Thursday, February 23, 2012

12 Heroes Who Died in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Dubai February 3 to February 21, 2012

February 3 - Brig. Gen. Terence J. Hildner, 49, of Fairfax, Va., died in Kabul province, Afghanistan.

February 7 - Sgt. 1st Class Billy A. Sutton, 42, of Tupelo, Miss., died in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan.

February 10 - Lance Cpl. Osbrany Montes De Oca, 20, of North Arlington, N.J., died while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

February 11 - Pfc. Cesar Cortez, 24, of Oceanside, Calif., died in the Kingdom of Bahrain. CORRECTION: Feb. 13, 2011 -- The theater of operations is corrected from United States Mission Iraq to Operation Enduring Freedom.

February 14 - Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyler L. Estrada, 21, of Maricopa, Ariz., died as a result of a non-combat related training incident in Djibouti.

February 16 - Sgt. Jerry D. Reed II, 30, of Russellville, Ark., died in Paktika province, Afghanistan.

February 17 - Petty Officer First Class Paris S. Pough, 40, of Columbus, Ga., during a port visit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

February 18 - Died when their U-28 aircraft was involved in an accident near Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Africa. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

- Capt. Ryan P. Hall, 30, of Colorado Springs, Colo.

- Capt. Nicholas S. Whitlock, 29, of Newnan, Ga.

- Senior Airman Julian S. Scholten, 26, of Upper Marlboro, Md.

Justin Wilkens
- 1st Lt. Justin J. Wilkens, 26, of Bend, Ore.
 Stuart Tomlinson reports:
"'He was an extraordinary guy who lived life to the fullest,’ [a friend, Kalon] Pluma said. 'I believe he had his pilot’s license before he had a drivers license. It was his life.'

"Pluma said Wilkens was home-schooled, and was 'extremely outgoing and friendly, inquisitive, talented and brave.'

"'He was strong minded, strong bodied and could fix almost anything in a pinch,' Pluma said."

February 21 - Sgt. Allen R. McKenna Jr., 28, of Noble, Okla., died in Kandahar province, Afghanistan.

4 comments:

Ten Mile Island said...

Thank you, again, for reminding us.
.

T. D. said...

Thanks for caring, TMI!

James Nicholas said...

What do they mean, Petty Officer Paris Pough died in a port visit? And how does a 49 year old Brigadier General come to be killed? They will all be missed, but what kind of direction are they being given? Two US soldiers killed by an Afghan soldier? That would be called... murder.

It was difficult before. It's a mess now.

T. D. said...

JN,

Also strange was Pfc. Cortez's death first attributed to Iraq mission and then changed to Afghanistan mission.

Pough could have died in an auto crash or something like that. But, as you note, there are real questions about these entries. It is a mess, and the press is no longer interested in turning over every stone as they were under Bush. Their bias and incompetence breeds distrust.