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from mlive:
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| Sgt. Joseph M. Lilly (U.S. DoD) |
FLINT, MI -- U.S. Army
Sgt. Joseph M. Lilly, 25, of Flint was serving his second tour of duty -- first in Iraq -- when he died June 14 following an enemy attack in Afghanistan.
Lilly died in a medical facility at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan June 14 after insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device, according to a Department of Defense news release.
He was assigned to the 18th Engineer Company, 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. and had deployed to Afghanistan in April.
"It’s obviously a horrible loss for the family and something that brings into perspective to all of us about the ways of war," said Carman-Ainsworth Superintendent Bill Haley of Lilly, a 2005 graduate who had previously served a combat tour from August 2009 to July 2010 in Iraq.
He is the third former student to have died overseas during the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Haley.
A scholarship has been established at the school for 24-year-old U.S. Army Spc. Joseph Dennis Johnson of Mundy Township, a 2004 Carman-Ainsworth graduate who died June 16, 2010 during combat in Kunduz, Afghanistan.
U.S. Army National Guard Capt. Lowell "Tom" Miller, a 1988 Carman-Ainsworth High graduate, died Aug. 31, 2005 when he came under small arms fire in Iraq.
Lilly had received several accolades during his service, including two Army Commendation Medal awards; Army Achievement Medal; Meritorious Unit Commendation; two Army Good Conduct Medal awards; National Defense Service medal; Global War on Terrorism Service medal; Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign star; Korean Defense Service medal; Army Service ribbon; and two Overseas Ribbon awards.
He is survived by his wife and three-year-old son.
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from thenewstribune:
Spc. Trevor Pinnick, 20, of Lawrenceville, Ill., died Monday when a mine exploded, his father, Thomas Pinnick, told The Telegraph newspaper.
Pinnick, who received a promotion in rank shortly before his death, was assigned to the engineer company under the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. He joined the unit after it deployed to Afghanistan in December.
His father told the newspaper Pinnick searched for and defused improvised explosive devices during his deployment and he planned to make a career in the Army.
“He wanted to be Army strong,” his father told the newspaper. “He always hit the ground running when he wanted to do something.”
He is the 13th soldier from Lewis-McChord killed in Afghanistan this year. About 9,300 soldiers assigned to two of the three Stryker brigades stationed at the base are deployed in Afghanistan, and the final one is headed there later this year.
The News Tribune was unable to reach family members for further comment. The Department of Defense has yet to officially announce his death.
Pinnick lived in Lacey with wife, Martha, in July 2010, and their year-old daughter, Melody, according to his Facebook page.
His family said his body was to arrive stateside by Thursday.
In addition to his wife, daughter and father, Pinnick is survived by his mother, Nancy, a brother, Thomas Pinnick Jr., and twin sisters, Kayla Lynn and Bethany Rose, according to the newspaper.
Washington Time
Kabul Time
London Time
