LCpl. Mason J. Vanderwork
Born: April 28, 1991 in Jamestown, New York
Died: March 18, 2013 in Mineral County, Nevada
Lance Cpl. Mason J. Vanderwork, 21, of of Jacksonville, NC, is a 2010 St. Stephens High School graduate. Stationed at Camp Lejeune, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps just after his high school graduation. In the two-and-a-half years that followed, the football player from St. Stephens High School served overseas twice, bought his first car and got married to a girl from home after a two month courtship. He wanted to be a marine because he knew it would help him become a man. His family remembers as a spontaneous, caring person who loved the beach, fast cars and spending time with family and friends. LCpl Vanderwork was a mortarman assigned to 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment. He joined the Marine Corps in June 2010 and was promoted to his current rank in August 2011. Vanderwork’s awards include the National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and NATO Medal-ISAF Afghanistan. He was most recently deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2011.
To be updated…
Spc. David T. Proctor, 26, of Greensboro, N.C., died March 13, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., from injuries sustained during a non-combat incident on March 3, in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga. Tyler attended Startown Elementary School and Fred T. Foard High School in Newton. Proctor joined the Army in August 2011 and arrived at his unit in November 2011. This was his first deployment. Known as “Tyler,” he was a 2004 graduate of Fred T. Foard High School and attended Lenoir-Rhyne University on a full academic scholarship. Ty then transferred to UNC-Greensboro, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. He intended to make the military a career.
Lt. Leonard Robinson, 29, of Spring Lake, N.C., died Dec. 15, of non-combat related injuries while home on leave in Fayetteville, N.C. He was assigned to the Naval Hospital Sigonella, Italy detachment located at the Naval Branch Health Clinic in Bahrain. Robinson joined the military on December 18, 2008. Prior to serving in Bahrain, Robinson was stationed at the Naval Health Clinic at Cherry Point. His awards and decorations include the Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal and the Joint Service Achievement Medal. Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Gary Stouffer of Hubert, N.C. was raised in Newport, Pennsylvania and graduated from Newport High School. He joined the Marines while at West Virginia University, serving in Albania, Kosovo and twice in Iraq. In 2010, Stouffer was injured when an improvised explosive device hit his vehicle during a re-supply mission in Afghanistan. The attack left him with a traumatic brain injury, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and compression fractures in his neck and lower back. Two years later, he was still undergoing speech and physical therapy, while waiting to find out if he had to take a medical retirement or could stay in the Marines on limited duty. He was hoping to retire in two years, at which point he would have had 20 years of service. Stouffer died Nov. 15, of injuries sustained when a train hit the parade float he was riding on in Midland, Texas. Arlington National Cemetery – Sec 60 Site 10311
SSG Rayvon Battle Jr., 25, of Rocky Mount, N.C., died Nov. 13, in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 38th Engineer Company, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. Reportedly, his death is Lewis-McChord’s 33rd fatal casualty in Afghanistan this year. Staff Sgt. Battle entered the Army in June 2005 and reported to Fort Leonard Wood, MO for Army Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training MOS 12B (Combat Engineer). Upon graduation from AIT, he arrived at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, in Nov. 2005. He was assigned to 1st Special Forces Group Support Battalion, as a gunner. He deployed with the unit to Iraq from May 2008 to February 2009. In September 2009, he was assigned to the 38th Engineer Company as a team leader. He deployed to Iraq from February 2010 to September 2010. In November 2012, he deployed to Afghanistan, this time as a squad leader. Staff Sgt. Battle’s civilian and military education includes a high school diploma (2005), Military Occupational Specialty 12B: Combat Engineer (2005), Combat Lifesaver and Tactical Combat Medical Care Courses (2006), Airborne School (2007), Combatives Level I (2007), Bus Drivers Course (2007), Warrior Leaders Course (2011), Information Assurance Certification Program (2011), Short Range Marksmanship Course (2011), Combatives Level 2 (2011), and the Advanced Leaders Course (2012). Garden of Gethsemane
Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Boivin of Fayetteville, North Carolina was killed when a train crashed into a Hunt for Heroes parade float Thursday afternoon, Nov. 15, 2012 in Midland, Texas. Sgt. Maj. Boivin grew up in North Stratford, New Hampshire and graduated from Stratford School in 1983. He served in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan. Boivin was awarded a Silver Star and a Purple Heart for injuries during a 2004 tour in Iraq. Previously, he had received the Meritorious Service Medal for the rescue and safe evacuations of American citizens as well as other dignitaries from the embassy in 1996, The Bronze Star from Desert Storm/Desert Shield for reconnoiter of the main supply route (MSR) that the 82nd would use to invade Iraq, and safe destruction of weaponized munitions at various depots. Arlington National Cemetery -
Sgt. Maj. William L. Lubbers, of Fayetteville, N.C., was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), headquartered at Fort Bragg, N.C. He was a Special Forces Operations sergeant major. His awards and decorations include, the Bronze Star Medal (3rd Award), Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (2nd Award), Army Commendation Medal (4th Award), Army Achievement Medal (4th Award), Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Military Free Fall Badge, and Master Parachutist Badge. Sergeant Major Lubbers died Nov. 15, of injuries sustained when a train hit the parade float he was riding on in Midland, Texas. The family asks for privacy at this time as they mourn the loss of their husband, father, and friend. Arlington National
Staff Sgt. Justin C. Marquez, 25, of Aberdeen, N.C., They died Oct. 6 in Chak district, Wardak Province, Afghanistan, of gunshot wounds suffered while on dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 1st Special Forces Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C. Marquez was on his first overseas deployment. He enlisted in the Army in January 2009, completing his initial Infantry and Airborne training in June of that year. He was then stationed at Ft. Bragg and attended the Special Forces Assessment and Selection. In February 2011, Marquez graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course and was assigned to the 1 st Bn., 3rd SFG (A). His military education includes U.S. Army Airborne School, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape School, Advanced Leaders Course, and the Special Forces Qualification Course. His military awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Parachutist Badge and the Special Forces Tab. Bethesda Cemetery
Born: May 10, 1983 in Moore County, North Carolina
Born: April 1, 1989 in New Bern, North Carolina