Remembering SPC Jeremy Regnier ~ NH Hero
Remembering SPC Jeremy Regnier 22, of Littleton, N.H.; KIA on Oct. 13, 2004 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his patrol in Baghdad; assigned to the 4th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; Jeremy hoped to become a helicopter mechanic and spend a career in the Army.
Jeremy called home weekly and had just celebrated his birthday in Littleton in August while home on a two-week leave. Jeremy joined the military in 2000, serving about six months in the New Hampshire Army National Guard before choosing to switch to active duty. He served a tour in Korea before going to Iraq. He had hoped to become a helicopter mechanic and spend a career in the Army. Relatives said his first deployment changed him.
He would give you the shirt off his back he would do anything for anybody. Jeremy always told his family not to worry. Generations of his family have safely returned from wars, including his great-grandfather Wilford Regnier (WWI), grandfather Edgar Regnier and great uncle Richard Regnier (WWII) and his father Kevin from Grenada.
Jeremy was told his family, “Every Regnier that goes to war comes back. I know I’ll be back.” He had a skull wearing an Army helmet tattooed on one arm as a sign of his commitment to the military.
TO REMEMBER IS TO HONOR…
Remembering CPL Scott G. Dimond ~ NH Hero
Remembering CPL Scott G. Dimond. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain), New Hampshire National Guard. Scott was KIA on Oct. 13, 2008, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device and his patrol was engaged in a small-arms fire attack.
He was a lifelong resident of Franklin and a graduate of Franklin High School, Class of 1987, where he participated in the football and track and field programs. He continued his interest in football after graduation, coaching the Franklin Pop Warner team.
Scott enlisted in the Marine Corps in his senior year of high school. He was medically discharged as a result of a serious football injury. Scott decided he would still serve our citizens, but in a different capacity when he began his law enforcement career in 1988 with the Franklin Police Department, retiring as a sergeant after 18 years of service.
He enlisted in the New Hampshire National Guard in 2006 while he worked on his nursing degree, looking forward to helping others in the health-care profession. Scott was a member of the Military Forces Honor Guard, traveling statewide, honoring those who served.
Scott, was 39-year-old and the father of four. He was traveling in a military convoy that came under attack near the city of Lashkar Gah , in southern Afghanistan . His unit deployed in January and was an embedded tactical training team with the Afghan National Army and police force. He had also been working full time in the Guard Honors Team, a Franklin-based ceremonial unit that travels statewide to honor soldiers killed in action.
He was a police officer in Franklin from 1988 to 2006. Former Franklin police chief Doug Boyd, hired Dimond. “He’s one of those guys, you wish you had five of them,” Boyd said. “He had a lot on the ball. He wanted to do a law enforcement career, and he wanted to do it in the town he grew up in.”
Jim Ryba, a retired Franklin police lieutenant, added that Dimond helped modernize the city’s police force. “We were just getting on board with computers back then,” Ryba said, “and he was instrumental in that.”
Dimond joined the Army National Guard after retiring from the force in 2006. He was part of C Company, 3rd of the 172nd Mountain Infantry Regiment.
Richard Fredette of Webster is a retired sergeant major in the Guard and the current director of the honors team. He said Dimond joined the Guard at an age far older than the norm. “Kids come in at 17, and Scott came to us when he was probably 36,” Fredette said. “There are kids right out of high school. It’s something Scott wanted. He was a career police officer in Franklin and decided he wanted to do his part with the military.” Dimond outdid other guardsmen during rigorous training, despite being more than twice the age of many recruits, according to Fredette. “He was a stellar performer in training,” Fredette said. “He got right out there with those 17-year-old kids, and he surpassed them in many situations, physically and with basic soldiering. He had a strong desire to be a member of the military, and he proved himself.”
After training, in the spring of 2007, Dimond asked Fredette if he could join his outfit, a full-time job. The honors team pays tribute to veterans of all wars at their funerals. Fredette said teams of three – two who fold the American flag and present it to the family, one who plays taps – travel nearly every day of the week for military funerals. He and Dimond, who folded the flag, worked together often.
“He’s been there with me many times as we’ve gone to the aircraft to bring our soldiers home from Afghanistan and Iraq ,” Fredette said. “We’re about ready to go get him. When they call us, we’re going to go to the airport and go pick Scott up.”
NH Honor and Remember Fundraiser with the NH Monarchs
Please join the NH Chapter of Honor and Remember and the Manchester Monarchs for Mullets in November!
$20.00 Gold Level Tickets!
Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014 – 7PM
Raise awareness for the fight against men’s cancers!
Check out the Honor and Remember table on the concourse on Mullet Night!
Don’t miss the Mulllet giveaway, courtesy of Norris Cotton Cancer Center!
All Orders Due By: Monday, November 3rd ~ Make Checks Payable to: NH Chapter, Honor and Remember, Inc.
For Questions contact Sue Boore at sboore47@aol.com, or (603)554-1972
NH Honor and Remember Fundraiser
Remembering Army Sergeant Zachary D. Tellier ~ NH Hero
Remembering Army Sergeant Zachary D. Tellier. He was KIA on 09/29/2007 when insurgents attacked his unit at Firebase Wilderness, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Ft. Bragg, NC.
Zach grew up in Bedford, NH where he enjoyed drams, skateboarding, and producing videos. He was an accomplished drummer in a rock band and a fan of rock artists such as Led Zepplin, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, and Dropkick Murphy’s.
In the summer of 1993, Zack was chosen to participate in a small student exchange program in Poland where the students produced documentaries together in order to learn each other’s languages and cultures. He returned to Poland for two more summers to teach video production and American History. During his high school years, he taught children at the German Language School in Manchester. He graduated from Manchester West High School in 1994 and from American University in 1998 with a degree in Communications and History. During college he interned at National Geographic Magazine where he helped to choose photos for publication. He was president of the American University Rugby Club.
In September 2005, Zack made the decision to enlist in the US Army. He wanted to be responsible for his own success at a job he knew he could do well while serving his country. His dedication to the Army was obvious to his fellow soldiers and commanding officers. He stated in one of his blog entries that h “never felt more alive” than he did while he was in Afghanistan doing his job.
In April, Zack suffered serious burns while pulling two buddies from their exploded vechicle. He spent two weeks in Baghram Air Force Base Hospital in Afghanistan, but he complained daily how he needed to get back to “his guys”. In his brief time in the Army, Zack was awarded two Bronze Stars, one with Valor, two purple hearts, and several other awards and decorations.
His wife Sara says, “I just want Zack to be remembered as a person with a huge heart, a strong sense of morality and integrity, and someone who did what he believed in, right up until the last moment. He was a hero in all of our eyes, but he never would accept being called one.”
Forward Operating Base Wilderness was renamed “FOB Tellier” in Zack’s honor.
Remembering Cpl. Philip Charte ~ NH Hero
Remembering Cpl. Philip Charte, killed on September 7, 2010 in a hostile incident while serving in Helmand Province with a Marine battalion based out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.
He was a rifleman, joined the Marine Corps in June 2007 and served in Iraq from August 2008 to March 2009. He was deployed to Afghanistan in June 2010, just after being promoted to corporal.
Philip Charte, (his Dad) – “My son Philip served his country with courage, honor and distinction. He was a great son, brother, nephew, uncle and friend. He will be missed sorely.”
Friends recalled him as a prankster – he once orchestrated a fake kidnapping that displeased the police – and a devoted athlete. They also painted a picture of a dedicated and strong young man — a 5’8” “pit bull” — who conquered New Hampshire’s wrestling championship in the 135-pound division as a high school junior. Charte gravitated to wrestling because it allowed him an outlet in lieu of academics, which didn’t come easily for him, said Todd Lavalle his wrestling coach at Goffstown.
The sport and the military fulfilled Charte’s competitive spirit and allowed him to develop skills that furthered his life and career, school officials said.
“He worked hard for what he had, and was a very passionate, purposeful and physical human being,” Lavallee said. “Those were his strengths.”
Goffstown High School Principal Frank McBride remembered Charte receiving a huge round of applause at the class of 2007’s graduation because Charte was leaving that evening to join the military. “He was a real gentleman, a soft, quiet kid who had a real fire to compete underneath,” McBride said. Wrestling made Charte tick and teachers respected him because he tried really hard in the classroom, the principal said.
Wrestling became Charte’s support system, and the Marines later filled that void, Lavallee recalled. “Phil brought out the best in Goffstown and Goffstown brought out the best in Phil,” he said.
Jen Dusseault, a high school friend from New Hampshire, said Charte had enlisted in the Marines before graduating, and left directly for boot camp on the day of their 2007 commencement. “He literally left his cap-and-gown and was gone,” Dusseault said.
Another friend, Josh Rouille, said he and Charte had met in the fourth grade, and had reunited when Charte moved back to New Hampshire. The two took technical classes together in high school, and had talked about opening an auto mechanic shop when their service was over, said Rouille, a member of the U.S. Coast Guard.
