Freedom Remembered

Born: August 28, 1991
Died: July 5, 2010 in Afghanistan

Spc. Edwin C. Wood of Omaha, Nebraska is a 2009 graduate of Omaha North High School where he was a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps, and the drama club, working behind the scenes building sets and operating lights and sound. He worked as a counselor at Camp Pokamoke, a horse camp for children during his summer vacations from school. He was known for his dedication to service and would complete any task to full satisfaction that he was given. Eddie, as he was best known, had been wearing military clothes almost since he was a toddler. His father is active as an early American soldier re-enactor, and from an early age Eddie joined in, too. As a young boy, he would wear a three-corner hat over his red hair and carry a water bucket behind the cannon as other re-enactors walked in parades. In more recent years, he had his own period infantry uniform, muzzle loader and saber. He joined the Army in October 2009 and arrived to Fort Drum April 2010. Eddie had been in Afghanistan since May of 2010, and he wanted to take his leave early so he could be home for the 4th of July with his family. However, his leave was bumped up to June and by the 29th he was back in the war zone. His awards and decorations include the Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Combat Action Badge. He died at age 18 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. In addition to his parents, Tom Wood, and Janis Boehmer, he leaves his brother, Thomas Jr., and a sister, Isabeau Tholen. Eddie was posthumously awarded, the Purlpe Heart, Bronze Star, and the NATO Medal.
Army
1st Squadron
71st Armor Regiment
1st Brigade Combat Team
10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
Fort Drum, New York

Burial is at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska

Born on Sep. 10, 1987 in Omaha, Nebraska

Died on June 7, 2010 in Konar, Afghanistan

Spc. Blaine E. Redding was the eldest of two sons born to Teresa Redding and Blaine “Pete” Redding. Blaine was raised and educated in Plattsmouth. Nebraska, and was often seen fishing with his father. Growing up he and his brother Logan, who was very shy, maintained a strong bond. Blaine liked to bring out his brother’s personality by using him as his own personal crash-test dummy, finding all sorts of ways to put bumps and bruises on him. It was all in fun and the two brothers were always there for each other. Blaine grew into an impressive 6′ 4″ and 230 pound young man, with a desire to take the world on, his way. His family meant the world to him; he was honest, committed and fashioned himself after Robin Hood. After high school, Blaine worked for John’s Appliance in Plattsmouth before enlisting in the Army in September of 2007, the third generation of his family to serve. He was deployed to Iraq in 2008-2009. Stationed at Fort Campbell, Blaine found himself in a close knit group of friends from his unit. He also met the love of his life, Victoria “Nikki” Nichole Colwell, and they married on March 13, 2010, in Portland, Tennessee. Two months later he deployed to Afghanistan, assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky. His younger brother Logan, also serving from Ft. Campbell, deployed at the same time. On June 7, 2010, a month into his deployment, Blaine was killed in action along with four other men in his unit when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. A couple of the other soldiers killed were close personal friends of Blaine and Nikki’s. Logan saw the explosion where he was only a few miles away. Logan did the hardest duty he would ever do, escorting his brother’s remains home to Nebraska. Blaine had wished to be buried in flip-flops, swimming trunks, and a t-shirt. Instead, many wore those items to his funeral in his honor.

Blaine’s other wish was to buried next to his grandfather in Oak Hill Cemetery in Plattsmouth, Nebraska. He was.

Born on Mar. 2, 1985 in Grand Island, Neb.

