Memorial Day

It's afternoon on Memorial Day where I am, and late evening where most Navy IAs are living. Although this is a day to remember all of those who gave their lives in service of our country, it seems appropriate to take time here to recall those who died on individual augmentee or GWOT support assignment service. I'm sure I don't have every name or every story, and hope that over time I can update this post to reflect the sacrifices made by our IA and GSA sailors over the years. (Note: this list does not include the many Navy casualties from this war who were killed while serving with Navy or Marine units, including: hospital corpsmen, SEALs, and SEABEEs. The number of such casualties dwarf the IAs. Please remember them all this Memorial Day.)

Update, 8/8/09: AOAN Darren E. Tate, an individual augmentee assigned to Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan, died of pneumonia on July 8, 2009, at Bagram. Airman Tate is reported to have taken the IA to Afghanistan in the place of a friend. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star.

Update: 10/2/09: EOD2 Tony Michael Randolph, an individual augmentee assigned to CSTC-A was killed July 6, 2009, when his convoy was hit by an IED.

Update, 5/28/09: CDR Duane G. Wolfe, a mobilized CEC officer assigned to an Army Corps of Engineers unit in Iraq, was killed by an IED near Fallujah on Memorial Day. He left behind a wife and three children.

CDR Charles K. Springle was killed May 11, 2009, by another American at Camp Liberty in Iraq. CDR Springle was a clinical social worker whose normal duty station was Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He was augmenting the 55th Medical Group, an Army Guard unit based in Indianapolis. He left behind a wife and two grown children: a son who is a Marine and a daughter who is married to a Marine.

LT Florence B. Choe was killed March 27, 2009, when an Afghan soldier opened fire on her and two other Americans while they were jogging the perimeter of FOB Shaheen in Afghanistan near Mazar-e-Sharif. The daughter of a sailor, she joined the Navy shortly after 9/11 and volunteered for IA duty in Afghanistan. She left behind her husband, also a Navy Officer, and a young daughter.

LT j.g. Francis L. Toner was killed March 27, 2009, when an Afghan soldier opened fire on him and two other Americans while they were jogging the perimeter of FOB Shaheen in Afghanistan near Mazar-e-Sharif. He was a 2006 graduate of the Merchant Marine Academy and a Civil Engineering Corps officer. He left behind a wife.

CDR Jospeh M. Salkeld died February 17, 2009, after collapsing while going through IA combat skills training at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina. He was a helicopter pilot who served on active duty from 1982 to 1992, and had returned to active duty for a one year mobilization.

Update, 6/7/09: HM3 Eichmann Strickland was killed September 9, 2008, by a Taliban anti-tank mine.

Update 6/7/09: HM2 Anthony M. Carbullido was killed August 8, 2008, by an IED in Afghanistan. A native of Guam, HM2 Carbullido left a wife and son.

Update 6/7/09: HN Marc A. Retmier was killed in a rocket attack on Paktika Province Afghanistan on June 18, 2008. A high school football and swimming star from Hemet, California, Retmier was reportedly providing medical treatment to Afghan civilians when the Taliban launched their attack. Retmier was reported to be both the youngest Navy IA killed in OEF/OIF, and the 500th California casualty in OEF/OIF.

Update, 6/7/09: CM1 Ross L. Toles III was killed in a rocket attack in Paktika Province, Afghanistan on June 18, 2008. After a combined 18 years of active and reserve service, MC1 Toles left behind a wife and three sons.

LT Jeffrey Ammon was killed May 20, 2008, by an IED in Afghanistan. An engineer, LT Ammon had volunteered to extend his IA tour beyond its original year. He left behind a wife and two children.

Update, 6/7/09: MC1 Victor Jeffries died December 31, 2007, at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center of injuries suffered in a motor vehicle accident December 24, 2007, in Kuwait. A physical education teacher in his civilian life, MC1 Jeffries was assigned to Navy Customs Battalion Tango. He had previously served in the Coast Guard and the Army. He left a wife and two daughters.

CDR Philip A. Murphy-Sweet was killed April 7, 2007, by an IED in Iraq. CDR Murphy-Sweet was a contracting officer nearing the end of his IA tour when the attack occurred. He left behind a wife and three children.

LCDR Keith E. Taylor was killed January 29, 2005, when a rocket struck the American Embassy in Baghdad. A mobilized reserve Supply Corps officer, he left behind a wife and three children.

I do not know if this is a complete list, but any omission is purely by accident. If there are others who belong on this list, please point me toward them in the comments.