Please open the youtube link in a seperate window and listen to the song as you read about Sgt John Penich~Forever Young, Always Missed, Never Forgotten.....

one blood-terence jay

Where the hills forever burn
At the feet of our heroes
We try hard to learn
But the lesson is lost there
In the smoke and the mud
That we are one flesh, one breath, one life, one blood

Then I fell to the ground
Tasted ashes on my tongue
Thinking that only the dead
Are forever young

There was peace in the twilight
And for a moment among
It was a world without danger
A world without war
And I will take all your suffering
It will do any good
Cause we are one flesh, one breath, one life, one blood

always a smile...

Ft Hood Memorial

Ft Hood Memorial

Mountain Warfare School

Sgt Penich

Local memorial

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Sgt. John M Penich, U.S. Army, was killed on October 16, 2008 while serving our country in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan. Sgt. Penich was assigned to Viper Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, as a light infantry rifleman. John had enlisted in the Army in March 2006 and was promoted to Sergeant in March 2008.

Sgt. Penich's awards include the Silver Star Medal, Bronze Star Medal with Valor, Bronze Star (Posthumous), Purple Heart Medal (Posthumous), the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal (third award), Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star, the NATO-ISAF Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Army Parachutist Badge, the Expert Infantry Badge, and the Combat Infantry Badge. Sgt. Penich was also awarded the Brigade Soldier of the Year award in 2007.

He will be greatly missed by all those whose lives he enriched!! He was a devoted son, brother, uncle, friend, and soldier.

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 Richard Engel visits Sgt John Penich's mother on Dec 16 2008-

Report after Viper Co returns home, and the Memorial Poker Run to honor Sgt John M. Penich-

After witnessing the 2001 terror attacks, John M. Penich told his family he wanted to serve his country. But his career took a detour managing a hotel, a banquet hall and then a nightclub before enlisting.

"He kind of ignored his calling and bounced around," said his older brother Jeff Penich. "But he had no regrets of joining the Army. It was a calling to him in 2001, and it didn't catch up with him until later."

Penich, 25, of Beach Park, Ill., died Oct. 16 in Karangol Village of wounds suffered from indirect fire. He was a 2001 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Hood.

Penich enjoyed the outdoors, especially hunting, mountain biking, riding four-wheelers and Harleys, and playing paintball.

When sending care packages to him in Afghanistan, Jeff said his brother used to ask for things for his fellow soldiers.

"It was never 'I would like this.' Never, 'I want this.' It was always, 'What can I get for my guys?' He always put everyone before himself, including his country," Jeff said.

U.S. Army soldier pays his respects at a memorial service for Sgt. John Penich October 23, 2008

By Amanda Kim Stairrett Nov. 14, 2008
Killeen Daily Herald

Text From the Congressional Record

Mr. John Boozman [R-AR]:  Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a brave American soldier who sacrificed his life for freedom, Sergeant John Penich. Sergeant Penich, by all accounts, was an extraordinary solider whose hard work and determination earned him the title of Soldier of the Year in 2007 for his brigade. His bravery was evident in combat on several occasions. Brigadier General Perry Wiggins has said he knows of three separate instances when Sergeant Penich saved the lives of his comrades. According to newspaper reports, one of his final acts of bravery came on September 6, 2008, when his patrol was attacked by rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. He showed his courage under fire, taking charge and reestablishing security and saving the lives of his platoon members. His heroics on that day earned him a Silver Star, the third highest honor given to members of the armed services for valor. Five and a half weeks after he earned the Silver Star, he gave the ultimate sacrifice. Sergeant Penich put himself in harm's way to make the world a better place. His commitment to this country is second to none. He wanted to be an officer, and there's no doubt we would have benefited from this young man's tremendous leadership abilities. Sergeant John Penich is a true American hero. I ask that my colleagues keep his family and friends in their thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time. END   Penich funeral   Penich funeral   The Fallen Soldier

Joseph Gonzales Jr

 

Joseph Gonzales Sr. spoke about his firstborn child as the family prepared to bury him in Tucson later in the week.

Gonzales Jr. and a fellow soldier were killed Saturday by an improvised explosive device in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan.

On Tuesday his remains were at Dover Air Force Base, awaiting a flight to Tucson. He will be buried at South Lawn Cemetery, 5401 S. Park Ave.

Gonzales Sr. said that whenever his elder son looked at the photograph of himself as a toddler in a miniature military uniform taken at a local mall, "he would say that was destiny for him."

