Archive for July, 2009

I have been out of town for a couple days, still worn from lack of sleep.  Please forgive any typos made in following entry.  My sympathies to the loved ones grieving.

U.S. Army Spc. Christopher M. Talbert, 24, of Galesburg, Ill., died July 7 in Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

U.S. Army Pfc. Nicolas H. J. Gideon, 20, of Murrieta, Calif., died July 6  in Afghanistan, of injuries suffered earlier that day when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires.

U. S. Army Capt. Mark A. Garner, 30, of North Carolina, died July 6 in Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle

The following four U.S. Army men were killed in Afghanistan by an IED explosion near their vehicle:

2nd Lt. Derwin I. Williams, 41, of Glenwood, Ill.

Sgt. Brock H. Chavers, 25, of Bulloch, Ga.

Spc. Chester W. Hosford, 35, of Hastings, Minn.

Spc. Issac L. Johnson, 24, of Columbus, Ga.

U.S. Navy Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Darren Ethan Tate, 21, of Canyon, Texas died of non-hostile causes  in Afghanistan.

U.S. Marine Sgt. Michael C. Roy, 25, of North Fort Myers, Fla., died while supporting combat operations in Afghanistan.

U.S. Army Spc. Gregory J. Missman, 36, of Batavia, Ohio, died  in Afghanistan, of wounds sustained elsewhere in Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked his unit using small arms fire.

U.S. Army Pvt. Lucas M. Bregg, 19, of Wright City, Mo., died in Iraq, of injuries suffered from a non-combat related incident.

U.S. Army Spc. Joshua R. Farris, 22, of La Grange, Texas, died  in Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

U.S. Marine Cpl. Matthew R. Lembke, 22, of Tualatin, Ore., died July 10 of wounds sustained on June 24 while supporting combat operations in  Afghanistan.

U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Rodney A. Jarvis, 34, of Akron, Ohio, died  in Iraq of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.

U.S. Marines  who died in combat operations in Helmand Province in Afghanistan:
Lance Cpl. Pedro A. Barbozaflores, 27, of Glendale, Calif.

Master Sgt. Jerome D. Hatfield, 36, of Axton, Va.

Sgt. Michael W. Heede Jr., 22, of Delta, Pa.

Staff Sgt. David S. Spicer, 33, of Zanesfield, Ohio

LCpl Roger G. Hager, 20,  of N. Carolina

MSgt John E. Hayes, 36 of Florida

The following British troops died in Afghanistan as well:

Pvt. John Brackpool, 27 died of being shot while on sentry duty.

Rflman Daniel Hume, 22, died in an explosion while on patrol.

Cpl Lee Scott, 26, died in an explosion.

In one incident of an IED explosion, five young Englishmen died together:
Riflman William Aldridge, 18
Rflman James Backhouse, 18
Rflman Johnathan Horne, 28
Rflman Daniel Simpson, 20
Rflman Joseph Murphy, 18

Late Edit:  I found additional names today (17 July) of Canadians killed in Afghanistan—but have only the names, no cause of death:
Pvt. Sebastien Courcy
Master Cpl Patrice Audet
Cpl Martin Joanette
Cpl Charles-Philippe Michaud

The full moon, to many neo-pagans similar to myself, is a time for fellowship and delight in each other’s company.  It is a time to honor one’s deities and re-affirm the beliefs that strengthen and enliven us.  Alas, it is also the time to name the honored dead and mourn their loss and send comfort to those they left behind.

Finally got the names of the two other Germans killed in Afghanistan by enemy fire:

PFC Martin Brunn, 23
PFC Alexander Schleiernick, 23

U.S. Army Sgt. Timothy A. David, 28, of Gladwin, Mich., died  in Iraq, of wounds suffered earlier  when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

U.S. Army Sgt. Terry J. Lynch, 22, of Shepherd, Mont., died  in Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

The following U.S. Army personnel (all from a North Carolina unit) died in Iraq as a result of wounds from an IED detonation:

Sgt. 1st Class Edward C. Kramer, 39, of Wilmington, N.C.

Sgt. Roger L. Adams Jr., 36, of Jacksonville, N.C.

Sgt. Juan C. Baldeosingh, 30, of Newport, N.C.

Spc. Robert L. Bittiker, 39, of Jacksonville, N.C.

Lt.Col Rupert Thorneloe, 39 of England, died in  Afghanistan when an IED detonated beneath his vehicle.