“He had a lot of heart for what he did,” Rouille said. “He definitely enjoyed what he was doing and where he was.”
He earned the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.
TO REMEMBER IS TO HONOR…
Remembering Cadet Todd Heuchling ~ NH Hero
Peter Todd Heuchling, better known as Todd was born in Dover, NH, and lived his entire life at his home on Adams Circle, Durham, NH, with his older brother, Rob, a Naval Reserve officer; his father, Bob, a retired Delta Air Lines captain and presently a high school coach and teacher; and his mother, Sally, a teacher, active volunteer and dedicated mom who now works with special education students at the local middle school.
Todd’s early childhood was very typical of a boy growing up in a small New Hampshire town. He enjoyed the woods, riding bikes, and playing sports with his friends. He was an average athlete as a young boy, although as he emerged from his preteen years, Todd experienced a metamorphosis. He rapidly grew taller and stronger and began to excel at every sport he attempted. By his sophomore year in high school, he was playing varsity soccer, hockey, and tennis. By the end of his senior year, his soccer team had won two state titles, and he was selected as Most Valuable Player in the state championship game by the coaches. His hockey team was always competitive but did not enjoy as much success. Nonetheless, he was awarded “Best Defenseman” his senior year.
As a gesture of respect and admiration for Todd, Oyster River High School has since retired his #18 hockey jersey. Todd also captained the tennis team and took it to the state finals, where the team lost by a single match.
As Todd began to mature physically, he also soared academically. He particularly enjoyed history, science, and writing for the school newspaper. At this time, he also began showing an interest in attending West Point. He read all the material he could find on the latest military hardware, tactics, and training. After his first visit to West Point, he realized this was to be his destiny and gaining admission became his top priority. He would probably feel it was the greatest accomplishment in his life.
In spite of the typical struggles as a plebe, he still managed to do well academically and militarily his first year. He was singled out as one of the top plebes in his class by the end of the first semester. He also helped coach the local girls’ under-14 soccer team, and he was a member of the Company D-4 Sandhurst Military Competition Skills Team.
At Camp Buckner he excelled by earning his Recondo badge. His fellow cadets at Buckner said you could always find Todd up among the leaders, but he was ever mindful to take care of his friends behind him. He always enjoyed running, but it was while at the Academy he took his running skills to a new level. He was invited to try out for the marathon team, since he was winning all the competitive company races.
It was hot and humid on the afternoon of 21 Aug 2003, the day that was to become the saddest day of our lives. It was the final day of tryouts for the marathon team, and Todd was not to be denied. Todd had an incredible ability to focus on a goal and put everything else out of his mind. At the end of the eight mile competition, Todd was running with the leaders when, less than 100 yards from the finish line, he collapsed and succumbed to heat stroke. He could not be revived.
Todd was laid to rest five days later in the Durham Town Cemetery. His body was accompanied by Commandant of Cadets BG Leo Brooks, 80 West Point cadets, and 500 family members and friends.
In his honor, a scholarship fund( Todd’s Trot) in his name has been established and will award $5,000 annually to a senior at Oyster River High School. An annual award also has been established and endowed to recognize an outstanding West Point team member.
His headstone reads:
Peter Todd Heuchling, Cadet,
USMA, Class of 2006,
Beloved son, brother, friend
and a good soldier.
His friends, bothers, parents, and fellow soldiers and classmates will forever remember him fondly.
Remembering SPC Justin Pellerin ~ NH Hero
Remembering SPC Justin Pellerin – KIA August 20, 2009 in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division at Ft Drum, NY. He joined the Army in 2007 and was serving as an Infantryman.
Justin graduated from Concord High School and had an interest in the military. He joined the Army in 2007. He left for a tour of duty to Afghanistan in January 2009 and he was to return the following December. Justin married Chelsey, his high school sweetheart and “the love of his life” in July 2008. The couple planned to move to New York upon his return in December 2009. Josh Bisson, friend and best man at his wedding, described Justin as a funny man who loved American muscle cars and had decided to join the military in hopes of “doing something good” for other people. “He’d give the shirt off his back for anyone,” Bisson said. “Everyone he met he was friends with. He had no rough edges, everybody loved him.”
Justin was very outgoing and fun loving and enjoyed spending time with his family playing games, bowling, and singing karaoke. He also loved to explore the outdoors, fishing, and playing golf. He had a passion for music, electronics and cars.