As he trained at Fort Bragg, his father said, his affinity for his new fighting skills were reflected on his MySpace page:

One song title he posted, "Bullet With Your Name," by a group called Scars of Life, was typical, his father pointed out.

training

He considered his enlistment in the Army in Phoenix at age 17 his birthday gift to himself, his father said. Gonzales Sr. and his wife gave their permission so their son didn't have to wait another year.

Gonzales Sr. said his own brother served in Kuwait but that neither he nor Gonzales Jr.'s mother, Ana, wanted their son to go to war.

"We were trying to go the opposite way with him," he said. "But we couldn't stop it so we went with him" and supported his military commitment.

"After he saw the towers go down (on 9/11) it changed him alot," his father said. "It was payback time for him. That's what he wanted, to get ready for war."

Gonzales Sr. said the family's only remaining son, Jorge, 15, wants to join the miltary, too.

"He wants to do payback for his brother," Gonzales said.

Gonzales Jr. attended Sunnyside High School and played football for two years. At 16, he enrolled in a National Guard-operated school in Carefree.

He was a cadet there until his 17th birthday in March 2007.

"He wanted to go into the Marines. I didn't want him to," his father said. "I tried talking him into the Navy or Air Force, something farther away from (the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq)."

In the Army, he wanted to go to Army Airborne School, "but they didn't have any openings," Gonzale Sr. said. "They had an infantry spot, so he took that."

He trained in California for a July deployment in Operation Enduring Freedom.

He saw his family last on July 4th, when he visited in Tucson with his family and cousins.

Gonzales said his son had "an extremely large heart" and "would try to help the homeless out with money. If he had it, he would give it to them. He was one of those types."

Laura Garcia, a friend from their time at Sunnyside, learned about his death while watching TV Monday.

The two have been corresponding on MySpace since he joined the Army. They had a standing lunch date for whenever he returned to Tucson.

He wanted to be a Tucson Police SWAT officer once his Army commitment was fulfilled, she said.

"I am very proud of him and thank him so much for serving his country," she said.

Omar Perez said they played football at Sunnyside two years.

"He was a great friend, always smiling and having fun," he said in an e-mail.

"He moved and all we heard from him was that he joined the Army. Then one day, a group of soldiers came to our school and talked to us about the Army."

One of the soldiers was Gonzales. "That was the last time I spent time with him," Perez said.

"Gonzo"

Afghan war claims Pvt. Gonzales of Tucson

Joseph Gonzales Jr

"He would look at it and say, 'It's fate.' It was something that he was meant to do," his father, Joseph Gonzales Sr., said Monday evening.

Never Forgotten

Gonzales was born and raised in Tucson, growing up and attending school on the South Side. He wrestled for Sierra Middle School. He played football his freshman year for Sunnyside High School. He loved weightlifting, his father said.

Rest in Peace

Army infantryman Joseph F. Gonzales, a Tucson native serving in Afghanistan, told his family when he last saw it July 4 not to worry about him.

On Tuesday, he was buried with full military honors at South Lawn Cemetery, 5401 S. Park Ave.

Gonzales, an 18-year-old Army private, was killed Sept. 20 in the Korengal Valley by an improvised explosive device, according to the Department of Defense. Another soldier, Staff Sgt. Nathan Cox of Walcott, Iowa, also died in the blast.

Funeral procession

After he was sent to Afghanistan in July, Gonzales kept in close touch with his family, exchanging e-mail or text messages with his father daily, family friends said.

He spoke with his dad, Joseph Gonzales Sr., the day before he died.

Gonzales was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

The medals were presented Tuesday by Army Brig. Gen. Susan Lawrence, who attended the service with a Fort Huachuca honor guard and family members and friends.

Among them was Pvt. Jermaine Decker of Logan, Iowa, who served with Gonzales and was shot in the thigh in Afghanistan a month before Gonzales was killed. He was too overcome with emotion to talk about his friend.

Decker sat, crutches at his side, with the family at the church service at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 602 W. Ajo Way, and with the family at the cemetery.

His Army brothers called him "Gonzo" but to his family he was "The Bear," Lawrence said, after presenting Gonzales' parents with his medals.

She said his last duty was "a tough mission" that he volunteered for. "They knew what they were going to face," she said.

"He was always the first to stand up and say, 'Send me.' "

"Nothing was going to stop him," said Joe Garcia, a family friend. "He wanted to join the Army at 17 and he wanted to fight for his country."

