Shabbat Shalom -- Gilad Shalit

Hark! A vagrant -- K. Beaton Interlude

Hark! A Vagrant

Kyle A. Coumas, Army, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Kyle A. Coumas, 22

Army, Specialist
Based: Ft. Lewis, Wash.
1st Batallion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: October 21, 2009
Kandahar province, Afghanistan
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Lockeford
High School: St. Mary's High School (Stockton) 

An Army specialist, Coumas, 22, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Ft. Lewis, Wash. On Oct. 21, he was killed when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in southwest Afghanistan's Kandahar province, on the Pakistani border.

Army Specialist Kyle A. Coumas' parents wrote of their beloved son:

“Kyle Coumas was a man who believed that serving his country, being a part of a greater whole and being dedicated to preserving our nation’s freedom was the most honorable job a person could have ... Kyle will always be remembered as a soldier who served with honor, dignity and pride. We are blessed to have been his parents for 22 years and will always love him, our only child, with all our hearts!”

Read Army Specialist Kyle A. Coumas' parents' entire letter here.



Read the LA Times article about Army Specialist Kyle A. Coumas here
and read more at Freedom Remembered
and the Lodi Post.
You will find pictures here and here.

Aracely Gonzalez-O'Malley, Army, Staff Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Aracely Gonzalez-O'Malley, 31

Army, Staff Sergeant
Based: Ft. Shafter, Hawaii
307th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 516th Signal Brigade, 311th Signal Command
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: October 22, 2010
Hamburg, Germany
Married, 3 children
Gender: Female
Hometown: Brawley
High School: Brawley High (Brawley)
Burial: Desert Lawn Memorial Park, Yuma

From Military Times:

Aracely Gonzalez O’Malley’s husband says she joined the Army because she wanted to do something that made her children proud.

In the same year that she was deployed to Afghanistan, she also gave birth to a son. While she could have postponed her deployment, she didn’t. She had wanted to deploy with her husband, Sgt. Ryan O’Malley, 24.

“She did everything for the kids,” her husband said.

Gonzalez O’Malley’s sister Lizbeth Gonzalez of Yuma, Ariz., says she once told her family that she wanted her sons to serve one day, too.

The 31-year-old mother from Brawley, Calif, died Oct. 21 at Homburg, Germany. Her family told the Los Angeles Times that she suffered a brain aneurysm nine days earlier while serving in Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan.

She had been assigned to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

She enlisted in the Army in 2002 and met her husband while based at Fort Shafter in Hawaii four years later.

The Times reported that friends and relatives remembered her as a proud soldier who was outgoing and a die-hard San Diego Chargers fan.

Army Staff Sergeant Aracely Gonzalez O'Malley is survived by her husband, Ryan P. O'Malley; children, Sidney, Riley and Sean; parents, Armando and Juanita Gonzalez; brothers, Santiago and Armando Gonzalez; and sisters, Lizbeth and Paulette Gonzalez.

From Beyond The Sail:

One could argue our grief is tiny compared to the sorrow that the Gonzalez-OMalley families suffer. But that misses the point. As a soldier, SSgt O’Malley’s life reached beyond the circle of her family, friends and fellow soldiers. Her life, dedicated to serve those who daily enjoy their freedom, also reached far beyond her what might be considered a circle of influence.

Read the entire piece at Beyond the Sail here. Find more in the LA Times and visit Staff Sergeant Aracely Gonzalez O'Malley's Guest Book.

Occupy

Via Grandpa John.

Erik T. Garoutte, Marines, Corporal -- Rest In Peace

Erik T. Garoutte, 22

Marines, Corporal
Based: Norfolk, Va.
1st Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team Company, Marine Corps Security Force Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: October 19, 2007
Baghdad, Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Santee
High School: Santana High (Santee)
Burial: Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego

Garoutte, 22, of Santee, Calif., collapsed and died Oct. 19 after working out in Baghdad, where he had been stationed for nearly three months.

He was assigned to the 1st Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team Company, Marine Corps Security Force Battalion, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force in Norfolk, Va.

Garoutte grew up in Santee, a San Diego suburb...The eldest of five children, Garoutte doted on his siblings, buying them gifts and making time to play with all of them. "The kids just loved him," his stepmother said.

Garoutte became more religious as a teenager and joined several church youth groups.

"It was just something he did on his own," his stepmother said. "It started off as a social thing, but he gradually became closer to God."

With his Mom

His father and stepmother are both musicians, and Garoutte began to play the guitar more as he became increasingly active in church.

After graduating from Santana High School in 2004, he worked several jobs and briefly moved to Nashville with a friend ...  After moving back to the San Diego area, Garoutte began considering the military.

