Freedom Remembered

Born: March 2, 1987 in Whittier, California
Died: April 11, 2012 in Morocco

Cpl. Robby A. Reyes of Los Angeles, California was killed when an MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft crashed in a Royal Moroccan military training area during a joint exercise called African Lion. The Osprey was operating from the amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima. Etiwanda High School graduate Cpl. Robby Reyes, 25, was among the two Marines who died in an aircraft crash near Agadir, Morocco. Reyes and Cpl. Derek Kerns, both crew chiefs, died from their injuries while two others are severely injured. No others were on the MV-22 Osprey aircraft. Reyes joined the Marines in December 2007 and was promoted to corporal in 2010. Reyes and Kerns were not involved in the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. The four marines in the aircraft were based out of the Marine Corps Air Station in New River, N.C. They were participating in Exercise African Lion, an annual joint exercise between the U.S. military and Morocco. The cause of the crash is currently under investigation. He leaves behind his wife, Candice Reyes, and their daughter Ava. Reyes also leaves his parents, Richard and Yvonne Reyes; siblings Johnny, Valerie, Danny and Tommy; mother and father-in-law Jeff and Shelly Roule.

The above is part of his obituary.

To be updated…

Abraham

Born: Patuxent River, Maryland
Died: April 11, 2012 in Morocco

Cpl. Derek A. Kerns age 21 of Woodstown, NJ, currently based in New River Air Station, NC, was killed on Wednesday, April 11 2012 during a military training exercise in Morocco. Kerns was a graduate of Woodstown High School Class of 2008 and joined the Marine Corps in September of 2008. In December of 2010 he was promoted to the rank of Corporal and was a MV-22 crew chief with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, Marine Aircraft Group 26MV-22. He is survived by his wife, Mechele Nikole Kerns; a son, Aydin James Kerns; his mother, Carol (Simpson) Kerns; his father and his wife, Bruce and Sherry Kerns; a sister, Jessica Kerns; maternal grandmother, Janet Simpson; a step-sister Liz Godwin and many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by his maternal grandfather, John M. Simpson, Sr. and paternal grandparents, Robert and Ruth Kerns. Funeral services will be held on Friday, April 20, 2012 at 11am in Sharptown Methodist Church, 24 Church Street, Pilesgrove, NJ. Military Honors will take place at the Salem County War Veterans Cemetery immediately following the funeral services. Friends of the family are cordially invited to share their thoughts, condolences and fond memories with the Kerns family for a visitation to celebrate Derek’s life from 4 to 9pm at the H.T. Layton Funeral Home, 102 South Main Street, Woodstown, NJ, on Thursday, April 19, 2012. A second viewing will take place on Friday morning from 9am until the time of service at SHARPTOWN METHODIST CHURCH. A trust fund has been established for the benefit of Aydin James Kerns. Contributions can be made to Fulton Bank/ Woodstown, c/o Aydin James Kerns, 1 South Main Street, Woodstown, NJ 08098. Also killed was Cpl. Robby Reyes of Los Angeles.

The above is Cpl Kerns obituary provided by H.T. Layton Funeral Home.

To be updated…

Born: August 29, 1977 in Atkinson, New Hampshire
Died: July 12, 2011 in Switzerland

Maj. Jeremy J. Graczyk of Atkinson, New Hampshire is a 1995 graduate of Timberlane Regional High School graduating as Valedictorian. The son of James and Darlene Graczyk joined the Marines after graduating from the United States Naval Academy and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in May 1999. Maj Graczyk was assigned to the Marine Corps Augmentation and Training Support Unit, based in Quantico, Virginia. He was deployed on several occasions in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Graczyk earned three Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medals, one Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal, two Combat Action Ribbons, two National Defense Service Medals, two Afghanistan Campaign Medals, five Iraq Campaign Medals, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, a Meritorious Unit Citation and seven Sea Service Deployment Ribbons. He died at age 33 in Switzerland during a month long leave. He leaves his parents, James and Darlene Shoop Graczyk, and a sister, Jennifer Sakash, among others.