"I told him, mijo (my son), be careful," said Mary Garcia, Joe Garcia's wife. Joe Garcia worked with Gonzales' father for several years in a janitorial service.

Mary Garcia said Gonzales told his family about two weeks ago that he was coming home on leave in a few days.

"He said, 'Don't worry about me. I'll be back.' He came back. . . ," she said.

The Garcias learned of his death on TV news.

Their daughter Rosa, 17, a Sunnyside High School student, said she's going to join the Army soon, in honor of Gonzales.

When she heard he was dead, she said she asked: "Why did it have to be someone I know?"

Mary Garcia said Joseph Gonzales Sr. urged Rosa on Tuesday to change her mind.

"Don't go," he told her, she said in an interview after Gonzales' silver casket was lowered into the ground.

Gonzales' family members each laid a white rose in the casket before it was sealed.

The casket was covered with a full-length image of the American flag blowing in the wind.

The body was carried to South Lawn Cemetery in a 19th-century horse-drawn hearse.

Church bells tolled slowly as an Army honor guard from Fort Huachuca escorted the casket to the hearse.

About 150 relatives and friends of Gonzales and parishioners of the church attended the mariachi Mass there.

Mariachi Mixteca and the Rev. Robert Gonzalez praised Gonzales for his service to his country.

Gonzalez prayed for "all our sons and daughters" who are serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Claudia Lorena Ballesteros, a cousin of Gonzales, said in Spanish that she was grateful to the Army for all it had done for the family.

She also thanked "all the soldiers" who came to the funeral.

Gonzales joined the Army in April 2007 as an infantryman and had been assigned to the 1st Infantry Division since October 2007, according to the public affairs staff at Fort Hood in Texas.

Link to the video of his funeral procession is here

Members of the Fort Huachuca Honor Guard take part in a funeral service for Joseph F. Gonzales

Korengal Outpost Memorial Service

Staff Sgt. Nathan Cox, 32, of Davenport, Iowa died one year ago today. He was a well-loved and highly respected Soldier, husband, father, son and brother. He is sorely missed.

Korengal Outpost Memorial Service

Nate attended Davenport Central High School. He joined the Army and served three years in Bosnia in the mid 1990s. He then went to work as a security officer for two years at the Genesis Medical Centers in Davenport before he rejoined the Army when he was 29 and decided to make it a career, serving for a year in Iraq before he was sent to Afghanistan in July 2008.

SSG Nathan Cox

Nathan was E-6 staff sergeant of Viper Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. He was very interested in foreign affairs and wanted to help the people in Iraq and Afghanistan. Known as a leader who took the time to listen to his soldiers, he had a magnetic personality that drew people towards him. Nathan married Annie Volrath Madden on July 15, 2005 in Eldridge, Iowa, and he loved to spend time outdoors, cooking for family and friends; sitting quietly with a cup of coffee contemplating life and all it's joys; sports; visiting with friends; just doodling; as well as being an avid reader and writer. The things that Nate loved and cherished most in life were his family; he was a very devoted son, husband, father, brother and solider. Nathan was also very generous, and during a period in his earlier years he shared a gift of life that he always carried with him in his heart and soul. 

Annie, Sophia, Nathan

Staff Sergeant Cox died as a result of a roadside bomb in the Korengal Valley. He received many awards and during his military career, including the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart, posthumous. He is survived by his wife Annie, a daughter Sophia, at home; step daughter, Nichole Madden, and a step son, Jake Madden, a granddaughter Alyvia, his parents, Les E. and Jane M. (Corbett) Cox, Walcott, Iowa; a sister and brother-in-law, Hannah Cox and Carlos Encarnación, their daughter, Aryanne; his maternal grandmother, Rose Corbett; mother-in-law, and her spouse, Carolyn and Jim Hamilton; father-in-law, and his spouse, George and Marge Volrath; as well as sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Debbie (Dave) Kopf; Jay (Sheila) Volrath; Martha (Wade) Schneider; Liz (Dan) Allison; and Zack Volrath; a special gift, Katie, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Jack Martin Corbett, and Lester and Ava Moore Cox. 

Rest in Peace

Sign his Legacy Guestbook

Quad City Times Article-

On Christmas Day, they planned to catch a movie and then spend a night by the fire at home, but for Nathan Cox’s wife and daughter, memories of him are never far away.

Sgt. Cox, a Davenport native, and one of his fellow soldiers died from an explosion along a road in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley on Sept. 20.