With his Dad

"He was floundering, and he didn't know what he wanted to do, but he knew he needed to get his ducks in a row," [his Pastor] Stine said.

Garoutte enlisted in 2005, and his family agreed that the military gave him direction. "He went into boot camp a boy and came out a man," his stepmother said.

In addition to his mother, father and stepmother, Garoutte is survived by his four siblings.

Read the entire LA Times article about Marine Corporal Erik T. Garoutte  here, and with a tribute from his church here along with an article from the San Diego Tribune. Go here for Corporal Garoutte's Guest Book.

Wayne M. Geiger, Army, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Wayne M. Geiger, 23

Army, Specialist
Based: Vilseck, Germany
3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: October 18, 2007 
Baghdad (eastern part), Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Lone Pine
High School: Lone Pine High (Lone Pine)
Burial: Mt. Whitney Cemetery, Lone Pine, Calif.

Geiger's father, Randy, a lieutenant in the Inyo County Sheriff's Department, and his mother, Kim, a civil officer in the department, said he joined the Army in 2005 to put his take-control abilities, confidence and courage to work on the battlefield in Iraq.

On Sept. 1, Army Spc. Wayne M. Geiger, 23, was deployed to Iraq. He was killed Oct. 18 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, based in Vilseck, Germany.

Nine days after his death, more than 2,000 people lined up along a desolate stretch of U.S. Highway 395 with hats off and right hands over their hearts as his body was escorted by a motorcade of law enforcement and fire department vehicles to a funeral service at the Lone Pine High gymnasium, where he once played.

A graveside service followed at Mt. Whitney Cemetery, where dozens of friends and neighbors signed a basketball that was buried alongside the casket.

Weeks later, staring out a living room window facing Mt. Whitney, Geiger's father said, "Wayne was a born athlete. When he was still in diapers, Wayne liked to wear a plastic Raiders football helmet and tackle anyone who came through the front door."


In high school, Geiger was rambunctious and edgy, leaving some to wonder how he would harness all that energy.

Wayne M. Geiger with his sister.

He did so in the Army. Even his parents and sister, Jesseca, 20, were surprised by the difference a few months in the military made in him.


"He'd greet you with a firm handshake, and when he spoke, he looked you right in the eye," his father said. "One day, I asked him, 'Wayne, where did you get this sense of duty and patriotism? I never saw this in you before.' "
He said his son smiled and said, "Dad, you weren't looking hard enough."

Read the entire LA Times article about Army Specialist Wayne M. Geiger here, read more here and visit his Guest Book here.

Michael A. Dahl Jr., Army, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Michael A. Dahl Jr., 23

Army, Specialist
Based: Ft. Lewis, Wash.
1st Batallion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: October 17, 2009
Argahndab, Afghanistan
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Beaumont
High School: Beaumont Senior High (Beaumont)
Burial: Riverside National Cemetery

Mikey i think about u every day that goes by its so hard for me an the rest of the family i miss u so much RIP MIKEY

— anthony dahl
September 3, 2010 at 1:25 a.m.

From the LA Times:

It was always important to to be responsible, to support himself and his family and shield them from worry.

"He was an inspiration to me," said his mother, Patricia Dahl, 42, who is divorced from her son's father. "Sometimes it's hard being a single parent. But he kept me going."

An Army crewman on armored vehicles, he never told her that he was fighting on the front lines.


The last time she talked to her son, he told her not to worry, that he was going on his last mission and he probably wouldn't be able to talk to her for a few days.


Two days later, on , Army Spc. Dahl, 23, of Beaumont, Calif., was killed Beaumont, Calif.,when his tank was hit by a roadside bomb in Arghandab in southwest Afghanistan's Kandahar province, on the Pakistani border.

Dahl had deployed in July from Ft. Lewis, Wash., with the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. He was due home on leave in November.

His mother last saw him in March. She said he described harsh living conditions in Afghanistan -- tents pitched near stinking, open sewers. He attended Bible study regularly, she said, and filled his digital camera with photographs of villages and local people.

"He felt compassion for them," she said.

Dahl was born and raised in the small town of Beaumont in Riverside County. He was a shy child who played piano and spent hours in his room sketching buildings in minute detail.

He left Beaumont High School before graduating to work two jobs, as a clerk at a Calvin Klein outlet by day and a stock clerk at a Stater Bros. market by night.

He earned his diploma in 2003, according to military records.

He lived at home with his mother; his 16-year-old brother, A.J.; and a pit bull, Girl. Settling down with a family of his own would have to wait -- he told his mother he needed steady work and a house first.

Read more about Army Specialist Michael A. Dahl Jr. here, here and here.

