Week ending Feb 20, 2009 the US Department of Defense released the names of 18 military personnel who died, while serving in the United States armed forces.

Welcome viewers. These weekly episodes pay tribute to brave men and women who answered the call of our country and died while supporting our nation’s wars. We focus on the warrior as a human whose lives have impacted families, friends, and our neighbors around the world. Your respectful comments are welcomed and serve as memorial tributes to our fallen soldiers. Political opinions and debates are best suited elsewhere.

Please visit www.USFallen.org for family tributes, videos of military funerals and homecomings. We have centralized other key resources for survivors and returning veterans.

Our other channels include:
FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/USFallenorg/142272661291
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfallen
Twitter: http://twitter.com/US_Fallen

Fallen Description:

Lance Cpl. Joshua H. Birchfield, 24, of Westville, Ind.; 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Staff Sgt. Michael David P. Cardenaz, 29, of Corona, Calif.; 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

Petty Officer 1st Class Sean L. Caughman, 43, of Fort Worth, Texas, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Twenty-Two.

Pfc. Kyle J. Coutu, 20, of Providence, R.I.; 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Pfc. Eric D. Currier, 21, of Londonderry, N.H., 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Lance Cpl. Kielin T. Dunn, 19, of Chesapeake, Va., 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Staff Sgt. Christopher W. Eckard, 30, of Hickory, N.C., 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Pfc. Jason H. Estopinal, 21, of Dallas, Ga., 2^nd Battalion, 2^nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Lance Cpl. Larry M. Johnson, 19, of Scranton, Pa., 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Sgt. Jeremy R. McQueary, 27, of Columbus, Ind., 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Spc. Bobby J. Pagan, 23, of Austin, Texas. 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

Lance Cpl. Noah M. Pier, 25, of Charlotte, N.C., 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Staff Sgt. John A. Reiners, 24, of Lakeland, Fla.; 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo

Cpl. Gregory S. Stultz, 22, of Brazil, Ind., 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

Cpl. Jacob H. Turbett, 21, of Canton, Mich., 2^nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Pfc. Charles A. Williams, 29, of Fair Oaks, Calif., 97th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, Fort Riley, Kan.

Sgt. Jeremiah T. Wittman, 26, of Darby, Mont.; 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

Lance Cpl. Alejandro J. Yazzie, 23, of Rock Point, Ariz., 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Nov. 19, 2009 – Shawn Patrick Hefner, 22, of Hico, Texas; assigned to 2nd Amphibious Assault Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Nov. 13 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was promoted to be a Marine lance corporal on Nov. 1 and scheduled to return to his home base at Camp Lejeune, N.C., within a week.

His flagged draped coffin was returned to Waco, TX, and was escorted by Patriot Guard Riders of North and Central Texas. The journey took the procession from Waco to his hometown of Hico, which is located in the heart of Texas. The procession drove through several small towns and communities. The highway was lined by citizens waving American flags as a sign of respect and gratitude for his sacrifice on their behalf. Many of the citizens place their hands over their hearts others saluted and many were overcome with emotion.

As his procession arrived in Hico the entire town of 1300 citizens greeted their hero home. An equestrian group paraded down Main Street and made a circle around the funeral home.

LCpl. Hefner was fun-loving and fearless, said his father, Patrick Hefner of Hico. “He was an outdoorsman,” said his father, a former Marine. “He loved to fish and camp. If it could be done outdoors, that’s where he wanted to be.”

LCpl. Hefner was born Dec. 4, 1986, in Kansas City, Mo., and moved with his family to Hico in 1991. He was a 2006 graduate of Hico High School.

He joined the Marines in January 2008 and was deployed to Afghanistan in June. Almost immediately, he demonstrated his toughness, when he received a concussion after his Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle was rocked by an explosion.

His mother, Robin Hefner of Hico, had instructed her son to document his tour of duty with photographs. LCpl. Hefner faithfully carried out his mother’s request – even after that attack.

“They were carting him off in helicopters, and he was lying on his back taking pictures of his buddies up in front of him,” his father said.
In addition to his mother and father, LCpl. Hefner leaves behind a brother, a sister, a grandfather, and a grandmother.

Video Description:

Music –
Amazing Grace
God Bless America
Please Remember

Video Production-
USFallen.org
Jerry Castillo – Producer

Master Sgt. Kenneth Mack

Marine Master Sgt. Kenneth N. Mack
42, of Fort Worth, Texas; assigned to II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, II MEF, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died May 5 while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq. Also killed was Cpl. Charles O. Palmer II.

