Freedom Remembered

Born on April 28, 1966 in Louisiana

Died on May 24, 2010 in Numaniyah, Iraq

Maj. Culver was known by his middle name, Wayne. One of two sons born to Ronald and Betty Culver, he played baseball, was member in his church’s youth group, and was an active member in the Boy Scouts where he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. Wayne graduated from Northwood High School in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1984 and joined the military in 1988 and graduated from Louisiana State University-Shreveport in 1989 with a Bachelors Degree in Accounting. Major Culver served a majority of his 22-year career with 1-156th Armor Battalion and 2-108th Cavalry Squadron in Fort Humbug in Shreveport. He served one tour during Desert Storm from 1990 to 1991 and two tours in Iraq, the first from 2004-05 and again in 2010. Wayne also responded numerous times for State emergencies to include Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008. Wayne was promoted to Major on August 28th, 2006. Wayne deployed to Iraq in January 2010, as an executive officer with the 2nd Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, from Shreveport. He never asked his troops to do anything he would not do himself and was considered a soldier’s soldier. His unit’s duty was to conduct force protection and convoy security throughout the multi-national coalition during the responsible draw down of U.S. Forces in Iraq. He died May 24 in Numaniyah, Iraq, when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Major Culver received numerous military honors and awards during his 22 years in the Guard, including the Combat Action Badge, the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with one silver oak leaf cluster, the National Defense Service Medal with campaign star, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device, numeral three and bronze hourglass, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Louisiana War Cross with two fleur-de-lis, the Louisiana Cross of Merit, the Louisiana Commendation Medal, the Louisiana Emergency Service Medal with one fleur-de-lis, and the Louisiana Longevity Ribbon with three fleur-de-lis. Major Culver also was a member of the Order of Saint George and recipient of the Order of Saint George Medallion, which is the top award given to the most deserving of members of the Army’s mounted force by the United States Armor Association and the United States Army.

Born: December 11, 1985
Died: May 18, 2010 in Kabul, Afghanistan

Sgt. Joshua A. Tomlinson of Dubberly, Louisiana graduated from Lakeside High School in 2002, where he was a well liked, popular student. Artistic and creative and a an accelerated reader, he always seemed to be happy. He was also a talented musician and enjoyed fishing. Josh enlisted in the United States Army, a decision that surprised practically everyone. But he really wanted to serve his country in addition to providing a future for his family. He deployed to Afghanistan in September of 2009 for his first deployment to that country. He was expected to be back in the states in July 2010. He died at age 24 in Kabul, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their convoy with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. Also killed were Col. John M. McHugh, Lt. Col. Paul R. Bartz, Lt. Col. Thomas P. Belkofer, and Staff Sgt. Richard J. Tieman. He is survived by his wife Rowena, his father Carl and companion Adrienne Sanders, his mother Rebecca Jobe and companion Mickey Holtzclaw, his grandmother Dorothy Adams, two sisters Latha and Cynda, two brothers Carl and Jordan among others. He was posthumously promoted to Sgt. His son Jonas Tomlinson, preceded him in death.
Army
Special Troops Battalion
V Corps
Heidelberg, Germany

Burial is at Gardens of Memory in Minden, Louisiana

Born: January 17, 1973 in Louisiana
Died: February 17, 2006, Djibouti

1st Lt Brandon R. Dronet of Erath, Louisiana was a 2002 graduate of LSU who was your typical good country boy who was trying to do the right thing and wanted to serve his country. He married his high school sweetheart from Henry High School, Summer Landry. They eventually had four children. Brandon loved being in the Marines and he enjoyed life. At his officers commissioning ceremony, Brandon was presented a key to the city of Abbeville. He is survived by his wife, Summer, their children, Dustin, Kourtnie, Cody, and Madeline, his parents, Catherine Montet and Gene Dronet and a brother, Clint Dronet. He was preceded in death by a brother, John Dronet. Brandon was killed at age 33 when two CH-53 helicopters crashed into the Gulf of Aden in the vicinity of Ras Siyyan, northern Djibouti, while flying a training mission in the Godoria Range area. Also killed were Marine Sgt. James F. Fordyce, Lance Cpl. Samuel W. Large Jr., Sgt. Donnie Leo F. Levens, Cpl. Matthieu Marcellus, Sgt. Jonathan E. McColley, Lance Cpl. Nicholas J. Sovie and Capt. Bryan D. Willard; and Air Force Senior Airman Alecia S. Good and Staff Sgt. Luis M. Melendez Sanchez.
Marines
Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464
Marine Air Group 29
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
II Marine Expeditionary
New River, North Carolina

Burial is at Bancker Cemetery in Bancker, Louisiana

Birth: September 5, 1968 – Monroe, Louisiana
Died: November 23, 2003 – Baqubah, Iraq

Burial: Unknown

Birth: May 6, 1948 – Trout, Louisiana
Died: August 9, 2003 – In a convoy from Camp Bilad heading to Camp Pennsylvania, Iraq

Sgt Knighten was assigned to 1087th Transportation Support Company, Army National Guard, Fort Polk, Louisiana. He died as a result of heat-related causes while in a convoy from Camp Bilad heading to Camp Pennsylvania. Knighten’s son, Spc. Floyd G. Knighten III, deployed with the Louisiana Army National Guard in the spring and joined his father on active duty in the Middle East. He  is survived by his wife Lisa and son.

