Freedom Remembered

Born Nov. 28, 1981 in Burlington, Vermont

Died April 26, 2007 in Al Anbar, Iraq

Chris was raised by his father in Essex Junction, Vermont, and graduated from the Essex Educational Center (high school). He worked with the Essex Police department doing bicycle patrols during the summers of 2003 and 2004 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from Champlain College in Burlington in 2005. He and his high school sweetheart, Rachel, moved to Denver, Colorado, where they were both employed until he joined the United States Marine Corps in December of 2005. Chris was always motivated by all things “military.” Rachel and Chris were married one week prior to Chris leaving for bootcamp in San Diego, California. He excelled at boot camp in marksmanship. After additional training, he was promoted (Meritoriously) to corporal with less than one year of service on December 2, 2006. He was deployed with his company to Iraq on April 5, 2007, and was killed in action on April 26, 2007. He was assigned to 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He was dedicated to win the “War on Terrorism” and fully supported the mission. He loved his Marine Corps experience and planned to make it a career. Christopher had a great sense of humor and was an avid golfer. He was buried in Port Ethan Allen Cemetery in Colchester, Vermont.

Born July 11, 1986 in Burlington, Vermont

Died Nov. 5, 2007 in Iraq

Adam was happy, polite and full of energy. Known for his “1,000-megawatt smile” and his love of music, he persuaded the choral director to let them perform Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” during his senior year, much to the enjoyment to all. He graduated from Mount Mansfield Union High School in 2004 and attended Vermont Technical College, graduating with a degree in automotive technology in 2006. Adam had a Dodge Spirit car he spent a lot of time working on, trying to get it to go just a little bit faster. While a senior there, he decided to join the Army to help pay off his school loans and also to help make a difference, continuing his family’s tradition as the third generation of Mullers to serve in the U.S. Army. He eventually hoped to become a police officer. Adam enlisted in June, 2006, and attended basic and advanced individual training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He was then assigned in December, 2006, as a military policeman to the 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), based at Fort Drum, N.Y. He was sent to Kuwait in September 2007, and then was sent to Iraq to work as a gunner. Adam is survived by his childhood sweetheart, and wife, Michelle, whom he married on November 18, 2006, at the Richmond Congregational Church. He died when the Humvee he was riding in ran over an improvised explosive device. He was awarded the following medals by the U.S. Army: Bronze Star, posthumously, Purple Heart, posthumously, Good Conduct Medal, posthumously, National Defense Service Medal, posthumously, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, U.S. Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Combat Action Badge, Weapons Qualifications Badge – Expert. Adam loved his job with the U.S. Army and was proud to serve his country. He especially loved the enjoyment he received when he was out on patrol and would give the children of Iraq candy and toys. The Mount Mansfield Union High School performed “Bohemian Rhapsody” in his honor at his funeral service. Adam was buried in River View Cemetery in Richmond, Vermont.

Born: August 24, 1983
Died: August 6, 2006 in Baghdad, Iraq

Sgt. Carlton A. Clark of South Royalton, Vermont is a 2002 graduate of South Royalton High School where he was co captain of his soccer team and a member of the track and field and basketball teams. upon graduation, he joined the Army, graduating from basic training and advanced individual training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Carlton was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and served as a combat engineer. He was air assault qualified and deployed during the initial wave of Operation Iraqi Freedom for a year. He was subsequently assigned to West Point to train cadets. He re-enlisted and was deployed for a second tour of duty in Iraq. The Army had done good things for Carlton. The once shy and quiet boy who didn’t like crowds, had changed. He was a little bit more outgoing when he came back home. Carlton’s next goal after the Army was to move to the Laconia, New Hampshire area to continue his education at college. His Awards and Decorations include, the Gold Star Banner, presented by the American Legion; The Green Mountain Boy Flag, by Dubie; the Vermont Veterans Medal and the Vermont Distinguished Service Medal, an Army Commendation Medal with Valor, a Bronze Star Medal and was posthumously awarded a second Purple Heart. He leaves his parents, Kathleen and Alan Clark, among others. he killed at age 22 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee while conducting combat operations in Baghdad. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Stephen A. Seale and Cpl. Jose Zamora.
Army
2nd Brigade Troop Battalion
2nd Brigade Combat Team
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
Fort Campbell, Kentucky

