21 years old from Beaverton, Oregon
Army Reserve’s 320th Psychological Operations Company
May 29, 2004
Below is all the information that could be found on Pfc. Joseph Jeffries.
Pfc. Jeffries was killed with two fellow soldiers, Capt. Daniel W. Eggers and Sgt. 1st Class Robert J. Mogensen, and an unnamed sailor, when their vehicle drove over an IED in Kandahar, Afghanistan. All four service members were attached to the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife, Betsy, and his parents Mark and Linda Jeffries.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. To find out more about Wednesay Hero, you can go here.
Two Marines Receive Silver Stars: All Hell Broke Lose
LCpl Adam Camp: Then he heard yelling from inside the vehicle. It was Pfc. Christopher Dixon, 18, of Obetz, a member of Camp?s fire team. Camp knew his voice. He crawled back into the vehicle to save him.
"He was my friend," Camp said.
Camp banged his leg, felt pain and noticed for the first time that he had taken shrapnel in his right thigh. He kept going. The heat was cooking off ammunition all around him. Bullets flew. He tried to keep low.
He grabbed Dixon with his burned hands, but he was weak. He kept telling Dixon that he was going to have to help him.
Then there was another explosion. Camp fell back out of the vehicle, on fire again. Once more, he put himself out. Dixon was still inside.
"I got back up. I crawled back in the trac," he said.
You definitely want to read the rest of this story.
Sgt. David Wimberg: About 45 Marines, including Wimberg?s squad and Lima Company?s commanders, walked in a column down a road, patrolling early that morning. Altieri heard what sounded like a bolt being back pulled on a gun. He turned to find a man holding an assault rifle aimed at the Marines. Altieri fired.
"All hell broke loose," he said.
It seemed the column was being fired on from everywhere, but most of the shots were coming from a house to the left, about 35 feet away. The Marines were exposed. It was an ambush.
"Cover me," Wimberg yelled at Altieri. Altieri fired in the direction of the house, and Wimberg ran and jumped over the wall just in front of it.
And this one, too
Hat tip: Soldier's Perspective
Father and Son in Al Anbar
COMBAT OUTPOST RAWA, Iraq, May 22, 2007 — While on a site survey mission visiting sailors and contractors in the Al Anbar region of Iraq, April 25, Navy Capt. Garry Mace saw his son, Lance Cpl. Joshua Mace, for the first time in more than 16 months.[snip]
Father and son have kept in routine contact over the phone and by email and had speculated about how interesting it would be to finally see each other in Iraq.
“It certainly was a surprise,” said the younger Mace. “It’s not like everybody gets to see their Dad in Iraq.”
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael Shropshire: Silver Star
Shropshire was attached to an Army unit operating in the area of Abu Sukhayr, just south of Baghdad, when his convoy ran into one of the largest sandstorms in nearly four decades – a situation compounded by intense rains. “It was basically raining mud,” Shropshire said. Suddenly it was also raining bullets, as enemy forces cut off Shropshire’s team from the rest of the convoy.
Visibility hovered between terrible and non-existent – forcing Shropshire to rely on technology to “see” through the thick, muddy air and call in air support against an advance of enemy tanks. As enemy forces closed in, he had to switch between his radio and his rifle. But it still wasn’t enough: He had to stop the advance – even though he had little ammunition, little visibility, and was already under heavy enemy fire.
Marine Corps Maj. Armando Espinoza: Distinguished Flying Cross
As Espinoza’s team flew over the Tigris River toward the palace, they began receiving small-arms and RPG fire. Espinoza and his wingman maneuvered through the attacks and approached a seemingly impossible landing zone: There was only room for one helicopter to land beside a swimming pool surrounded by large palm trees. Espinoza put his helicopter down amidst sniper shots from the rooftop and small-arms fire from numerous other directions. His corpsman quickly identified four injured Marines and loaded them onto the helicopter. After stabilizing them, Espinoza started the flight back to the casualty point, ordering his gunners to fire back at the enemy as he weaved through a maze of gunfire.
Four more times that day, Espinoza and his team returned to retrieve wounded Marines. He dodged bullets, landed under enemy fire, and his gunners helped suppress the large enemy attack. That night his team also ran a re-supply mission, dropping off much-needed ammunition, water, and equipment to Marines on the ground. On his final trip, Espinoza and his team returned to the combat zone to evacuate Iraqi civilians caught in the line of fire.
Help us support our heroes at Soldiers' Angels
I wanted to start a new tradition on Wednesday with the addition of "Home Front Heroes" highlighting some of the great work our citizens are doing for our heroes and their families.
Since I love to read and I know many service members who like to read to pass away the time, I chose the first organization to be -
Barnes and Nobles: America Supports You
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md., May 18, 2007 – Bookselling giant Barnes and Noble opened a new chapter in its history today by announcing a donation of 300,000 items to America Supports You home-front groups.
“It’s such an honor for Barnes and Noble to provide books, games, and toys to members of the military community as a way to say thank you for all their services,” Marie Toulantis, chief executive officer of BarnesandNoble.com, said at a news conference during the Joint Services Open House here. “We’re very thankful to … all those involved in the America Supports You program for helping us get our gift to military members.”
The donation totaled $3.4 million and has benefited nine America Supports You home-front groups and military-affiliated nonprofit organizations.
I'll add my own little "Hooah!" since I have routinely shopped at Barnes and Noble for all of my book reading needs because they have always had the best and biggest selection. This just seals the deal for me.
On to of that, if you bike your books from this Barnes and Noble website, 5% of all sales go towards America Supports You programs. Stop buying from Amazon and start buying from the best to support the best.
- May no soldier go unloved
Soldiers' Angels: Adopt a Soldier
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