His wife, Annie, and 6-year-old daughter, Sophie, recently moved back to the Quad-Cities from Fort Hood, Texas. Annie found a house for them in Davenport and enrolled Sophie in a local school.

The transition has been a challenge, not to readjust to civilian life, but to their first holiday season without Nathan. Sometimes, tears still come with little warning.

A few days before Nathan’s death, Annie had a dream in which he died, and she told him about it.

“He said, ‘Don’t worry, sweetie, nothing is going to happen to me, these guys aren’t going to get me,’ ” she recalled. “I said you’re not in control of that.”

Annie, who is originally from Princeton, Iowa, said it was hard on their daughter when Nathan was first deployed to Afghanistan in July. Sophie was confused and told a friend her father was dead, her mother recalled. Annie had Sophie see a counselor, who helped her cope with her dad’s absence.

When news came of her husband’s death, Annie had to explain to her daughter that Daddy wasn’t coming back, but she thinks the counseling helped prepare Sophie somewhat.

“She was a little angry, a little sad and angry,” Annie said of her daughter. “He did a lot of things with Sophie. She’s got a lot of good memories.”

Annie said her daughter is making new friends.

“She’s happy and well-adjusted,” she said. “I don’t know how this will affect her in the future.”

Annie has her husband’s journal and an autopsy report. She knows what his life was like in the days and weeks before his death and read the details about how he died. She recently found out that his autopsy pictures are available, and she would like to see those, too, if only to bring her more closure.

“You can’t escape death,” she said. “I could have a million questions and how could anyone answer them?”

2nd squad

The narrow road

Right before the explosion, the four men were laughing about how their truck was bigger than the road and how they might fall off into the ravine if they weren’t careful.

Sean Hollins was driving. Nathan Cox was next to him in the passenger seat. The medic, Keith Young, was behind Hollins, and Joseph Gonzales Jr. was manning the machine gun behind Cox.

That’s all Hollins remembers. Young had to fill him in on the rest, although his memory was spotty. Hollins also has pictures of the mangled truck he was driving. The only seat left inside was his.

“I still don’t know how in the world me and Young are up and walking and talking,” Hollins said.

A tree caught most of the truck while Young and Hollins were thrown down the hillside toward a river. Young remembered the boom and waking long enough to see Hollins being airlifted out.

Before the attack, the men turned around short of their destination because they were getting reports of a possible ambush, Annie Cox was told. There were four trucks, and Nathan’s was third in line until they made the turn, and he waved the fourth to go ahead.

Annie said the men probably drove over the explosive on the way out, which is why she thinks someone was watching and set it off on their return trip. She was told the insurgents often target the first or last vehicle in the line.

Hollins said the men were using a metal detection device to scan the road for explosives.

“Sometimes, we find them in a different way,” he said.

They knew how dangerous the job was. As it turned out, Hollins and Young were the first men from their company to survive an explosion on that road.

“It’s always in your head when you go out on the road,” Hollins said of dying. “It’s always in the back of your head.”

Hollins suffered traumatic brain injuries and broken ribs. He underwent surgery on his spine and was laid up in a hospital at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, before he was sent home to Chicago in November. Young eventually went home to Kentucky.

Hollins said he still wants to go back to Afghanistan if the Army gives him a medical clearance.

“All of my buddies are back there, and I know how undermanned they are,” he said.

Annie said the last time she talked to Nathan was a few days before the explosion. He was running late for a meeting and just happened to catch her at home on a day she took off from work. He promised to call back soon, but there was a blackout at his base followed by a hectic schedule. They never reached each other.

When she later visited Young and Hollins at the hospital in Texas, she asked Hollins why Nathan didn’t get a chance to call. He said there just wasn’t time.

Korengal outpost memorial

The military life

Annie and Nathan Cox met in 2001. For a while, he was looking at a career in law enforcement and worked in security for Genesis Medical Center. Eventually, he decided he wanted to join the Army and make it his career. He had served previously, right out of high school, and spent time in Bosnia in the mid-1990s.

“I don’t know if he didn’t care for the jobs out there, but he decided he was going to enlist,” Annie Cox said. “He said we would all go.”

The family went to Fort Bragg in North Carolina in 2005, and within two months, Nathan was deployed to Iraq. When he returned, they were relocated to Fort Hood, where they spent a year and a half together until Nathan was deployed to Afghanistan.

“He was in a lot of training, and he was gone a lot,” Annie said, adding that right before he left, he was in training at Fort Hood, which gave them more time together.