Our First Gold Star Memorial in DC

By: Timothy Mack Oct. 2009

When we first heard of the remembrance ceremony in Washington I was wary because of the emotional toll ceremonies place on me and my family. Ken was special, every soldier lost was special but Ken was our family – my Big brother. In my heart no one can honor these men enough; Ken was fearless and often shared with me what combat was like. On his first tour I asked if he had ever fired his weapon in anger and he got quiet then told me about an attack on his convoy which killed several insurgents. Our men are professionals who just want to get the job done and Ken tried to help the Iraqis.

Mack Brothers

When my family (Mom and younger brother) arrived in Washington we went to Arlington Cemetery. We always do this first, even 11 years ago, the last time we were in DC. Ken, mom and I got a picture in front of the Iwo Jima statue. We are a military family; my dad served for 26 years and in Vietnam. We wanted to visit Ted Kennedy’s grave and the graves of our most distinguished service men and women.
The first remembrance ceremony was a formal dinner in the Hilton ballroom Friday night. This was a magnificent room, the same room used for the White House Correspondents dinner. There were several distinguished speakers and guests like Ross Perot and various Generals and Congressmen, but I was struck by the people who were at our table #46. There were several mothers who had lost their sons in combat. My mother was asked about Ken and I could feel her grief again when she described how he had been killed and honored with a post office and a building at Camp Lejune. After dinner, I excused myself and went to smoke. I stood by the street corner far away from the guests coming and going; I needed to think, there were so many sad stories told.
On the way back I saw a man who had a remembrance ceremony badge around his neck like mine and I introduced myself; he commented on my Gold Star pin and began to tell me about his son. His son was a Navy medic who was wounded by a sniper when he went to deliver an Iraqi baby. This medic had a chance to go home but he stayed and was later killed by another sniper months later. He was from Indiana. When his son was killed they found a Colts jersey under his uniform, he was a diehard Indy Colts fan and even took them to combat.
After I returned to the ceremony my mother and brother had gone to bed,

Gold Star Wash. DC 2009

they were very tired and didn’t want to miss the ceremony on the Senate grounds. One of our table mates asked me to sit next to her for the next speeches. She was a very sweet lady who was from Arkansas who lost her son last year. The next speaker was a general who came to speak about sacrifice. He had two sons, one committed suicide after returning from Iraq, his second son was killed in combat 8 months later. He spoke about the agony of losing two sons to Iraq but that his faith got him through. Faith and Scotch got me through; I drank so much scotch in 2007 I named our new dog “Whiskey”. I know everyone in the room could relate, at least in part, to his loss. The take away from the ceremony was that we have to keep all of our service members alive by telling their stories.
One of the organizers shared her story of a gravely wounded Green Beret soldier in Vietnam, who made her promise then to do something to tell the story of his fellow soldiers killed on a mission. He then gave her his scarf to seal the deal. His last thoughts were not for himself but for his men. I couldn’t help but think of my brother who didn’t have to go back to Iraq, he volunteered because he knew his soldiers would see intense action and he wanted to make sure they were confident and ready. I was reminded that he told me when I visited him before his deployment, that if he were to be killed that it was just “his time” and not to worry. Ken was fearless! A reporter from the Des Moines register wrote a story about my brother called “Night convoy to Ramidi”. For anyone who hasn’t met Ken, this gives a good snapshot of his character and soul.
After the last speaker, they brought out a country band, me and about 30 other African Americans started heading for the exit; no disrespect but not my kind of entertainment. I didn’t want to go to bed so I went to the bar. I met a woman who worked at the State Department. After a few drinks, she stuck to beer me to scotch, she told me some enlightening observations about partisan politics, race, foreign policy and other items.
After my bar adventure I spent some time walking around North DC that night; feeling overdressed, I returned to the Hilton. The next morning I just missed a chance to get a picture of Ross Perot. Our family left for the senate grounds for the second ceremony. I saw everyone from the night before and heard more speakers like Kevin Bacon and Perot. The ceremony was awesome

Gold Star of Texas in Wash. DC 2009

especially several 4 star generals saluting the children of the fallen. After the ceremony we were asked to assemble at our state’s flag (TEXAS) for pictures. I got to meet more people for some awesome pictures, we all hugged and left. My mother was so proud of Ken and told me that she was glad she was able to go. This made the whole thing worthwhile for me. Gold Star moms have a special burden because of the loss of their children; now that I’m a parent I think I understand.
God bless America.