Died on May 26, 2004 in Al Anbar Province, Iraq

Lance Cpl. Kyle W. Codner was the only son of Wain and Dixie Codner. Kyle grew up on a farm east of Shelton, Nebraska, a town of under 1,200 people. He gave of himself to his community by being involved in sports, speech, drama in school and was active in his church’s youth group. Very unselfish, he could always make people laugh and was rarely seen in a bad mood. A leader in his school’s government, Kyle stood a lanky 6’2″ tall and was a guard on the school’s basketball team, earning an all-conference status. His desire to give to his community spilled over into his desire to give to his country and on June 16, 2003, he enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating with honors from high school. Based at Camp Pendleton, California, Kyle’s physique quickly filled out, and his squad leader, Cpl. Matthew C. Henderson, also from Nebraska, took Kyle under his wing. Both Matthew and Kyle were only sons and they took on the roles of big and little brother. Set to deploy to Iraq in early 2004, Kyle’s mother and his fiancée Megan Kirkover came out to California to visit him before he left. Kyle insisted on splurging on these two women who meant the world to him, putting them up in an expensive hotel and treating them to fancy dinners. Assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, from Camp Pendleton, Kyle deployed in February for a seven-month tour in Iraq. His duty was a combat engineer, looking for land mines and IED’s. He called and emailed home once a week but didn’t let his family know how dangerous his role was. He didn’t want to worry them. He did remind them that freedom isn’t free and that people seem to forget that. On May 26, Kyle and Matthew were killed in action by enemy forces. Besides his parents and fiancée, Kyle is survived by his sister Melissa. His funeral was held at the high school because the entire town closed down that day and the entire town attended his funeral. His fiancée Megan read a poem there, which contained the line, “Loving a Marine isn’t always what they say, and loving him comes with a high price to pay.”

Kyle was buried in Shelton Cemetery and on the top of his headstone are three words etched over his name, “Freedom Isn’t Free.”

Born: January 8, 1982
Died: April 17, 2004 in Iraq

Spc. Dennis B. Morgan of Valentine, Nebraska was a teenager who sometimes got into mischief and grew into a man with an ever-present smile. He loved cars and motorcycles and his 1975 Ford pickup was a great source of pride for him. Dennis was married on November 29 at the Evangelical Church in Valentine. The couple met at the Black Hills Stock SHow on February 7 2003. Their future plans were to move to Rapid City so he could attend mechanic school and she could pursue a degree in nursing. As a soldier, threw himself into his job after his South Dakota National Guard unit arrived in Iraq. He knew there was nothing he could do about it, so he just decided to put his head down and charge. He was proud of what he did. He held the rank of a specialist, but was promoted to sergeant after his death. Officials presented his family with the Purple Heart for his injury and the Bronze Star for his meritorious service. Those at the ceremony watched a video that included pictures of Dennis at his wedding, at home and in uniform. The event ended with a 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps.
Army
153rd Engineer Battalion
Army National Guard
Winer, South Dakota

Burial is at Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota – Sec G Site 2703

Born: February 21, 1989
Died: January 6, 2010 in Balad, Iraq

Pfc. Michael R. Jarrett, 20, of North Platte, Nebraska and Ramona, California attended Ramona High School, but left early to earn his diploma from Ramona Unified School District’s adult school program of which he received on June 14, 2007. He was very active in Boy Scouts and achieved the rank of Life Scout. He really enjoyed the camp outs and served as mentor to the younger scouts. He also enjoyed the flag retirement ceremonies at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post. Mike also loved to listen to music and pay video games with his many friends. Mike stood 6’5” and weighed 160 lbs and was known as the tall lanky kid with the great smile. His closet friends called him ‘Potato’. Survivors are his parents Brenda and Robert Jarrett, his sister Katie, as well as his grandparents Robert and Helen Allen. Mike died at age 20 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident while serving in the Army as an Apache Helicopter Mechanic.
Army
2nd Battalion
159th Aviation Regiment
12th Combat Aviation Brigade
Illesheim, Germany

Burial is at Nuevo Memory Gardens in Ramona, California

Born: Oct. 5, 1986 in Lincoln, Nebraska
Died: Oct. 3, 2009 in Kamdesh, Afghanistan