While Nathan was deployed, Annie worked as a family readiness support assistant, helping other soldiers and their wives with various needs. In that job, she realized the importance of being prepared in case something happened to her husband. She and Nathan discussed what they would do if he died, where she and Sophie might live and what kind of schooling their daughter should receive.

She said a lot of the soldiers’ wives don’t make such preparations and find themselves not knowing what to do when their husbands are killed.

“There are a lot of widows in Killeen,” she said, referring to the city outside Fort Hood.

Annie Cox knows in the years that follow a soldier’s death, they are often forgotten by all but those closest to them.

“I don’t want anyone to forget Nathan or to forget what sacrifice we made as a family,” she said. “And it’s not out of heroism or anything. He wanted to do that. Our Army right now is a volunteer Army, so the people that are there want to be there. They don’t want to be war heroes.”

The meeting

Shortly before they were deployed, Sean Hollins and some of his fellow soldiers were arrested for a fight in Austin, Texas.

One of the first people to come see them at the jail was their sergeant, Nathan Cox of Davenport, who brought his wife and daughter along but had them wait in the car. Hollins was relieved to see him.

“Sgt. Cox was just like a dad to me,” Hollins said. “These weren’t just people I worked with, these were family.”

Annie Cox, Nathan’s wife, remembered how Nathan rushed to Austin to check on his men. She said as long as his soldiers were honest and confessed to any wrongdoing, he would do what he could to help them.

Hollins was driving the truck Sept. 20, when Cox and fellow soldier Joseph Gonzales Jr. were killed by a roadside explosive in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley.

He told stories about Cox during a recent phone interview while recovering at a military hospital in San Antonio, Texas.

Hollins said it was also Cox who helped him with paperwork so he could go home when his father died last January. He said Cox’s influence went beyond that of being his squad leader.

“I wish I could be like him, I really do,” Hollins said. “He would make the best of any situation, and I enjoyed him being my squad leader.”

Joseph Gonzales Sr. of Tucson, Ariz., said Cox was an inspiration to his son as well. The teenager often talked about Cox when he called home.

“He mentioned Nathan a lot, that was his sergeant and he loved him,” Gonzales said. “He idolized him and wanted to be like him. (Nathan) was the type of soldier he wanted to be.”

Annie Cox said her husband would take time on his days off to work with soldiers who weren’t meeting weight requirements and would counsel them when they had problems. He also knew when to keep his distance and declined numerous requests to go out drinking with the men.

“He really looked out for the soldiers,” Annie said. “Nathan remembered being a young soldier like they were.”

Gery Ryan, a senior personnel service sergeant from Dubuque, Iowa, assigned as Annie Cox’s casualty assistance officer, has been in the military more than 20 years. He said younger soldiers are quick to recognize a leader they can trust.

“You always know they look up to those guys because they lead by example,” Ryan said. “You show me first, and then I’ll follow you. (Those leaders) give them that ease when they’re in harm’s way no matter what happens.”

Training

Army held appeal

From an early age, his son was an “action junky,” Joseph Gonzales Sr. said.

At 12, he started working with his father in construction and enjoyed tearing things up with a sledgehammer. The Army appealed to that energetic side of his personality, but the decision to join still surprised his father.

“It’s something you didn’t want, but you back up what he wanted,” Gonzales said.

Once in the service, the younger Gonzales wanted to join the Airborne, but when he didn’t qualify, he took a liking to operating the machine-guns on the back of Humvees, his dad said. He stayed in touch with his family by phone as much as he could.

Shortly after the men arrived in Afghanistan, Gonzales told his father about one of the first fights they were in.

 “Cox was up there telling everyone to get to their guns,” Gonzales said. His son “ran to the Hummer and started nailing everything as fast as he could.”

Joseph "Gonzo" Gonzales Jr

Any time Gonzales’ family expressed their concern for his safety, the teen assured them he would be OK, thanks to Cox.

“Every time he told us not to worry because his sergeant was over there a couple of tours,” Gonzales recalled. “He said he’ll know what to do.”

Hollins said it was by chance that Gonzales ended up in the same truck with him and Cox the day of the explosion because Gonzales was in a different squad at the time.

When the two were neighbors at Fort Hood, they would hang out on occasion. He remembers Gonzales sending paychecks home to his family in Tucson.

"Gonzo"

Staying in touch

In the weeks following their sons’ deaths, the parents of Nathan Cox and Joseph Gonzales stayed in touch and shared information.

