Jim's Military News: Indiana

Showing posts with label Indiana. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

R.I.P. - Spc. Sergio E. Perez Jr., Spc. Nicholas A. Taylor

7/18/2012 12:00:00 PM SgtJim 1 comment, your thoughts are welcome too

DOD Identifies Army Casualties

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            They died July 16, in Wali Kot District, Afghanistan, from injuries suffered when their vehicle was struck by enemy rocket propelled grenades. The soldiers were assigned to the 81st Troop Command, Indiana National Guard, Indianapolis, Ind.

            Killed were:

            Spc. Sergio E. Perez Jr., 21, of Crown Point, Ind., and

            Spc. Nicholas A. Taylor, 20, of Berne, Ind.

            For more information pertaining to this release, please contact the Indiana National Guard public affairs office at 317-538-8414 or 317-407-7065.

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from nbcchicago:

Two Indiana Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan
Soldiers were part of the 713th Engineer Company out of Valparaiso
By Mitchell Grogg
Tuesday, Jul 17, 2012 | Updated 4:00 PM CDT
Two soldiers from Indiana have been killed in Afghanistan following an attack that included rocket-propelled grenade fire and small arms fire in Kandahar, the Indiana National Guard announced Tuesday.

Spc. Nicholas A. Taylor, Jr., 20, of Berne, and Spc. Sergio E. Perez, Jr., 21, of Crown Point, died Monday, the Guard said. They were members of the 713th Engineer Company out of Valparaiso.

"Every such loss is a heartbreak," said Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. "We are hit with special severity here because of the casualties this heroic unit has already endured. No Guard unit in my memory has been assigned to a more dangerous mission than the 713th, and here again we see the incredible risks these citizen-Soldiers volunteer to run for the rest of us."

Taylor is a graduate of South Adams High School in Berne. Perez graduated from Lake Central High School in St. John. Both are survived by their parents.

"My heart is heavy today as I consider the soldiers of the 713th Engineer Company who, for the second time in their combat tour, have experienced the multiple loss of their team mates," said Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger in a release. "I am so fiercely proud of the service and sacrifice of these Fallen Heroes and so very grateful for their families who loved and supported them."

R.I.P. - Spc. Arronn D. Fields

5/23/2012 06:00:00 PM SgtJim 1 comment, your thoughts are welcome too

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

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

            Spc. Arronn D. Fields, 27, of Terre Haute, Ind., died May 21 in Qal-ah-ye Mirza Jal, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with rocket propelled grenades. He was assigned to the 81st Troop Command, Indiana National Guard, Indianapolis, Ind.

            For more information the media may contact the Indiana National Guard, Maj. Shawn Gardner by telephone at 317-247-3222 (office), 317-407-7065 (cell) or Staff Sgt. Les Newport 317-247-3222 (office), 317-538-8414 (cell).

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fron indystar:

At 8 a.m. Monday, Arronn David Fields grabbed a break in the war in Afghanistan to call his mom at home, in Knightsville.

He told her he'd be coming home on leave in August. He'd see her then. Normal chitchat. Then he had to go -- his unit was going out on patrol.

Hours later, the 27-year-old specialist in the Indiana National Guard was fatally wounded during a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Qal-ah-ye Mirza Jal.

About midnight, the phone rang again at the home of his mother and stepfather, Jackie and Bill Pilkin, bringing the toll of war directly into their home.

Now, they wait to hear from the military about when their son's body will make the trip back.

Fields, the youngest of three siblings, attended Ivy Tech Community College and tried a few jobs after graduating in 2003 from Northview High School in Brazil. But he always seemed to be destined to join the military, said Bill Pilkin, an Air Force veteran.

"I think he always wanted to be a soldier," he said by telephone from his Clay County home. "And he was gung-ho as a security policeman. That's what he wanted to do."

Fields enlisted in 2006 and was serving with the 381st Military Police Company, 81st Troop Command, as part of Task Force Guardian, a multiunit military police force from Indiana. He deployed to Afghanistan in January and had served a one-year tour in Iraq in 2010, Pilkin said.

Fields had decided to make the military his career, Pilkin said.

Soft-spoken and outdoorsy, Fields loved fishing and working on his classic cars -- a 1969 Mustang and a 1973 Plymouth Challenger. In the summer, Pilkin said, Fields was all about fishing, but when it got cold, his stepson headed to the garage to work on the cars.

He was self-taught and kept adding to his skills and knowledge since getting his driver's license, often consulting with a friend who is a mechanic and then applying what he'd learned to those old cars, Pilkin said.

After his year in Iraq, he asked to be stationed in Afghanistan, Pilkin said. The family was aware of the danger and fearful for him.

"He and his mother talked about it, and he just told her that's what he wanted to do," Pilkin said.

"He loved his family, he loved his country, and he loved his God," Pilkin said. "And he was willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice for other people."

Funeral arrangements are pending the return of his body to Dover, Del., and then Indiana.

He is the second Indiana soldier to die in Afghanistan in less than a week.

Army Sgt. JaBraun Knox, 23, Auburn, died Friday when an enemy rocket hit an area where extra shells were stored, according to his family.

Call Star reporter Diana Penner at (317) 444-6249.

R.I.P. - Staff Sgt. Jonathan M. Metzger, Spc. Robert J. Tauteris Jr., Spc. Christopher A. Patterson, Spc. Brian J. Leonhardt

1/09/2012 08:50:00 PM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

DOD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of four Soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died Jan. 6 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enermy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Jonathan M. Metzger, 32, of Indianapolis, Ind.

Spc. Robert J. Tauteris Jr., 44, of Hamlet, Ind.

Spc. Christopher A. Patterson, 20, of Aurora, Ill.

Spc. Brian J. Leonhardt, 21, of Merrillville, Ind.

They were assigned to the 81st Troop Command, Indiana National Guard, Indianapolis, Ind.

For more information media should contact the Indiana National Guard public affairs office, Maj. Shawn Gardner at 317-247-3222 (office)/ 317-407-7065 (cell), or Staff Sgt. Les Newport at 317-247-3222 (office)/ 317-538-8414 (cell).