The body of Army Specialist Michael Dahl Jr., 23, The body of Army Specialist Michael Dahl Jr., 23, of Beaumont, is brought off a C-17 aircraft during a Dignified Transfer ceremeony Monday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

James D. Boelk, Marines, Lance Corporal -- Rest In Peace

James D. Boelk, 24

Marines, Lance Corporal
Based: Camp Pendleton
3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: October 15, 2010
Helmand province, Afghanistan
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Oceanside
Burial: Quantico National Cemetery, Triangle, Va.

From the LA Times:

Lance Cpl. James D. Boelk grew up in a well-traveled military family. But his path to the Marine Corps was not a straight one.

Home-schooled throughout his childhood, Boelk lived in Korea, Iceland, Texas and both coasts of the U.S. before attending Golden State Baptist College in Santa Clara, Calif., where he also worked in security for Google. He talked about becoming a youth leader or doing missionary work, but left college without getting his degree.

Then the secular world beckoned. Boelk moved to San Diego with plans to work and study business. When the job he had counted on to support his studies fell through, he turned to the profession that had sent his family around the globe.

His father, David Boelk, is a retired Air Force master sergeant. But his brother-in-law, a Marine captain, proved a persuasive recruiter and in March of 2009, Boelk enlisted in the Marines. He signed up for five years, promising his mother that he would finish college after his stint in the service.
"He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do for the rest of his life," said his mother, Cilicia Boelk, of Manassas, Va.

The second of seven children, James had five sisters and one brother. "We are a close family," Cilicia Boelk wrote in an e-mail. "James was there for each of us. He always gave his siblings attention and had fun with them. He called home often and [would] text his siblings daily. He would always say 'I love you' at the end of all phone calls to us. When he was with us he would give hugs, especially group hugs."

Boelk, 24, who lived in Oceanside, liked to surf and make his friends laugh, but he was also a hard worker.

"As one of my Marines I will always remember his work ethic," Staff Sgt. Matthew B. Cartier said in a posting on The Times' War Dead database. "No matter how hard the task, he would put on this half-grin and charge full speed ahead to accomplish it."

Boelk was a rifleman assigned to Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

In September, he shipped out to Afghanistan. A few weeks later, on Oct. 15, he was returning from a two-day patrol in Helmand province when he was killed by a bomb, military officials said. He was one of eight in his battalion who died in the span of a week.

"This was his first deployment. This was his first patrol," his mother said.

Boelk is buried in Quantico National Cemetery in Virginia. In addition to his parents, he is survived by sisters Amanda, Allyssia, Christina, Oressa and Charlynn, and a brother, Timothy.

Read more about Marine Lance Corporal James D. Boelk at

Military Times

Sanctuary of Mary

Facebook

and visit James D. Boelk's Guest Book.

Shabbat Shalom -- Sukkahmobile

What are we doing for Sukkot today?

Having a little pommegranate and

apple salad in our Sukkah here in the Arkansan wilderness. 

Others, in other places, move their own ways.

Chabad youth have installed traditional temporary huts
on dozens of off-road vehicles which will travel across Israel
throughout the holiday of Sukkot and serve hikers
and IDF soldiers in places where there are no permanent sukkot.

Plates We Like -- Parking Lot Files

How's That Peace Prize Workin' Out For Ya?

Steven Crowder


Obama orders 100 troops to Uganda

By Justin Sink - 10/14/11 02:25 PM ET

President Obama said Friday that he is sending 100 U.S. troops to Uganda to aid in the fight against the Lord's Resistance Army, a band of rebels in central Africa accused of murder, rape, and kidnap during their 20-year fight against Ugandan security forces.

Read it all in The Hill

Any excuse to play Steven Crowder.

Keith J. Moore, Army, Private 1st Class -- Rest In Peace

Keith J. Moore, 28

Army, Private 1st Class
Based: Ft. Drum, N.Y.
2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: October 14, 2006
Baghdad, Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: San Francisco
High School: Woodside International School (San Francisco)
Burial: Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, Calif.

From the LA Times:

As a chaplain at the Veterans Affairs hospital south of San Francisco, Susan Turley has faced the most intimate consequences of the Iraq war. She also has developed a deep admiration of military culture and purpose.

So when her only child revealed earlier this year he had enlisted in the Army, Turley reacted with fear and respect. Until well past 2 a.m., mother and son sat together, talking it out.

"He explained his whole journey -- the process that led to his decision," said Turley, now among the grieving. "It was a turning point, where he became an adult friend of mine as well as my son."

On Oct. 14, Army Pfc. Keith J. Moore, 28, also became San Francisco's second Iraqi war casualty. His death, described by the Department of Defense only as the result of a "noncombat-related injury," is under investigation. It could be months before his family learns the particulars.