“I’m even continuing to learn things I didn’t know,” said Jane Cox, Nathan’s mother.

Both families have found talking to one another comforting.

“I find it a relief because she is a parent of a son who was with him,” Gonzales said of Jane Cox. “There is a little bit of relief between us.”

“He’s more or less just checking on our family and seeing how we’re doing,” Jane Cox said of Gonzales. “It’s kind of light conversation. We’re both kind of in the same spot.”

Never Forgotten

He wanted better and he wasn't going to stop till he got it.

— Summer Knight, sister, on his efforts to improve his life.

 

 

Marques

 

Sept. 15, 2008- Spc. Marques Knight, infantryman with 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, from San Juan Capistrano, Calif., and Pvt. Michael Dinterman, infantryman with 1-26, from Littlestown, Pa., were honored in a memorial service at the Korengal Outpost in Afghanistan. They were remembered for their sacrifices and for the lives they lived.

"You should be certain and proud at the times of their death that their thoughts were solely to keep each of you alive," Lt. Col. Brett Jenkinson, 1-26 commander, said. "So what was the value of their lives? The value of their lives was exactly that: a demonstration of values, both moral and physical courage, to do the right thing in truly desperate times. They saved the day when the day was almost lost."

Knight and Dinterman died on Sept. 6, from wounds received in two separate attacks, while out on patrols in the Korengal valley. The two Soldiers were very different, coming from opposite sides of the country and having varied combat experience, but both men fought for a cause and for their brothers in arms.

"One had been to Iraq for more than a year," Jenkinson said. "He had some experience and a reputation. The other was a brand new private. What they both had in common on the day of their deaths is they both took a dive for you all, not for themselves. They both gave everything for your protection. That quality is what separates a Soldier from a warrior."

Knight stood out amongst his fellow Soldiers, not because of his towering height, but because he used his experience to be a roll model.

"Spc. Knight was one of those people who everyone knew," Capt. Jimmy Howell, Viper company commander, said. "It was impossible for him to blend in, largely because he towered over everyone, but also because he was such a role model for so many young Soldiers."

 

 

 

4 memories of Marques 

Army Spc. Marques I. Knight, 24, San Juan Capistrano; killed in ambush in Afghanistan

By James Wagner

November 16, 2008

Marques I. Knight had a tough childhood. As his sister, Summer, recalled, their parents died when they were both young in Alabama.

The siblings spent a brief time with a grandmother in Idaho and eventually were adopted by an uncle, Jerry Knight, in Florida.

"He refused to be what life had dealt him," Summer Knight wrote of her brother in an e-mail. "He wanted better and he wasn't gonna stop til he got it."

Part of that desire led Knight to California. With the help of a friend's mother, Kathi Conroy, he was beginning to establish roots in California in recent years.

Knight met her in 2002 while he and Conroy's son, Chris Naganuma, served in the same Army unit stationed at Ft. Lewis, Wash. Both eventually served together in Iraq in 2004.

With little left to do after his first stint in the military ended, Knight moved to Washington with Naganuma and eventually to San Juan Capistrano at the end of 2005.

Conroy said Knight was a man with varying talents and interests -- beaches, laughing, cooking and playing with her younger sons.

"How many grown men bounce on a trampoline with a huge smile on their face?" said Conroy, whom Knight occasionally called "mom."

Knight held down a brief job performing maintenance on homes and tried studying at Saddleback Community College for a semester.

When he rejoined the Army in late 2007, family and friends said, it was a chance for him to solidify finances and, eventually, complete a college degree.

Instead of psychology and physiology, Knight realized that he wanted to major in computer animation -- "what I should have done all along," he wrote on a personal Web page. The goal: to run a Pixar-type business but also with a focus on Web design and gaming, another one of his loves.

In late July, while he was in Afghanistan, his sister sent him an e-mail: "Hey buddy. Please be safe and make it home. I dunno if ur still into the church thing -- but pray too."

Less than two months later, Spc. Marques I. Knight, 24, was fatally shot Sept. 6 in Aliabad in northern Afghanistan's Kunduz province.

An uncle, Shelp Knight, said the Army told him that his nephew and fellow soldiers were ambushed while on foot patrol near the Pakistani border.

A day after the ambush, Shelp Knight, who lives in Dothan, Ala., got a call from his brother Charles with the news. "I hung up," he said. "I didn't want to hear it."