Michael moved from Nebraska to New Jersey in 1999. A sweet, fun, goofy kid, he stood out, not because he was bad, but because he was so good. At the age of 14, he watched the towers fall on 9-11, and decided right then to serve his country. He began his own personal training, serious about his fitness. He began jogging, carrying a backpack loaded with bricks to increase his strength. After graduation in 2005 from Lower Cape May Regional High School, he enlisted. He served a tour of duty in Iraq from October 2006 to December 2007. Based in Colorado, two years ago he married his wife Alyssa, and they had a son, named after one of Michael’s’ close friends who had been killed serving his country. In May of 2009 Michael deployed to Afghanistan assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, based Fort Carson, Colorado. He and 7 of his fellow soldiers were killed on October 3, 2009, in Kamdesh, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked their contingency outpost with small arms, rocket-propelled grenade and indirect fire. Michael flourished as a soldier, growing from a slightly reckless teenager into a soldier that everyone leader dreams of. Instead of walking with his head down, he stood proud and tall. The love he had for his wife and son, some soldiers felt they knew Michael’s family better than they knew their own; Michael couldn’t stop talking about them. At times his fellow soldiers teasingly told him to shut up. He was buried in Fort Logan National Cemetery in Colorado – Sec 25 Site 1252

Born: March 16, 1977 in Chadron, Nebraska
Died: January 27, 2004 in Iraq

Sgt. Cory R. Mracek of Hay Springs, Nebraska is the son of Jim and Pat Mracek. He graduated from Hay Springs High School in 1995. Cory loved playing video games, his computer and watching movies. He also collected and had an extensive array of Star Wars memorabilia. His military career began when he joined the Nebraska National Guard. He soon enlisted in the United States Army serving a four year commitment before living as a civilian for eighteen months. Eager to return to the military life, he re-joined the Army and began training for Army Airborne in Georgia, eventually being assigned to Fort Bragg. During his career he served two deployments in Korea. Cory was planning to train as an Army Ranger upon his return to the states. He had been in Iraq just eight days when he was killed at age 26 in an improvised explosive device attack near Iskandariyah, Iraq. In addition to his parents, Cory is survived by his two sisters, Stacy and Heather.
Army
3rd Battalion
319th Field Artillery
Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Burial is at Gordon Cemetery in Gordon, Nebraska

Born Dec. 8, 1986 in Scottsbluff, Neb.  

Died Oct. 22, 2008 in Helmand, Afghanistan

Born: July 25, 1973
Died: May 30, 2007 in Upper Sangin Valley/Lz Stella, Afghanistan

Chief Warrant Officer Christopher M. Allgaier of Middleton, Missouri was a native of Omaha and a 1991 graduate of Creighton Preparatory School before attending Saint Louis University. While at Prep, Chris graduated with highest honors and was ranked fourth in the class. He was a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society as well as a member of the Creighton Prep Science Club. He earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical administration from Saint Louis University in 1995 and a master’s degree in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2001. Chris joined the Army in 1997 and reported to the 82nd Airborne in April 2006. He loved aviation and joined the Army because it gave him the best opportunity to fly. He was doing what he thought was right, it was his job. Chris had been in Afghanistan since January and in the Army for 12 years. He leaves behind his wife and three daughters. He was among those killed when a helicopter went down in Afghanistan. Chris died at age 33 in when his CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed apparently due to enemy fire. Also killed were Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joshua R. Rodgers, Staff Sgt. Charlie L. Bagwell, Sgt. Jesse A. Blamires and Sgt. Brandon E. Hadaway.
Army
3rd General Support Aviation Battalion
82nd Brigade Combat Team
82nd Airborne Division
Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Burial is at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia – Sec 60 Site 8447 and 8769

Born: June 14, 1977
Died: June 2, 2009 in Baghdad, Iraq

Sgt. Justin J. Duffy, 31, of Cozad, Nebraska was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He died when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He graduated in 1995 from Cozad High School and later from the University of Nebraska at Kearney with a criminal justice degree. In June 2007, Justin joined the Army and was deployed in November 2008. He had served since November in Iraq, providing escort security for a general and other high-ranking Army officers. He was always asking his family for care packages filled with candy to share with children in Iraq. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Parachutist Badge.

Burial is at Rock Island National Cemetery in Rock Island, Illinois – Sec V Site 133