R.I.P. - Sgt. 1st Class James F. Grissom

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            Sgt. 1st Class James F. Grissom, 31, of Hayward, Calif., died March 21 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of wounds suffered from small arms fire March 18 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

            For more information, media may contact the Special Forces Command (Airborne) public affairs office at 910-689-6187.

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Grissom graduated from Mt. Eden High School in 1999 and attended college at the Art Institute of San Francisco, earning his Associate's Degree in Computer Animation.

He enlisted in the Army in June, 2003, under the 18X Special Forces Enlistment Program.After graduating from the Special Forces Qualification Course in October, 2005, Grissom was assigned to 2ndBattalion., 1st SFG (A) JBLM. During his time with 2nd Battalion, Grissom deployed on several JCETs (Joint Combined Exchange Training), and deployed to Iraq in 2009. Grissom wasre-assigned to 4thBattalion in Nov. 2010 as an engineersergeant and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan in 2012.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal (2nd Oak Leaf Cluster), the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Afghan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon with numeral 2, Army Service Ribbon, Special Forces Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Parachutist Badge.
He was posthumously awarded the Bronze star Medal.

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Four Australian soldiers hurt in bomb blast

ONLY the quick reactions of his fellow soldiers has saved the life of one of four Australian Diggers wounded in a bomb blast in Afghanistan.

The soldier was seriously injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated during operations alongside the Afghan National Security Force in Uruzgan Province.

He was given immediate medical assistance on the ground before being evacuated by air and taken to a Kandahar medical facility for specialist treatment. He was then transferred to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

Australian troops assemble at Forward Operating Base Chuckajuy, Afghanistan. Picture: Craig Greenhill

Commanding Officer of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) Task Group, Lieutenant Colonel Trent Scott, said the soldier was lucky to be alive.

"The application of immediate medical assistance meant that a soldier's life was saved," he said. "The training our soldiers receive in preparation for deployment, together with access to first-class medical support, meant that our wounded soldiers received the best possible care at the earliest opportunity."

The other three soldiers were not as badly injured in the blast. One was being assessed by specialists in Kandahar, while the other two remained under observation after being treated at the scene and evacuated to Tarin Kot.

"The thoughts of all members of Combined Team Uruzgan and 3 RAR Task Group are very much with the families and loved ones of those wounded in this incident," Lt. Col. Scott said.

The Australian Defence Force said it does not release personal details of wounded personnel but had informed next of kin and was offering them support.

News of the blast came as New Zealand held a memorial service for three of its soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.The bodies of Corporal Luke Tamatea, 31, Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker, 26, and Private Richard Harris, 21, were returned to Christchurch on Thursday ahead of Saturday's service at Burnham Military Camp.

Read more from News.com.au
Josh Whittington
News Limited Network
August 25, 2012 1:11PM 

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R.I.P. - Spc. James A. Justice

DOD Identifies Army Casualty
            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            Spc.  James A. Justice, 21, of Grover, N.C., died Aug. 17 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany from injuries suffered on Aug. 14 from enemy small-arms fire in Wardak province, Afghanistan.  Justice was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy.

            For more information, media may contact, U.S. Army Europe Public Affairs in Heidelberg, Germany at 011-49-1-62271-6685.

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from charlotteobserver:

Cherryville soldier, 21, dies of combat wounds

James Justice long ‘wanted to be an Army man’ and joined at 18, family says

James Justice of Cherryville always craved the soldier’s life.

At age 18, after years of waiting, he joined the Army. About a month ago, he left for Afghanistan for his first tour of duty there.

On Thursday, Justice died of a head wound he received during a combat mission. He was 21, married and had three stepdaughters.

“He’d made a wonderful soldier,” said Melba Carroll, Justice’s mother-in-law, who lives in Grover. “And I couldn’t have asked for a better son-in-law.”

Justice’s parents, Randall and Melissa Justice, learned on Tuesday that he’d been seriously injured. The Army helped them get passports so they could leave Thursday for Germany, where James Justice was being treated, according to Carroll.

But before they left, they got a call informing them of their son’s death.

James Justice’s wife and children live in Italy, where he had been stationed.

A Kings Mountain native, Justice attended Cherryville High School and received a diploma from Cleveland Community College. He had been married about four years.

Justice’s aunt, Janet White of Blacksburg, S.C., said he was “a very wonderful man who loved his wife and children.”

“He loved to joke and loved to laugh,” she said. “He was so full of life.”

She had connected with Justice’s stepdaughters on Facebook and learned that Justice had saved somebody’s life “before his was taken.”

“We don’t have any details,” White said. “But I’m not surprised at all.”

The Rev. David Chapman, pastor of Kings Mountain’s New Beginnings Church of Jesus Christ, knew Justice from the time he was six years old.

“He was a little mischievous as a kid,” Chapman said. “He grew up in the church. He started playing drums and guitar in church. And he was even ministering in the church as a young man, speaking on youth nights.”

Justice and his wife were members of New Beginnings church “and not long ago he came … and said ‘I’m gonna have to go to Afghanistan,’ ” recalled Chapman, who has a son who served tours there.

“I told him Afghanistan was not a pretty place to be,” he said. “’I know it will be a life-changing experience. But you can’t go anywhere your God can’t go.”

Chapman called Justice’s death a tragedy.

“We’re proud to have known him,” Chapman said. “We’re praying for his family. And we’re praying for all soldiers.”

Family members say Justice realized the danger of being a soldier in war time.

“But this was something he always wanted to do,” said Carroll. “He wanted to be an Army man.”

The last time she heard from him was on Facebook from Afghanistan.

“He told me he loved me,” Carroll said. “And to be praying for him. I told him, ‘I love you, too.’ I miss him. He was my hero.”

By Joe DePriest
Posted: Friday, Aug. 17, 2012

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R.I.P. - Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin B. Wise

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin B. Wise, 34, of Little Rock, Ark., died Jan. 15 in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of injuries sustained on Jan. 9 in Balkh province, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked his unit with small-arms fire.  He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

            For more information please contact Lt. Col. Olsen at april.olsen@ahqb.soc.mil or by phone at 910-689-6187.

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