Arlington National Cemetery – Sec 60 Site 9626

To be updated…

Born: October 19 1988
Died: April 19, 2010 aboard the Submarine USS Nebraska

Machinist Mate Fireman William G. Mack, of South Pittsburg, Tennessee graduated from Richard Hardy Memorial School, attended University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and was a former employee of both Stevarino’s and Lotto Mart. His goal was to be a college professor and was planning to study history at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Growing up, Will was a typical boy with a big personality. He was smart and active, always climbing and a bit of an actor. Will was currently an active duty Sailor with the United States Navy after having joined in December of 2008. He was stationed in Washington state and had been out to sea serving a deployment with a nuclear submarine, the USS Nebraska, and was due back in June of 2010. He died unexpectedly at age 21 while serving aboard the Submarine about 250 miles off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii. Will was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Carl Mack. He is survived by his parents, Gerald and Susan Mack, sisters, Vanessa and Dena, grandparents, Bill and Marie Steelman, and Shirley Mack, uncles and aunts, Jim and Patti Steelman, and Edward and Brenda Steelman, great-uncles and aunts, Bob and Marie Copeland, JD and Katherine Mullins, Freda and Maurice Allyn, and Phil and Connie Flagg, great-aunt, Mary Copeland, great-uncles, Frank Copeland, and Henry Beasley, nieces, Hannah and Megan.

Burial is at Booneville Cemetery in Booneville, Tennessee

Born: December 22, 1971
Died: February 11, 2010 in Kosovo

Sgt. Terry Rishling of Fargo, North Dakota enlisted in the Guard on July 13, 2001, joining C Company, 141st Engineer Combat Battalion in Bismarck. In September 2005, he joined the Headquarters Company of the 141st in Valley City. He transferred to A Company 231st Brigade Support Battalion in September 2006. Outside of the military, his job for the past three years was at the Fargo office of Jet-Way, which does industrial cleaning of agricultural facilities. He was expected to return home in August 2010. Terry was serving in Kosovo with the Army National Guard on peacekeeping duty. He was deployed to Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo with the Multi-National Battle Group-East. Terry was trained as a combat engineer and a petroleum supply specialist. He was a team leader in the third platoon of A Company, 231st Maneuver Task Force, a unit based in Valley City, N.D. A lot of younger guys really looked up to him, and he was always willing to take the extra time and give them a hand. He died at age 38 of natural causes. He is survived by his wife, Nancy and daughters, Sophie and Courtney, and his parents, John and Gloria Rishling. He was 38.

Burial is at North Dakota Veterans Cemetery in Mandan, North Dakota – Sec J Site 87

Born: February 3, 1978 in Columbia, Tennessee
Died: February 3, 2010 near Mannheim, Germany

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Clayton M. Hickman of Columbia, Tennessee was very active in the scouts and little league baseball. In middle school he began his involvement with school band, which took him on a trip to march in the Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C. Another school trip took him to by airplane to Arizona to march in the Fiesta Bowl, and it was this trip that left an impact on his life. It had been his very first airplane ride and he decided he wanted to fly. He began working at Maury County Tennessee Airport mowing grass to earn time to learn to fly fixed wing aircraft. In December 1996, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and over the nine years he served he was stationed in Japan, South Korea and Thailand before coming back to the States. His last duty station was in Jacksonville, Florida. During this time, he worked part time with Herlong Airport where he was continuing to pursue his fixed wing certification. He left the Marines as a Sergeant and had a brief absence from military duty before joining the United States Army and going to Warrant Officer’s Planning School in 2007 and becoming a Warrant Officer 1 so he could learn to fly helicopters and was stationed in Fort Rucker, Alabama. Upon graduation in 2009, he was then assigned to serve a three year stint in Stuttgart Germany arriving August 2009, assigned to G Company, 52nd Regiment; 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment; 12th Combat Aviation Brigade based in Stuttgart. Clayton was one of three U.S. Soldiers who were killed when a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed northeast of Mannheim, Germany on February 3, 2010. Clayton died on his 32nd birthday. His dream after retiring from military service was to pursue a job flying with the Vanderbilt Lifeflight team. Burial is at Polk Memorial Gardens, in Columbia, Tennessee. A memorial marker is at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia – Sec 60 Site 9668

