Hero Stories for September 2009

Sgt. Randy M. Haney, 27, of Orlando, Florida, died September 6, 2009, in Nangarhar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires. Sgt. Haney was assigned to the 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado. </d

Capt. Joshua S. Meadows, 30, of Bastrop, Texas, died September 5, 2009, while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan. Capt. Meadows was assigned to 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Pendleton, California. </d

Sgt. Youvert Loney, 28, of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, died September 5, 2009, in Abad, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle using small arms and recoilless rifle fires. Sgt. Loney was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado. </d

2nd Lt. Darryn D. Andrews, 34, of Dallas, Texas, died September 4, 2009, in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device and a rocket-propelled grenade. 2nd Lt. Andrews was assigned to 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska. </d

Spc. Jordan M. Shay, 22, of Salisbury, Massachusetts, died September 3, 2009, in Baqubah, Iraq, of injuries sustained during a vehicle roll-over. Spc. Shay was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington. </d

Staff Sgt. Todd W. Selge, 25, of Burnsville, Minnesota, died September 3, 2009, in Baqubah, Iraq, of injuries sustained during a vehicle roll-over. Staff Sgt. Selge was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington. </d

Petty Officer 3rd Class Benjamin P. Castiglione, 21, of Howell, Michigan, died September 3, 2009, while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Petty Officer 3rad Class Castiglione was assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Battalion. </d

Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Baltazar, Jr., 19, of San Antonio, Texas, died September 3, 2009, while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Lance Cpl. Baltazar was assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. </d

Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, commanding general of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, said Tuesday the Army is training for and fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in a vastly different way than it did during the initial days of the conflic

My HeroBracelet is a tribute to my father, SSG Terrance Kamp. He is currently almost halfway through a yearlong deployment to Iraq with the MN National Guard 34th Infantry Division. He originally joined the Navy in 1968, where he served on board the USS Independence (carrier) in the Mediterranean. He was discharged in 1972 from the Navy, and in 1982 he joined the Minnesota National Guard, where he has been ever since. This current assignment is his first deployment to a combat area. He is...