said she told him that they could go to college together. But Chavez was determined. Janie said he felt like college wasn't for him.

At boot camp, a drill sergeant would make him yell for 30 minutes straight. He learned to be loud, she said.

Chavez was a romantic, she said. When he came home from Camp Pendleton, she said he told her that he wanted to take her on a romantic trip. She suggested Six Flags. "No, somewhere nice," she said he told her. "Just you and me."

They rented a hotel room in Pismo Beach, Calif. Chavez loved the beach, his father said, adding that his mother used to take him there. While walking on the beach, Chavez asked Janie if she would marry him.

"Yeah, of course," she said, not seeing the ring in his hand. "Didn't we already talk about this?"

When they went back to the hotel room, a friend of Chavez's had decorated it with "a million candles and red and white roses on the bed," Janie said. A week later, they signed their marriage papers. A month after that, he was on a plane for Iraq.

Read the entire LA Times article about Marine Private 1st Class Javier Chavez Jr. here, see more at Fallen Heroes and at Military Times.

Lance Cpl. Joshua B. Tallis, Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, kneels in front of the memorial of Cpl. Ross Smith and Pfc. Javier Chavez Jr., who were killed in action Feb. 9, 2006. The company held a memorial service at Camp Smitty, Iraq, Feb. 20.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

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.