Louis Chouinard, Justin’s grandfather, said the young soldier “had it in his mind that he wanted to make a difference, so that’s why he did what he did.” “He was just a great kid.”
Justin always took pride in what he did. Chelsey remembers his excitement in receiving the Combat Infantryman Badge, getting promoted to the rank of Specialist, and becoming a team leader within his unit.
Though he took his service seriously, he was still his usual lighthearted self and he managed to keep a sense of humor in Afghanistan. For Chelsey, his influence will always live on through changes he inspired in her. With him, she learned “to be myself, to be strong, to respect myself,” she said. “We always said, “I love you” and “be safe” and we never said “goodbye”. “To love and be loved is the greatest gift a heart can know. I feel so lucky to have Justin to love.”
Remembering Master Sgt Jared Van Aalst
Remembering Master Sgt Jared Van Aalst, KIA on August 4, 2006 during combat operations in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan. To remember is to honor.
Following is from his mother, Nancy:
Jared entered the world on September 1st, (Labor Day) 1975.It was a labor of love. He arrived weighing 10lbs 9ozs. He was my biggest baby! He has proven himself to be one of the biggest men I have ever known or will ever know.
Jared was a real active child. He spent his young years as one of the police officers on “Chips” that television show. He rode his tricycle like a mad man. As he grew, he became an avid skate boarder, hiker, dirt-biker, skier and everything else that was a challenge for him. He actually skied the head wall at Tuckerman’s Ravine. He spent a lot of time hiking the trails of Mount Washington. We referred to him as our Sherpa boy. I knew I was in trouble when he got this big off road dirt bike. When he was in high –school he got his Chevy S10 pickup stuck on a sand bar in the Pemi. river. He was able to round up some friends and get it out. He took it to the automotive dept at PHS and that truck still ran!! Prior to going into the army, Jared took an interest in sky diving.
During Jared’s time spent at PHS, he became friends with Eric Vanek. He began to focus on his studies, sports and more important things. Jared went on to become captain of his wrestling team and a shared captain of the football team. His grades greatly improved and he took some advanced courses and graduated with honors. Jared and Eric formed a great bond that stayed with them long after school was over. After graduation from high school, Jared wanted to go to Venezuela as an exchange student. He had taken four years of Spanish in school and wanted to experience the culture. He was there for ten months. It was a wonderful experience.
Upon Jared’s return to the U.S., he applied for and was accepted at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. There he became involved in ROTC. After one year there, he decided he was going to become an Army Ranger. First he applied for and was accepted at West Point Academy. Due to the fact that a high school student-Doug DeCenzo had already been accepted from our Grafton County, Jared would have to wait a year. Well those of us that knew Jared knew he was not going to wait when he was on a mission. He enlisted as an Army grunt and fulfilled his dream. We had the honor to be at Hurley Hill when he graduated as a Ranger. His dad and I were able to pin his wings and Ranger tab. Our great sorrow was learning that Doug DeCenzo was killed by a car bomb in Iraq.
One last note. When Jared was killed, Eric Vanek came with the casualty assistance officer to inform us of Jared’s death. He is and always was one of the greatest blessings to Jared and our family. He was like a brother to Jared and we still think of him as family. He is a good NH boy and a proud member of the US Army. He spent several days with us and he was very comforting to us in our most extreme time of sorrow.
There is so much to say about Jared. He could sew, cook, and make lanyards for duck calls. He was an avid hunter, loved great wine, and had so many great friends. He was most generous to his family and friends.
He had met the love of his life, his widow Katie. She continues to respect his ideas and values. He left three beautiful children-Kaylie (9), Ava (3), and Hugh Jared, (1). He was a true warrior in every sense of the word. One of the best men I have ever known. He is a very highly decorated soldier and all of this information is available on line.
Thank you ever so much for honoring my son. Warm regards,
Nancy
Remembering Army Staff Sgt. Kyle R. Warren
Remembering Army Staff Sgt. Kyle R. Warren, KIA July 29, 2010 – serving during Operation Enduring Freedom. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died at Tsagay, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his military vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
Twenty-eight-year-old Kyle Warren of Manchester, NH was killed when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device while on reconnaissance patrol.
Warren, a medical sergeant died from injuries suffered in the blast. He was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) and Fort Bragg, N.C. He was on his second deployment in Afghanistan.
Kyle was hard to miss, whether tearing down a rugby field or running toward a firefight through muddy poppy fields in Afghanistan. Though an intimidating bear of a man at nearly 6 feet 3 and 240 pounds, he was a fun-loving, warmhearted guy who made friends effortlessly with his disarming, sometimes goofball charm, friends and family said.