Born: July 5, 1967 in Waynesboro, Virginia
Died: November 20, 2009 in South Korea

Spc Kris P. Jones formerly of Verona, Virginia was a graduate of Waynesboro High School. He was born the son of the late, Wilbert and and the late Lucy Beck Jones. Kris served as a United States Marine before enlisting in the Army where he served as a truck driver with the regiment’s E Company, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade. Surviving relatives include his wife, Sandi K. Jones; three sons, Koron Jones, Kian Jones and Jordan Embrey; three daughters, Safria Jones, Alesai Dill and Katoria Harris; two brothers, Wilbert Jones and Michael Dillard; two sisters, Fellecia Jones and Sarah Britt; a best friend, Scott Miller; and many other relatives and friends. He died at age 42 while on active duty at Camp Humphreys in South Korea.

Burial is at Riverview Cemetery in Waynesboro, Virginia

Born: September 3, 1982 in Lewistown, Pennsylvania
Died: July 21, 2008 in Guam

1st Lt. Joshua D. Shepherd of Lewistown, Pennsylvania was a 2001 graduate of Lewistown Area High School and was an Air Force ROTC cadet at Penn State and a journalism major who minored in history and military studies graduating in 2005. He was a member of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lewistown and a member of the Lewistown Moose Lodge. He was serving as a navigator on the unarmed Air Force Bomber that crashed as it was making a swing around the island from Andersen Air Force Base for a celebratory fly-over as part of Guam Liberation Day celebrations. The holiday marks the arrival of the U.S. military arrived to retake the island from Japan. Joshua was a navigator with over 500 flying hours qualified in T-43 and B-52H aircraft. His awards include the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal and Global War On Terrorism Service Medal. He was on of six victims of the B-52 crash near the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. He was 26. He is survived by his wife and two sons, ages 5 and 5 months. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Harold W. Shepherd.

Burial is at Juniata Memorial Cemetery in Lewistown, Pennsylvania

Born: November 8, 1976 in San Antonio, Texas
Died: July 21, 2008 in Guam

Capt. Michael K. Dodson grew up in San Antonio. He had wanted to fly planes since he was 12. So he got in the Civil Air Patrol and worked through the summers to put himself through the program. By the time he went to college, he had clocked 400 commercial flying hours. He earned a bachelor of art degree in electrical engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. But Michael didn’t want to be a navigator forever. He wanted to fly instead. In 2005, he participated in the Euro-Nato Joint Jet Pilot Training program in Wichita Falls, Texas. He was one of 15 out of a more than 300 applicant pool to undergo the international training. Michael had spent five years at Pope Air Force Base as navigator on C-130 cargo airplanes and then was selected for pilot training. He planned to return to C-130s but ended up in B-52s instead. Capt Dodson was a Pilot and Navigator with 2,121 hours of flying time including 293 combat hours. His awards include the Air Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Air Force Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster. He and his wife planned to return to Fayetteville, North Carolina after he completed military service. Michael was on of six victims of the B-52 crash near the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. He was 31.

Burial is at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas -Sec MA3 Site 55

Born: April 27, 1957
Died: July 21, 2008 in Guam

Col. George T. Martin of Columbus, Ohio graduated from East High School and was a graduate of Ohio State University Medical School and had been a military doctor for 25 years. He graduated in 1980 with an undergraduate degree in microbiology and from the medical school in 1989. He was a flight surgeon and deputy commander of the 36th Medical Group at Andersen Air Force Base. He wanted to be an astronaut. To him they were celebrities and he seemed to know all their names. George dreamed of someday going to Mars. He was on of six victims of the B-52 crash near the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.

Burial is at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia – Sec 60 Site 8882