To his sister, Knight was a beautiful and funny man, who would be your best friend, once he warmed to you. As Shelp Knight put it: "He's a kid everybody needs to know."

Marques Knight was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas. It was his second tour of duty.

He had long been interested in the military. He participated in the ROTC at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Fla. Family members also recalled that, as a boy, Knight dreamed about drawing and animation -- a hobby he loved but relegated to his free time.

Knight cared as much for his body as for his drawings. He ordered nutritional supplements and weight gainers to supplement his weightlifting, he told his sister in an e-mail.

He would ask Conroy to ship him foods high in protein -- tuna, sardines and salmon. He wanted to bulk up his lean, 6-foot-5 frame. Knight would easily run nine to 12 miles a day and lift weights twice a day, she said.

In addition to his sister and adoptive parents, Jerry and Addie Knight, he is survived by a large extended family, including brothers Jerry G. Knight and Jeffery D. Knight.

Knight was buried at Gardens of Memory Cemetery in Kinsey, Alabama on September 20, 2008.

 

Robert Oxman, Robert Soto, Marques Knight

 

Specialist Knight joined the army in August of 2002 as an infantryman and was living in San Juan Capistrano, California.

He has been assigned to B Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas since August of 2007 and was deployed to Afghanistan in July of this year.

Specialist Knight’s family resides in the Wiregrass area.

His mother lives in Altamonte Springs, Florida and his father lives in Dothan.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.

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GODSPEED Sky Angels-I will not forget. (repost on the 1 year Anniversary)

THE STORY THE MEDIA WILL NEVER TELL YOU-from CTD WEBLOG

Prayers go out to Viper Company ~1-26th 3-1 BCT proudly serving and sacrificing in the Korengal Valley 

Date: Saturday 01.17.2009
Posted: 01.17.2009 10:26

A coalition CH-47 helicopter, supporting an ISAF mission conducted a hard landing this afternoon in eastern Afghanistan resulting in casualties.

By the International Security Assistance Force – Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — A coalition CH-47 helicopter, supporting an ISAF mission conducted a hard landing this afternoon in eastern Afghanistan resulting in casualties.

The helicopter was conducting a routine resupply mission.

The incident is currently ongoing and is being investigated.

Nari Radio broadcasts daily from Forward Operating Base Bostic and provides citizens in the surrounding four districts information to help them improve their daily lives as International Security Forces work with them to help rebuild Afghanistan.

By Army Staff Sgt. David Hopkins
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Public Affairs Office

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN — Nari Radio broadcasts daily from Forward Operating Base Bostic and provides citizens in the surrounding four districts information to help them improve their daily lives as International Security Forces work with them to help rebuild Afghanistan.

“We have been operating for three and a half years,” Safarjan Rahmanzy, a broadcaster for Nari Radio, said, “and the people of the area seem to get a lot of information and entertainment from us.”

The radio station, located near the Pakistan border, reaches a large audience, including residents over the mountain border.

“We have about 200,000 listeners,” Rahmanzy said. “They listen from four different districts and in a part of Pakistan.”

The programming runs daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with short breaks throughout the day to allow the broadcast equipment the chance to cool down so it doesn’t overheat. The broadcasters provide the listeners with music, news and informational programs.

The international programming includes interviews with the sub-governor, police reports from the area, Afghan national army information and a medical show.

“The commander will sometimes talk on the radio if something happens in the area so he can inform the people,” said Rahmanzy. “We also have local nationals come and speak about different things.”

The medical show consists of people of the surrounding area writing in to the station with their health concerns and problems. Capt. Amanda Cuda, a doctor with 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, who is from Kailua, Hawaii, answers the questions through an interpreter.

“The people in the area tell me that they wait all week for the medical show to come on,” Rahmanzy said. “They say it is very helpful and the most helpful program we have.”

The medical show is broadcast once a week and is one of the station’s most popular programs.

“In my perspective, I see the medical program as valuable because there aren’t many medical assets in the area,” Cuda said. “I’m not able to go out in the area as much as I’d like because of security, but people here have radios so we can reach them that way.”

This week’s medical show had questions about asthma, morning sickness and hormonal issues for women.

“They are the same kind of questions we hear in the United States,” Cuda said. “It just shows that we are not so different.”

The radio station also gets the local kids involved and tries to teach them a few things along the way.

“We have a quiz every week for the kids in the districts,” Rahmanzy said, “and we give them prizes for correct answers.