After graduating from Marina High School in Huntington Beach — going to college off and on, and playing lots of rugby — Kyle appeared to find his groove in life when he enlisted in the Army.
He joined the elite Special Forces as a medic, with plans to become a firefighter-paramedic or physician’s assistant when he left the service, and married his longtime New Hampshire sweetheart a year before he was killed.
“He really seemed to be on his way,” said his father, Del Warren of Long Beach. “He had just turned into a fine young man.”
Kyle and other members of his Special Forces unit had just finished meeting with town elders when they were attacked by small-arms fire, according to his father, who received a redacted Army report on the circumstances surrounding his son’s death. Warren and Holbrook were on an all-terrain-vehicle during the firefight when they were hit by the explosive, his father said.
Officials at the U.S. Army Special Forces Command said Warren and Holbrook were killed during a combat reconnaissance patrol. Warren had just arrived for his second deployment in the area, having earlier served in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“He was always top notch, and he took his job as a medic very seriously,” said friend Jay Daniel of Jeffersonton, Va., a Special Forces veteran who trained with Warren and served with him during his first deployment. “Kyle helped save lives, and he was always the first to volunteer if we had a mission.” Daniel said that, along with aiding other soldiers, Warren and other medics in Afghanistan provided healthcare for the elderly and sick during weekly town clinics. Warren also rushed to save the lives of two boys in Afghanistan nearly killed by an improvised explosive device, which had seriously wounded their arms and legs. “There are two boys walking around southern Afghanistan today because of Kyle,” said Daniel, who named his newborn son after his friend.
Warren’s former coach, Mark Rehling, said he remembers him more for the times he dropped by the classroom than for his play on the football field. Even after Warren graduated, he would occasionally pop in to say hello.
“He was very thoughtful. He was trying to find a way to really make things better; you could tell that was really engrained in his personality,” Rehling said. “He wanted to contribute in some way. When he joined the Army, it gave him a real vision forward.”
After graduation, Warren attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where he got his first real introduction to club rugby — a passion that followed him to Bedford, N.H., a few years later when he moved in with his mother (his parents had divorced years before). Friend and fellow rugby player Justin Veverka said Warren was one of the “hardest hitters I’ve ever seen.” “He was definitely one of the most feared guys in the New England Rugby Union,” he said.
Warren ended up sharing an apartment with Veverka and his brother in Manchester, attending classes at a local community college now and then, working at a hotel and playing lots of rugby. Manchester also is where Warren met his future wife, Sandy, when she was a student at Southern New Hampshire University. “Kyle was just this big goofy guy, a great person to be around,” Veverka said. “He was a big storyteller. Everything was about California. California this, California that. And I never saw a man eat so much Mexican food in my life.”
It was in 2004 when Warren, the Veverka brothers and another close friend — all somewhat adrift in life — decided to enlist together. “We all just looked at ourselves, at where we were at,” Veverka said. “The war just kicked off in Iraq, and we thought we’d all join up together.”
TO REMEMBER IS TO HONOR…
Remembering SGT Michael Roy
Remembering SGT Michael Roy – KIA on 7-8-09 – by a sniper during combat operations in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Special Operations Advisor Group, Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command,
Camp Lejeune, NC.
Roy joined the Marine Corps on Sept. 25, 2001 and was trained as a rifleman. He was promoted to Sergeant on Oct. 10, 2005, joining MARSOC on March 15, 2008. His decorations include a Navy Achievement Medal, a Combat Action Ribbon, a Navy Unit Commendation, three Navy Meritorious Unit Commendations, two Good Conduct Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, a Humanitarian Service Medal, four Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, and a NATO Medal-ISAF Afghanistan.
With nearly eight years in, 25-year-old Sgt. Roy joined the Marines young – real young. His decorations and his rise through the ranks tell us he served his country competently and well.
His joining the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command tells that he had no fear – or that fear didn’t matter. To become a MARSOC member, Sgt. Roy had to undertake and complete special forces training designed to “enable him to function in remote, ambiguous and complex environments with limited support,” according to the special unit’s Web site, which also outlines core duties that may be assigned. Those duties include training and assistance to foreign governments, security force assistance, special reconnaissance, counterterrorism and direct action, which the Corps defines as “short-duration strikes and other small-scale offensive actions taken to seize, destroy, capture, recover or inflict damage in denied areas.”
TO REMEMBER IS TO HONOR…
