Freedom Remembered

Born: October 8, 1989
Died: March 18, 2013 in Bethesda, Maryland

Pfc Derek McConnell of North Caldwell, NJ was a 2008 graduate of West Essex High School. He was a member of Notre Dame Parish in North Caldwell, where he was an altar server. In January 2009, he entered the United Stats Army. After finishing Airborne training, he was assigned to Catamount, B Co., 2-87 at Fort Drum. On July 23 2011, while on patrol in Afghanistan, McConnell attempted to rescue another soldier and in the process stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) sustaining massive injuries. He lost his left leg from the hip and the right leg just above the knee. He also received blast wounds, including a fractured right arm, a skull fracture and kidney damage. McConnell was sent to Kandahar for a couple of days, and then was moved to Baghram Air Base for transport to Lundstahl Hospital in Germany. Over the next several months, he battled serious infections and pneumonia for over three months, spent 53 days total in the ICU, and 7 months total as an inpatient at the Wounded Warrior Center, Bethesda/Walter Reed. It was there that Derek passed away in his sleep from complications associated from his wounds (double amputee) that he suffered.

To be updated…

Born: May 18, 1992 in Winter Haven, Florida
Died: March 18, 2013 in Hawthorne, Nevada

Lance Cpl. David P. Fenn II, 20, of Polk City, Fla., 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 March 2011. Fenn’s awards include the Combat Action Ribbon, 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. Oak Grove Cemetery

To be updated…

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…

Born: May 28, 1993 in Du Bois, Pennsylvania
Died: March 18, 2013 in Hawthorne, Nevada

Pfc. Joshua M. Martino, 19, of Clearfield, Pa., was known as “Tino” to his friends, played football and ran track at Dubois Area Senior High School. He liked to snowboard and was an avid hunter. Martino was in Nevada for training in preparation for being shipped out to Afghanistan. He hoped to marry his fiancée later this year, before the deployment. He had joined the Marine Corps in July. He was preparing for a deployment to Afghanistan and aspired to be a Marine since he was about 8 years old he wanted to be a Marine. That’s all he wanted to do. Martino was a talkative former high school athlete and accomplished hunter who hoped to marry his fiancee later this year. Pfc Martino served as a mortarman assigned to 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment. He joined the Marine Corps in July 2012. Martino’s awards include the National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

To be updated…

Born: April 27, 1991
Died: March 18, 2013 in Nevada

Lance Cpl. Joshua C. Taylor, 21, of Marietta, Ohio is one of 7 Marines who died as a result of a mortar shell explosion during a mountain warfare training exercise at Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada. LCpl Taylor 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. Taylor’s awards include the Combat Action Ribbon, 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. Mound Cemetery

To be updated…

Born: December 17, 1991 in Baltimore, Maryland
Died: March 18, 2013 in Hawthorne, Nevada

Lance Cpl. William T. Wild IV, 21, of Anne Arundel, Md., died in the explosion in Hawthorne, Nev. He joined the Marines shortly after graduating in 2010 from Severna Park High School. He was best known as Taylor and he had been deployed twice to Afghanistan and once to Kuwait. Taylor always wanted to go into the military, like his father, who is a command chief in the Air Force Reserve at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Taylor was in a weapons platoon that was scheduled to deploy in November to Afghanistan. He was a mortarman assigned to 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment. He joined the Marine Corps in October 2010 and was promoted to his current rank in December 2011. Wild’s awards include the Combat Action Ribbon, 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.

Friends and family may visit on
Thursday, March 28th from
2-4 and 6-8 pm at
Barranco & Sons Funeral Home.

Services will be held on
Friday, March 29th at
2:00pm at
Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis,
333 Dubois Road.

Reception will follow at the
Whitehurst Community Clubhouse,
360 White Cedar Lane in S
everna Park.

Interment at Arlington National Cemetery
will be held on
Tuesday, April 2nd
with the procession meeting at
10:30am at the Memorial Gate.