Burial is at Vermont Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Randolph Center, Vermont – Sec MG

Born: August 3, 1982 in Rockingham, Vermont
Died: August 3, 2006 in Al Anbar, Iraq

Lance Cpl. Dechen of Springfield, Vermont was a 2001 graduate of Springfield High School was an outgoing, fun loving person who cared deeply for his friends and family. He attended Castleton State College with Dechen, where he was working toward his degree in criminal justice. He loved to go for rides in his Corvette, one of his great passions. He had a magnetic personality. He was full of life and had a great sense of humor and was an all-around great kid, a hard worker. Daniels Construction in Ascutney, hired Kurt as a construction laborer when he was 17 and worked with him every summer after that. His sense of humor allowed him to get through that first summer as a rookie laborer. The guys like to rib the new hirees. But, he was respectable, laughed and accepted it. They couldn’t get him going. He never had a sour note or word about anybody. Dechen’s hard-working attitude and keen sense of responsibility were well beyond his years. He only missed one day of work, according to Daniels, and that was because he was taking down trees that fell on his grandmother’s greenhouse. He joined the service for the same reason that he wanted to be a police officer, to contribute to society. He was going to grow up and be part of the Springfield community. He would have made an excellent officer. He was born the son of Richard and Dale Freeman Dechen. Kurt was a member of the First Congregational Church of Springfield and the Rod and Gun Club in Perkinsville. His hobbies included fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, working on cars, driving his Corvette, being in the outdoors and being with his German shepherd, Zoe. He especially enjoyed spending time with his close friends, Pat, Sam, Nick, Matt and Gabe. Survivors include both his parents of Springfield; a brother, Justin, his maternal grandmother, Virginia H. Freeman and his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer. He died on his 24th birthday.
Marines
1st Battalion
25th Marine Regiment
4th Marine Division
Camp Pendleton, California

Burial is at Pine Grove Cemetery in Springfield, Vermont

Born: May 11, 1953 in Vermont
Died: March 28, 2006 in Afghanistan

Master Sgt John T. Stone of Norwich, Vermont was a man of the world who was securely grounded in the values he learned as a child in Vermont. In the 1990′s, he set off to walk the world, a journey that took him 22,000-miles and 8 years to complete. One was struck by the way he showed concern for others. He truly cared for those in need and those he knew, he was a remarkable man and a patriot, someone who impressed you the moment you met him. Tom joined the Army in 1971 shortly after he graduated from Woodstock High School, motivated at least in part by a desire to learn what had happened to his brother. He was a junior in high school when his older brother Dana, a free-lance photographer, disappeared in Cambodia along with Sean Flynn, the son of the actor Errol Flynn. Dana was listed as missing in action for years and was eventually listed as dead. But Tom never lost the sense of adventure the military imbued in him or his desire to help those around him. Over the years Stone served in the regular Army, the reserves and the Vermont National Guard. Between 1992 and 2000 he walked around the world, literally, 22,000 miles through 29 countries. He was on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan with the Vermont National Guard. Stone never married but he left a life partner, Rose Loving of Tunbridge, and a sister Roberta Harley. He was 52.
Army
National Guard
15th Civil Support Team
South Burlington, Vermont

Burial is at Saint Anthony Cemetery in Wilder, Vermont

Birth: June 18, 1976 in Berlin Corners, Vermont
Death: September 22, 2005 AR Ramadi, Iraq