The station proposes four questions to the kids and they have a week to answer the questions and send in their answers. They receive more than 100 responses every week.

“We ask questions about politics, religion and about the radio station,” Rahmanzy said. “If they get all four questions correct we give them prizes.”

The prizes include things like Afghan flags and school supplies.

The radio station is also important because many of the people of the area can’t read and the broadcasts offer them information they can’t get in other ways.

“Many people in the area purchase radios at bazaars and the people who can’t afford them come to the post and we give them radios,” said Rahmanzy.

The radio station strives to reach the people of the area and inform them of news and information, but would like to expand to reach more people in the future.

“We would like a better building and better equipment so we can do better shows and give the people more information,” said Rahmanzy. “We are doing important work and want to keep doing this.”

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Posted 12/11/08 The Peninsula On-Line: Qatar's leading English Daily

KORENGAL VALLEY, Afghanistan: Construction crews stand at the ready and millions of dollars are ripe for spending, but after years of bitter fighting the buck stops firmly at the mouth of Afghanistan’s most dangerous valley.

Elsewhere in the country, the prospect of jobs and development can effectively slacken the grip of Taliban insurgents and their allies on isolated communities. In the Korengal, local chiefs claim they cannot break free, despite the rewards that beckon.

“We have fruit on the tree - but we can’t eat it,” a village elder lamented to government and US military officials at a recent meeting in the Valley of Death, as the troops call this scenic pocket of strife near the eastern border with Pakistan.

“We are very unhappy that construction of the road has stopped, we beg (the militants) to put down their weapons but we are unable to force them,” the heavily bearded and turbaned elder said.

But the US suspects many elders support the insurgents or play both sides to their advantage, which after some four years of hostilities can only prolong the fight.

There are usually one or two clashes a day in the Korengal, shattering the picture-book tranquility with thunderous artillery, mortars and small-arms’ fire, cannon bursts from Apache helicopters and the ear-splitting roar of bombs dropped by NATO jets.

Insurgent losses in the valley’s 10-kilometre-long battlefield are unknown, but the US 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment {Viper Comaany} lost six men killed and 19 wounded in action since deploying here in July.

Amid such ferocity, no one expects to find a panacea to the Korengal’s troubles in the planned 43-kilometre asphalt road bisecting the valley and linking it with the main highway through the surrounding Kunar province.

But a bubble of entrenched resistance may be burst with improved access to the outside world, and while local loyalties are torn here, the lure of the potential benefits is strong.

“A lot of the elders grew up with the head guys fighting us now, but there are also a lot of middle-aged males who are interested in commerce and development,” said Lieutenant Cliff Pederson, who leads one of the platoons here.

Therein lies the contradiction that has kept it mired in violence. Everyone knows that kick-starting the Korengal’s dormant timber industry with a smooth asphalt road to market would revitalise the valley.

Yet some elders still stand by their old ties with the militants and younger villagers find work as cheap trigger pullers against the US and Afghan troops.

It’s a similar story across Kunar, where the insurgents can recruit raw manpower for an average daily payment of $5.

“Most of the people in the province are fighting predominantly not for ideological reasons but for a job,” said Navy Commander Daniel Dwyer, who this year headed military development in the province, including the road construction that ground to a halt under fire at the Korengal.

“We feel it’s more important to give jobs to the local fighting-age males to prevent them from picking up a rifle and fighting against us,” the officer told US Defence Secretary Robert Gates during his visit here in September.

If a $5 daily wage can keep the ranks of the resistance replenished, it may be enough to just outbid them and let economics tip the balance.

According to Dwyer, locally hired road workers will receive 10-15 percent more as an incentive to choose peaceful employment.

For now, though, it’s stalemate in the Korengal and signs of exasperation are showing in the US camp at the refusal of the locals to take a chance and accept what’s on offer.

“Nothing’s working,” said Lieutenant Colonel Brett Jenkinson, commander of the ground forces in Kunar. “We’ve tried fighting them into submission and talking them down from the mountains and giving them projects. Those people don’t want progress, or they’d fight for it.”

Kunar Governor Sayed Wahidi is adamant that efforts to break the deadlock must not slacken.

“If we don’t have a continuous dialogue they will think we’ve forgotten about them,” he said before the meeting with the elders. “The big hope is to bring people closer to the government and start the actions planned for the valley, a community centre and the road.”

He then tells his audience that their villages are poised to receive a good share of $50m earmarked for development in the province. “If you stop fighting this money will come to you,”

Wahidi said.