Buried: Olla Cemetery, Olla, Louisiana

Birth: February 15, 1982 – Albany, Louisiana
Died: August 9 – Baghdad, Iraq

Spc Kinchen was assigned to 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Polk, Louisiana.

Burial: Bethlehem Baptist Church Cemetery, Albany, Louisiana

Birth:
Died: September 19, 2009 – Balad, Iraq

Spc Cote was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, Task Force 49, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. He died of wounds sustained when the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter he was in crashed.

Burial: Denham Springs Memorial Cemetery, Denham Springs, Louisiana

Born: May 13, 1989
Died: October 27, 2009 in Kandahar, Afghanistan

Pfc Brian R. Bates of Gretna, Louisiana attended George Cox Elementary and Livaudais Middle School in Terrytown and often played basketball, baseball and soccer at Oakdale Park. He was born the son of Brian Russell Bates, Sr. and Denise Tully Bates and lived with his grandmother, Marline O’Briant Tully since age four. After working various offshore jobs he decided to enlist in the United States Army in November 2008 to provide for his growing family. He graduated from boot camp the following March and reported to Fort Lewis in April. He hadn’t expected to be deployed to Afghanistan until early 2010, but then the orders came,  he would be shipping out July 15.  His wife quit college during her last semester to spend the last several months with him at Fort Lewis. After a two-week visit home in June of 2009 and a trip with the family to Disney World, he landed at Forward Operating Base Ramrod as part of the Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team. His job was to drive the Stryker, a tank-like armored vehicle as his team patrolled and pushed north into uncharted territory. He’d drive and his fellow soldiers would get out and investigate while he waited with the vehicle. Brian had planned to make the Army a career. His Awards and Decorations include the Army Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Army Global War on Terrorism Medal, Army Combat Infantry Badge, and the NATO Medal for his service while deployed in Afghanistan. Other awards include the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. He is survived by his wife, Enjolie, a 2-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son and a brother, Zachery. Brian was among eight soldiers killed in the southern province of Kandahar in two separate roadside bombings. He was 20.
Army
2nd Battalion
1st Infantry Regiment
5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team
2nd Infantry Division
Fort Lewis, Washington

Burial is at Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Gretna, Louisiana

Born Aug. 13, 1985 in Louisiana

Died Oct. 27, 2009, Afghanistan

Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson of Broussard, Louisiana was a 2004 graduate of St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette. He earned a scholarship there for Petroleum Engineering and went on to attend the University of Louisiana in Lafayette for the next two years. He earned a major in Mechanical Engineering. Afterwards he made a different choice in his life. Patrick was quite patriotic and his decision to serve his country came as no surprise to anyone who knew him. History was a major interest for Patrick, and he would often come through with the most obscure facts about it. He enlisted in the Army on August 3, 2006 and received basic training at Fort Benning Georgia before he was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington. Patrick received very high scores on military tests and his possibilities for military service were endless. But instead, he chose to be in the infantry, feeling that is where he could make the biggest difference in his personal mission in serving his country. He deployed to Afghanistan in July 2009, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. Patrick was killed along with six other soldiers from his unit on October 27 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He had earned several awards and decorations for his service. Before Patrick left on his tour, his family came out to Seattle to visit him. They took in a Mariner’s baseball game, obtaining seats behind home plate. As a gift they gave him a little camera so he could send photos from his mission home. Twenty days after receiving a batch of pictures from him, Patrick was killed. Patrick was full of charm, and he leaves behind the love of his life, his girlfriend, Cydney; his parents, Leon and Sybil; a sister Betsey; brother Max and his grandmothers. His final resting place is Sacred Heart Mausoleum.

Born: October 18, 1977
Died: April 9, 2004 in Bayji, Iraq

Staff Sgt. Toby W. Mallet of Kaplan, Louisiana graduated Kaplan High School in 1995 and enlisted in the Army in June of that year. He was a field artillery automated tactical data systems specialist. He is the son of Linda and Jesse Baker and Ron Mallet. His brother, Todd didn’t think his younger brother would be able to handle military life, but he proved him wrong and in the process made his family very proud. Toby enjoyed life and love to laugh and have fun. His deployment was delayed to let him stay back until his wife had the baby they were expecting. He leaves behind four children, the youngest was about six weeks old. He was killed when a rocket propelled grenade struck his patrol vehicle in Baghdad at age 26.

Army
1st Battalion
7th Field Artillery Regiment
1st Infantry Division
Schweinfurt, Germany

Burial is at Kaplan Cemetery in Kaplan, Louisiana