Spc. Scott P. McLaughlin of Hardwick, Vermont was a Green Mountain Boy who never forgot the forests and mountains where he was raised, even when he was sent to Iraq. People who attended his funeral Saturday at the base of the Green Mountains heard how proud McLaughlin was to serve his country and also how much he loved the deer, the bear and the moose that live in the mountains around him. No matter what challenges he faced, he took with him the values that he’d learned here from his family, from his faith, from his community growing up across Vermont. He, among others, was strongly, strongly connected to who he was and where he came from. He lived the values that we speak about so often. He was born in Berlin and grew up in West Bolton. He graduated from Mount Mansfield Union High School in 1994. His father Kevin told of the day Scott was born, the first word he spoke; his mother talked of his catching a grasshopper and learning to wink. His father, Kevin McLaughlin told of his son’s coming home one evening and telling them of standing under a tree and watching two bear cubs above him. His parents warned him that what he’d done was dangerous because the mother bear could have been close by. “So, that’s what that noise was in the bushes,” he recounted Scott’s reply. The family minister, The Rev. Ted Mallory, told of how on McLaughlin’s wedding day, he stood in his tuxedo with a fishing pole and managed to catch a few trout. One of his proudest moments was the day he received his dress uniform. It meant so much to him. It was his heart’s desire to bring honor to that uniform. He is also survived by his wife and two children.
Army
National Guard
1st Battalion
172nd Armor Regiment
42nd Armor Division
St. Albans, Vermont

Burial is unknown at this time.

Born: November 24, 1980
Died: Januar 26, 2005 in Hadithah, Iraq

Sgt. Jesse W. Strong of Irasburg, Vermont was assigned to the 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Corps Reserve, Lynchburg, Va.; killed at age 24 by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.

Burial is at Chamberlin Hill Cemetery in Albany Center, Vermont

To be updated…

Born: August 12, 1964 in Lake Placid, New York
Died: July 28, 2004 in AL Taqaddum, Iraq

Lt. Col. David S. Greene of Shelburne, Vermont graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1986 and was serving as a Cobra helicopter pilot in the US Marine Corps. While serving as a reservist, he was also a project manager for B.F. Goodrich Aerospace in Vermont. was scheduled to return to the United States in just a few weeks. His reserve unit was activated in January of 2004 and was expected to return stateside in just a few weeks. He leaves his wife, Sarah, two children, Jena and Wesley, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Roswell Greene, a brother, John and sisters, Donna and Karen. He was killed at age 39 by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.
Marines
Light Attack Helicopter
Squadron 775
Marine Aircraft Group 16
3D Marine Air Wing
Miramar, California

Burial is at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia – Sec 60 Site 9628

To be updated…

Born: August 22, 1979 in La Union, Philippines
Died: January 2, 2004 in Baghdad, Iraq

Spc. Solomon C. Bangayan of Jay, Vermont was born in the north Philippines and raised by his grandparents and his older sister after his mother moved to the United States in 1986. He obtained a permanent residency visa and shortly after joined the Army. He wanted to go to nursing school and had been just weeks away from finishing his military service. He leaves his mother and stepfather, Helen and Victor Therrien, and a sister, Hilda. He was killed at age 24 when his convoy was ambushed by the enemy who used an improvised explosive device (IED), small arms fire, and a rocket-propelled grenade, on Jan. 2 in Baghdad. He was posthumously be granted citizenship of the United States.
Army
2nd Battalion
325th Airborne Infantry Regiment
82nd Airborne Division
Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Burial is in a village cemetery, Sudipen, La Union, Philippines, a small cemetery on a wooded hill, a few hundred meters from his home in Barangay San Francisco Norte.

Born: January 16, 1983

Died: August 6, 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq

Pfc Kyle C. Gilbert of Brattleboro, Vermont graduated in 2001 from Brattleboro Union High School and enlisted in the United States Army two weeks later. He wanted to develop his interest in electronics, earn money for college and learn to jump out of airplanes as his father had in Army Special Forces a quarter-century earlier. He was killed at age 20 when Iraqi gunmen in a vehicle opened fire on Gilbert’s unit in Baghdad. Gilbert died of injuries received during the ambush.
Army
C Company
2nd Battalion
325th Parachute Infantry Regiment
82nd Airborne Division
Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Burialis at Locust Ridge Cemetery in Brattleboro, Vermont