Born: March 11, 1977
Died: May 30, 2005 in Diyala, Iraq
Capt. Derek M. Argel of Lompoc, California started showing up at high school water polo practices when he was in the fifth grade. He eventually grew to 6-foot-6, became the school’s most valuable player and went on to play at the Air Force Academy. He worked exceptionally hard. He never took anything for granted. He loved the water, and in addition to playing water polo, he worked as a lifeguard, fished and surfed. He kept fishing poles and surf boards in the garage with hopes of passing his hobbies on to his 11-month son, Logan. He loved to be out in nature and camp, and go out looking for critters and snakes. Though he was happiest spending time at the beach and playing with the family’s two dogs, he felt God intended him to be in the military. He was a soldier by every means of the imagination. He excelled at every endeavor that he set out to accomplish. A mountain of a man, his mere presence was enough to bring out the best in others. He was strong but caring, competitive but compassionate, imposing but tender. He was a first-class friend and a loving and devoted husband and father. The world is a less colorful place without him. He has been awarded the Bronze Star with Valor Device for his service to the country in the War on Terrorism. Derek is survived by his lovely wife, Wendy and his ten month-old son Logan; his mother, Debra Argel Bastian; his stepfather, Todd Bastian; his brother, John William Argel; and grandmother, Beth Mears. Some of Capt. Argel’s remains were buried last week at Arlington National Cemetery with the four other men killed in the plane crash with him, and he will also have a burial site in Lompoc. He died at age 28 in a crash of an Iraqi air force aircraft during a training mission in eastern Diyala province.
Air Force
23rd Special Tactics Squadron
Hurlburt Field, Florida
Burial is Lompoc Evergreen Cemetery in Lompoc, California - Hillside View A Tier 11 Grave 40
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 13, 1974 in Mishawaka, Indiana
Died: June 5, 2007 in Iraq
Tech. Sgt. Ryan A. Balmer of Mishawaka, Indiana joined the military shortly after graduating from Mishawaka High School in 1993 where he was on the football, track and wrestling teams. Ryan had a great work ethic and moral ethic and a great sense of right and wrong. As an airman he served 12 years as a payload specialist on board the Air Force’s fleet of C-5 Galaxy cargo planes. In that capacity, over the years, he had made several short stops to drop off cargo in Iraq. He was accepted into the OSI program in 2005, was assigned to Hill Air Force Base after finishing the OSI academy and deployed for his first full tour of duty in Iraq in January of 2007. Ryan was a special agent with the Hill Air Force Base Office of Special Investigation detachment. He leaves behind a wife, Danielle, and their three children, Josh, Anthony and Gabby. Ryan is also survived by his mother, Patricia and his eight siblings, Sherri, Mark, Rick, Mike, Lori, Ron, Amy, and Thomas. His father preceded him in death in January 1980. Ryan was 33.
Special Agents to the
Air Force Office of
Special Investigations
Burial is at Southlawn Cemetery in South Bend, Indiana
Born Mar. 12, 1986 in the USA
Died Jan. 25, 2010 in the USA
Don was a member of the United States Air Force, stationed at Warren Air Force Base, located in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he was a member of the 90th Medical Support Squadron. He was working on a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and spent many hours of his days volunteering in the Cheyenne area. He was a Boy Scout leader, devoted hours at the Med Group Trick or Treat and also helped with the Medical Group booster club. Don loved spending time with his friends, playing video games and just hanging out talking and laughing. He believed that all humans are who they are by the values they hold true. His values were family, friends, freewill, integrity, sincerity, humor and ambition. Senior leadership recognized his teamwork, leadership and positive attitude as he received multiple awards; one of his most noteworthy was Airman of the Year for the Medical Support Squadron in 2008. His parents Doug and Kathy and a brother Alex survive Don.