To be updated…

Lance Cpl. Roger W. Muchnick Jr., 23, of Fairfield, Conn., is a Staples High School graduate from Westport. He was among seven Marines killed in a mortar explosion in Nevada. He was part of the 2nd Marine Division based at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. He served 2 tours in Afghanistan. Roger was in the Marines for about three years, had served in Afghanistan and was thinking about returning to college after his enlistment was up. He played on the football and lacrosse teams at Staples High School and went on to play lacrosse at Eastern Connecticut State University, where he studied business. LCpl Muchnick 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 May 2011. Muchnick’s awards include the Combat Action Ribbon, 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. He was buried next to his great uncle, Navy Lt. Cmdr. William F. Coakley, a pilot who was shot down over North Vietnam on Sept. 13, 1966. St Ann

To be updated…

Born: January 6, 1987 in Breese, Illinois
Died: March 18, 2013 in Hawthorne, Nevada

Cpl. Aaron J. Ripperda, 26, of Madison, Ill., is one of seven Marines who died in a mortar explosion during a training exercise at Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada. Heattended Highland High School where he played football, graduating in 2005. Ripperda was scheduled to come home in May and had aspired to become a professional chef. He was part of the Second Marine Division, an expeditionary combat unit based in Camp Lejeune, N.C. Cpl Pipperda was an anti-tank missileman assigned to 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment. He joined the Marine Corps in September 2008 and was promoted to his current rank in April 2011. Ripperda’s awards include the Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and NATO Medal-ISAF Afghanistan. He was most recently deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2011.

Visitation
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
from 3:00 to 8:00 pm

Wednesday, April 3, 2013
from 8:00 to 9:15 am
Meridith Funeral Home, Highland, IL

To be updated…

Born: Apr. 10, 1971 in Athens, Georgia
Died: December 17, 2012 in Savannah, Georgia

SSG Andrew S Fitzpatrick, U.S. Army, of Savannah, Georgia died at age 41 at Memorial University Medical Center. Andrew was a son of Berry Mitchell Fitzpatrick and Carolyn Westmoreland Fitzpatrick. Scott was of the Christian faith. He served 20 years in the United States Army and during that time was a tank mechanic and later a supervisor in tank recovery. Scott served two tours in Korea, three tours in Iraq and one tour in Afghanistan. He was preceded in death by a sister, Erin Fitzpatrick Jones. Surviving are his wife, Sheryl Ann Walton Fitzpatrick; two stepdaughters, Jessica Elizabeth Gaul and Chantel Elizabeth Gaul; one stepson, Charles J. Beaty; his mother, Carolyn Westmoreland Fitzpatrick; his father and stepmother, Berry Mitchell Fitzpatrick and Brenda Campbell Fitzpatrick; one sister, Robin Westmoreland Daniels; two brothers, David Fitzpatrick and Ricky Fitzpatrick, and three grandchildren, Canyon Beaty, Colton Beaty and Makenzie Hill. Mt. Hermon Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Ila, Georgia

Born:
Died: December 13, 2012 in Eloy, Arizona

Sgt. 1st Class Bradley S. Keys, 33, of Inman, S.C. died Dec. 13 of injuries sustained during a military free fall training accident in Eloy, Ariz. He was assigned to Headquarters, United States Army Special Forces Command (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C. Keys enlisted as an automated logistical specialist in the U.S. Army in 1998. After completion of his initial training, to include the U.S. Army Airborne School, he was assigned to Ft. Bragg, N.C. as a unit logistical sergeant where he served for two years. He attended the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course and graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course in 2006. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10 th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Ft. Carson, Colo. as a Special Forces Engineer Sergeant. In 2007 and 2009, Keys was deployed with 3rd Bn., 10th SFG (A) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served with 3rd Bn., 10th SFG (A) as a Senior Engineer sergeant for almost 6 years, completing jumpmaster training and free fall parachutist training while there. In August 2012, Keys was assigned to Headquarters, USASFC (A) where he served in the Operations and Training Section. His military education includes U.S. Army Airborne School, Warrior Leaders Course, Advanced Leaders Course, Special Forces Qualification Course, Jumpmaster Course, Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat Course, the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Course, Special Operations Target Interdiction Course, Senior Leaders Course, Free Fall Parachutist, Military Free Fall Parachutist, Military Free Fall Jumpmaster and Combatives Level 1. Keys’ military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, three Army Commendation Medals, six Army Achievement Medals, two Valorous Unit Awards, four Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal with two Campaign Stars, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Non-Commissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon (3), the Army Service Ribbon, the Senior Parachutist Badge, Special Forces Tab, the Combat Infantryman Badge, Military Free Fall Master Parachutist Badge and Marksman Qualification Badge – Expert with a Rifle. He is survived by his wife, son and parents.