Instead, they are left with his memory -- that of a young man with well-researched convictions who chose to serve his country.

Moore was a history buff who read voraciously about Vikings and ancient Greek military heroes, earning a respect for "the nobility of those that protect civilians." He was a lover of music and an amateur guitar enthusiast with eclectic taste.

Moore had talked of joining the armed forces at age 17. Now, he spoke of learning to be a bomb detonator, of seeking corrective eye surgery to become a helicopter pilot. Although "not naive about the complexities of Iraq," Turley said, her son spoke most passionately about wanting to serve Iraqi civilians by serving his country.

He completed basic and advanced training in Georgia and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division at Ft. Drum, N.Y.


Frustrated by what was to be a six-month wait for deployment to Iraq, he volunteered for a unit soon heading there.


Moore landed in August. He told his parents about heading out on eight-day patrols, and of a weapon that was rusty and in need of repairs. He died in Baghdad.


Late last month, a team of nearly 20 motorcyclists from the volunteer Patriot Guard Riders helped escort Moore's casket from San Francisco International Airport, stopping traffic on Interstate 280. Then, they turned toward the ocean that Moore loved, crawling up the Great Highway at twilight as surfers and beachgoers stood at attention to pay respects.

He was buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno.

In addition to his parents, both of San Francisco, Moore is survived by his grandmothers, Peggy Moore of Richmond, Calif.; and Marilyn Turley of Olympia, Wash.

The uncertainty surrounding the cause of death "complicates the grieving process," Turley said. "But the most important thing is my son served his country, and he's a casualty of war.... He was a beautiful person. He died way too young."

Read more about Army Pfc Keith J. Moore here with a Guest Book here.

Army Private 1st Class Keith J. Moore also remembered by Boom3 on Thursday, October 14, 2010.

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.

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

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

Victor A. Gonzalez, Marines, Lance Corporal -- Rest In Peace

Victor A. Gonzalez, 19

Marines, Lance Corporal
Based: Camp Pendleton
2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: October 13, 2004
Ramadi, Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Watsonville
High School: Watsonville High (Watsonville)
Burial: Valley Cemetery, Watsonville, Calif.

From the LA Times:

After graduating in 2003 from Watsonville High School, where he was on the track and soccer teams, Gonzalez entered the Marine Corps on Oct. 27.

During his sophomore year, he had joined the Watsonville Police Department's cadet program and eventually was promoted to lieutenant and helped oversee the program.

Police Capt. Manny Solano said Gonzalez would volunteer at least 40 hours a month, more than twice the time most cadets put in, helping with traffic control, assisting at crime scenes and going on ride-alongs. "He grew incredibly in character and maturity," he said.

Gonzalez was in excellent physical condition, and Solano said he would take two dozen cadets out to run a mile during their biweekly meetings. "There's no doubt in my mind that he would have been a fine officer," Solano said.

Fellow cadet Lt. Monique Rangel said Gonzalez always seemed to be in good spirits and would do whatever was needed to cheer up others in the department, including being silly or buying them candy bars.

He was so committed to the Watsonville Police Department that he would make sure to visit the station each time he returned home, one or two weekends a month after he finished basic training in January, Rangel said.

Gonzalez surprised Rangel and another lieutenant in August when he dropped in for lunch while they were in San Diego for the annual cadet academy.

Rangel remembers how the trio would often grab a late dinner after cadet meetings or occasionally go to a movie. "He was very close to my heart," she said. "I considered him like a brother."

Although Gonzalez said he was not nervous about going to Iraq, Rangel said he seemed shaken during a telephone call describing one of his first firefights, with bullets landing within 10 feet of him.

"It didn't sound like him; he's always cheerful," she said. "I hated to hear him like that." Rangel said his mood was much more upbeat during two subsequent calls.

Gonzalez's grandfather, Ishmael Avila, said there has been a steady stream of friends and well-wishers visiting the home since the Marine's death was announced.

He described his grandson as a prized student who joined the Marines to get extra training to help with a law enforcement career. "Nobody pushed him or tried to convince him. That's what he wanted to do," Avila said. "He felt he could make a difference."

Though concerned about his other two grandchildren in the military -- one with the Navy in San Diego and another stationed in South Korea with the Air Force -- Avila said he refused to worry.

"You're not going to help anything at all doing that. You'll just make yourself miserable," he said. "You just have to pray that God brings them home safely."

Gonzalez also is survived by his parents, Sergio and Amalia; a brother, Oscar, 12; and two sisters Edenia, 15, and Myrna Celeste, 4.

Read more about Marine Lance Corporal Victor A. Gonzalez here, here, here and here.

Marine Lance Corporal Victor A. Gonzalez also remembered by Boom3 on Tuesday, October 12, 2010.