Birth: January 5, 1965 – Solon, Maine
Death: October 10, 2001 - Qatar
Master Sgt Andrews was assigned to the 366th Civil Engineer Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. Andrews was killed in a forklift accident while building an airstrip. He was the first reported American soldier to die during Operation Enduring Freedom. Andy was a quiet country boy who left the farm to join the Air Force after graduating from high school. He became close to his father who also worked as a mechanic on trucks and other big equipment. Together, they fixed engines and rode motorcycles. Andy’s commander learned to recognize him by the soles of his boots and the back of his head, as he usually could be found working on heavy equipment instead of sitting in an office. During the funeral service, his wife Judy and four young children sat in the front row of the chapel. His son Ethan nodded in agreement when family pastor Thomas Westall described Andrews as a hero. “Yep, he is a hero,” the boy said in a small voice.
Burial: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia – Section 64, Site 6226
Born Mar. 16th, 1984 in FL
Died Jan. 16th, 2010 in Valdosta, GA
United States Air Force SSgt. David F. Horney graduated South Broward High in 2002, where he played on the varsity baseball and golf teams. David was a member of the Palm Beach Atlantic University baseball team while attending school there. In 2004 David joined the Air Force, surprising some family members, who thought he would play baseball or seek a sports scholarship in college. He worked his was up and currently was a Staff Sergeant and Fire Team Leader assigned to the 824th Security Forces Squadron at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. He served three tours of duty in Iraq, returning from the last tour in May of 2009. David was outgoing and friendly to everyone and was extremely close to his family. He was killed by an apparent hit and run driver while walking. He is survived by parents Fred and Susie Horney, sister and brother-in-law Gretchen and Michael Scruby, and two beloved nephews.
Burial: Hollywood Memorial Gardens East in Hollywood Florida.
Died: January 19, 2010 in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan
Tech. Sgt. Adam K. Ginett of Knightdale, North Carolina joined the United States Air Force at the age of 18 after graduating from East Wake High School in 1998. He went on to earn two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree in criminal justice and political science. Adam received the United States Army Bronze Star for his work as a team leader for Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) with the 20th Civil Engineering Squadron during Operation Andar in Afghanistan. In addition to clearing thousands of roadside bombs and destroying hundreds of thousands of enemy weapons on the battlefield, stateside, Tech Sgt. Ginett also led units charged with sweeping the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo. and Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., for bombs in preparation for the 2008 Democratic and Republican Conventions. Having already served two tours of duty in Iraq, Tech Sgt. Ginett was on his second tour of duty to Afghanistan. Adam died at age 29 near Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device.
Air Force
31st Civil Engineer Squadron
Aviano Air Base, Italy
Burial is at Raleigh Memorial Park in Raleigh, North Carolina
Birth: June 13, 1983 – Atlanta, Georgia
Died: April 10, 2004 – Balad, Iraq
A1C Holt was assigned to the 603rd Air Control Squadron, Aviano Air Base, Italy. He died when his tent was hit during a mortar attack at Balad Air Field. Antoine graduated from North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia at the age of 16. He attended Georgia State University and then joined the Air Force in July 2001. Despite his young age, he was entrusted with the unusually complex tasks monitoring airspace activity and hooking up communication systems. Antoine loved the Air Force and loved his job – radio technology was cool to him. Fellow soldiers describe him as always upbeat, always smiling. Reading, poetry and playing basketball were some of Antoine’s favorite activities. He was also a fierce competitor at everything from basketball to dominoes to video games. Antoine loved his wife, Patricia, and young daughter. He lived each day trying to do what was right and to help people – to make a difference. An award for air control excellence at Aviano is named for him and Balad’s stadium was renamed Holt Memorial Stadium on December 15, 2004 – a plaque dedicated to him stands inside the entrance.
Burial: Lincoln Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia
Born: April 2, 1974
Died: March 31, 2005 in Albania
Capt. Surender Kothakota of Fayetteville, North Carolina formerly of Tulsa, Oklahoma is the son of Sgt. Maj. Surender and Margret Schepers Kothakota. He was a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, where he was active in ROTC. He spent several summers in Tulsa. His parents were currently stationed in Germany. He is the grandson of Ruth Schepers of Tulsa. Surrender and eight others died when a military C-130 airplane crashed in a mountainous area during a joint exercise. He was 30 years old. The Air Force captain was assigned to the 7th Special Operations Squadron based in Mildenhall, England.
Burial is at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia - Sec 60 Site 7959