GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Any deployment is a hard deployment, so my heart will always go out to all soldiers who served in the military while doing any job.
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My heart especially goes out to these 5 soldiers who served and gave the ultimate sacrifice during our 2004 deployment stationed at Log Base Seitz, Iraq with the 1544th Transportation National Guard Unit out of Paris, IL. The 1544th was attached to the Army’s 13th Corps Support Command, which oversees distribution of military fuel, food and other supplies to U.S. forces across Iraq.
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Ivory Phipps first enlisted in the Army National Guard as a teenager to escape a rough neighborhood. He re-enlisted at the age of 43 to provide for his newborn son. "The most important thing in his life was his family," his fiancee, LaToya Ragsdale, said. The 44-year-old sergeant from Chicago died March 17 when a mortar round detonated inside a logistics base in Baghdad. He was based in Paris, Ill. He had been in Iraq less than a week. Phipps, the youngest of eight children, first joined the military when he was 18 and fought in Desert Storm, said Albert Phipps, his older brother. "I went with him to enlist," Phipps said. "We were going to serve our country because things were getting kind of tough on the streets. " Phipps went on to serve 15 years in the National Guard. Phipps, who worked as a driver for a rental car company, re-enlisted in February 2003 because he wanted to provide a better life for his family, Ragsdale said. Their son was 5 months old when Phipps died. Survivors also include Phipps' two adult sons and a teenage daughter.
-Associated Press |
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Jeremy Ridlen23, of Clinton, Ill.; assigned to the 1544th Transportation Company, Army National Guard, Paris, Ill.; killed May 23 by small-arms fire after insurgents detonated explosives in a dump truck on the side of the road as his military convoy passed by in East Fallujah, Iraq.
Ridlen, of Clinton, graduated from Maroa-Forsyth High School in 1998 and had a twin brother serving in the same unit, family members said Monday. Ridlen enlisted in the military the same year and was assigned to the 1544th Transportation Company, based in Paris. Before the twin brothers left the Decatur area for their deployment to Iraq, the Rev. Marlin Jaynes of the Peoples Church of God in Decatur said they stood in a prayer circle of more than 100 people at the church where they had grown up and received a special blessing. “They’ve never been separated ever, even when they went into Iraq,” she said. Jaynes said Jeremy and Jason Ridlen played on the church softball team and traveled as far as Oklahoma City to play in tournaments. He said they were fun-loving and each had a good sense of humor, but also were aware of the seriousness of their deployment. “When we talked before they left, they said they did not want any publicity if anything happened to either of them,” Jaynes said. “That’s the type of young men they were -Associated Press |
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Charles Lamb, 23, of Casey, Ill.; assigned to the 1544th Transportation Company, Illinois Army National Guard, Paris, Ill.; killed Sept. 5 during a mortar attack in Baghdad.
Charles Lamb was known for his bone-dry sense of humor, telling the kind of jokes that crept up on you only later. "He was a great kid. He used to tell me jokes every single day, and I never used to understand the jokes," said Angela Ashley, who graduated from high school with Lamb in 1999. "Then he would look down the hallway and say, 'Did you get it yet?'" Lamb, 23, of Martinsville, Ill., died Sept. 5 when mortar rounds struck his base on the western outskirts of Baghdad. He was based in Paris, Ill. A live wire as a student, Lamb was active in the FFA, formerly known as Future Farmers of America, and trained for forestry, livestock and dairy competitions. He enjoyed fishing, four-wheeling, motorbike riding and working in the garage. Before he was called up for active duty, he had worked as a mechanic. "I think one of the reasons he signed up for the service was to help other people out, make a better life and to see the country," said Mark Harris, his agriculture education teacher in high school. Lamb is survived by his wife, Erin. — Associated Press |
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Shawna Morrison, 26, of Champaign, Ill.; assigned to the 1544th Transportation Company, Illinois Army National Guard, Paris, Ill.; killed Sept. 5 during a mortar attack in Baghdad.
First female Illinois Guard member killed in Iraq. Morrison and another member of the 1544th Transportation Company, Spc. Charles Lamb, 23, were killed Sept. 5 in a mortar attack on their base near Baghdad. Fifteen other soldiers from the Paris-based unit were injured. “Freedom has always come at a high price,” “Morrison went to Iraq willingly and for the sake of others.” “She served with pride, honor and distinction,” “We will never forget her and the ultimate sacrifice she gave her nation. We salute her.” -Associated press |
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THE CAWVSTER
Army Spc. Jessica L. Cawvey, 21, of Mahomet, IL KIA: October 06, 2004 in an explosion near her convoy that was traveling on a main supply route in Fallujah, Iraq. “She joined the service because she wanted to provide the right future for her daughter,” Cawvey said at her funeral Friday evening in Savoy. She also was previously awarded the Purple Heart for her injuries and the Bronze Star for her months of service in Iraq. She was the 1544th’s second female soldier to die fighting in Iraq. — Associated Press |
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