Trooper Joshua Hammond, 18, of England died in the same vehicle with his commander.

Cpl. Nicholas Bulger, 30, of Canada died in Afghanistan as result of an IED explosion.

LCpl David Dennis, 29, of Wales died in Afghanistan as result of an IED explosion.

Pvt Robert Laws, 18, of England died in Afghanistan when his vehicle was hit by an RPG (rocket propelled grenade).

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Charles S. Sharp, 20, of Adairsville, Ga., died  while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

The following U.S. Army men died in Afghanistan when their outpost was attacked:
Pfc. Justin A. Casillas, 19, of Dunnigan, Calif.

Pfc. Aaron E. Fairbairn, 20, of Aberdeen, Wash.

And at least two more Americans and one British name are yet unreleased. And yes, I need an image of the other flags.  My heart rather shakes at the idea of seeking so many out.

Happy Independence Day!  You do know that is what we are to be celebrating, right?  The day our Founders could say, “Ok, we made a decision…this is IT.”  “It” being had enough, taken all that was to be taken….the day they decided what to do instead; come wrack, come ruin!

How America has changed since then.  Mind you, our Founders were not wild eyed anarchists; good order and law abiding citizens were a good idea to them.  Unfairness, taxation without representation, military rule—those things were NOT alright with them.  They really wanted King George to just wake the hell up and knock off treating them like convicts instead of citizens.  And contrary to what school history books teach, it was not a united opinion.  The hated “Tories”…loyalists to the king, existed in large numbers.  And they had to fly for their lives, they were horribly abused and tortured by their rebellious neighbors once the emotions ran high.

War is never a good thing, and technically, our revolution was a civil war….we were fighting our own colonial and English brethren.  History books are fond of pictures of Hessian mercenaries so the “those damned Germans” emotions can be called forth to shield us from the unpleasant notion that we fought and killed our own.  It was a necessary war for America to exist, and the determination was launched upon the day we celebrate.

Even Thomas Jefferson fell into bombastic statements so often isolatedly misquoted—bits about the tree of liberty being watered by the blood of heroes.  Keep in mind, those heroes were sons, brothers, husbands, fathers, and yes…women, too.  It was a desperate and dire time.  Hard choices had to be made and results endured.  And it really was a sort of miracle that infant America prevailed.

So, my wish for America today?  That we don’t forget those terrible sacrifices and sufferings.  That we remain willing to rock the correct boats—rich boats, corporate boats, comfortable self-satisfied boats—for the good of the nation. and the world.   And we need to be willing to make hard choices for OURSELVES, too.  We need to recognize our place in the world—the ONE world that we must share even if some would like to live in isolationist dreams.  We need to knuckle down as a nation and stop acting like spoilt children with a list for Santa.  We need to reach out to help friends and neighbors and not expect lock-step agreement on every issue.  We need to learn the difference between negotiation and compromise and merely being sheeple because it is easier to be told how to live.  Remember our history this weekend.  Rock the boat, including the boat of your own comforts.

Men and women are “watering the tree of liberty” with their blood even now, and possibly for reasons that have nothing to do with liberty.  I keep their names, I count their broken bodies with shining beads of glass and gemstone.  I walk through the seasons on their memorial and hold their memory to my heart.  It might be good for American souls to do the same on this weekend; it is not only about BBQs and noise and lights.  It is also about the seasons of wars and returning bodies that goes on and on and on.

To see the slide show of the Seasons of my memorial labyrinth, all time scrambled, you may follow this link and heed the instructions pertaining to your chosen browser:

Seasons Slide Show

It is not yet a movie, that technical conundrum is not solved yet.  It is a slide show with music—hit the image that appears after you choose ‘flash’ or ‘html’ and remember.  Freedom isn’t free, and neither is the life style you relish.

Say it has been a busy night with a religious group.

Say that after the official ritual was over, much alcohol was consumed by most attendees.

Say you are the officiant of the group.

Say your “significant other” had too much to drink and is hanging on you, unhappy and upset.

Say you are upset and ready to ‘blow your top’.

Say you shove the drunk one hard enough to put this person on the floor, hard enough to bruise.

This is NOT justifiable anger.  This is not righteous indignation.  This is not self-defense.

This is domestic abuse, asshat!  I SAY you are a hypocrite to your group, pretending such communion with the Goddesses and Gods.  Those deities are going to kick your ass.