Honor and Remember Pfc. Juctin P. McDaniel ~ NH Hero

Army Pfc. Juctin P. McDaniel, 19 years old, of Andover, N.H; died Dec. 17, 2007 in Baghdad of injuries sustained from a non-combat-related incident in Taji, Iraq

He was assigned to the 524th Combat Service Support Battalion, 45th Sustainment Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, Fort Shafter, Hawaii;

Juctin is remembered by his friends as a young man with a strong desire to serve in the military. It appeared to be his purpose in life to serve his country and support our troops. He went out of his way to help others. He was a friend to all in school, no matter how different they were from him. He loved to make people laugh and smile and would always make light of difficult situations. He was deeply loyal to his family and friends.

Juctin met his wife, Alicia, while they were both in the Army and they married in 2006. They were expecting their first child. He could hardly wait for his child to be born. To his regret, he would be in Iraq when his wife delivered.

May God be with his family and friends, especially today and give them comfort.

To remember is to honor…

Honor and Remember Cpl Matthew J. Stanley ~ a New Hampshire Hero

Honor and Remember Cpl Matthew J. Stanley

Date of birth: Dec 26, 1983
Date of passing: Dec 16, 2006
Matt was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas

Following is written by his Mom, Lynn:

Matt was a fun loving guy. Sometimes I think Matt’s whole purpose on this earth was to make people smile. He himself always had a smile on his face. Everyone who knew Matt will tell you about that smile.

I watched Matt mature from a young boy into a brave young man. His courage and bravery still astonishes me. He had a great love for his family and his country and a great zest for life. In my attempts to honor Matt, I remember to keep his fun loving spirit alive, his joy for life and his love.

In 2002, Matt graduated from Kingswood Regional High School where he was well known and well liked by his peer and teachers. He was outgoing and deeply proud and personal about his two tours of duty in Iraq. He always had a good circle of friends.

He was the type of kid that everybody wanted for a friend Matt had been married less than a year Matt married his beautiful wife Amy on December 31, 2005. Such a wonderful time for the whole family to be together. Little did we know that Matt would be gone before his first anniversary.

He was killed along with four others by an IED when the hummer he was in ran over it. That year he missed his birthday on December 26 and his anniversary. Matt is dearly missed by his family and be everyone who knew him.

 

 

Marine PFC Matthew L. Bertolino Flag Presentation

 

 

Joyce Bertolino  and family with their Honor and Remember flag for her son, Marine PFC Matthew L. Bertolino.

Presented Nov. 11, 2013 by Gold Star Families Jim and Lynn Savage and Jean Durgin

 Marine PFC Matthew L. Bertolino – 09-February- 2006 – Afghanistan

Remembering LCpl Ryan McCaughn

Remembering LCpl Ryan McCaughn – KIA on 11/7/06 while conducting combat operations in Anbar Province, Iraq. Ryan, 19, was less than two months into his deployment.

Ryan was born in Jacksonville N.C., the home of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. He spent his early years in North Carolina and Missouri and ultimately settled in Manchester, New Hampshire. There he was raised by his mother Nicole and his stepfather Raymond. Even as a child, friends said that Ryan was clear in his military ambitions. Both of his parents were former servicemen; his mother served briefly in the U.S. Army and his father, Thomas McCaughn was a Marine. His older brother Chris served in the Air Force and his brother Sean Merlin served in the Navy.

Friends described Ryan as an irrepressible comedian who used to torment his school bus driver and sometimes splashed around in puddles just for laughs. He performed on stage with Maskers, his high-school drama club, and wasn’t afraid to dress up as a woman if the part demanded it.

As a high schooler, Ryan took culinary classes at the Manchester School of Technology. He and his friends, Kyle Schmidt and Greg Lake, talked of one day opening a restaurant and bar. Ryan, they said, was going to take business classes so he could be the manager.

Mostly, though, friends and relatives said Ryan spoke of joining the military and, later, becoming a police officer. He worked extra hard during his senior year to complete the requirements necessary for enrolling in the Marines, at one point taking three English classes in a single semester.

At 17, he asked his mother to help him sign up for duty. “He said he was going to sign up anyway when he was 18,” Schmidt said, “but he would feel better if it was with her consent.” He left for boot camp at Parris Island one week after graduating in June 2005 and was then stationed in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Although he wasn’t allowed to divulge most details of his mission, friends and family members said they knew he was living in Ramadi, the southwestern point of the Sunni Triangle and that he patrolled the region with a grenade launcher and M16 rifle. “He said he needed to do this” his mother recalled. “He said if he could keep one dad from going to Iraq and he could take his place instead, then he’ll feel like he’s accomplished something.”

Ryan occasionally returned to Central High School after graduating. Once, he came to talk to students about life in the Marines. Later, he came as a recruiter.

Ryan is remembered fondly for his sense of humor and serious commitment to the Marines and to his country. His creative writing teacher in high school shared a poem that Ryan had written entitled “Solider”

Soldier

“Many soldiers have had to experience the ultimate Sacrifice”
“Even in death, a soldier will show Pride.
All you can do is hope that they finally found Peace.”

Fellow soldier and friend Cpt Brian Krenzeli was in boot camp with Ryan and “considered his a great friend. He was one the guys there that really made the time go by faster especially with his humor. I don’t thinks there was a single day we spent on Parris Island that he didn’t get me quarter decked for laughing. He was an outstanding Marine and a great friend and he will be missed.”

New Hampshire WWII Casualties

And when he gets to Heaven
To St. Peter he will tell:
‘One more Marine reporting, Sir — I’ve served my time in Hell.’

New Hampshire Korean War Casualties

The Korean War has become America’s “Forgotten War,” and those who fought it have become America’s forgotten warriors.
REES LLOYD

NH Korean War Casualties

To Honor is to Remember….

Gold Star Mothers Day Observed ~ September 29, 2013

The United States began observing Gold Star Mothers Day on the last Sunday of September in 1936. It is a day for people to recognize and honor those who have lost a son or daughter while serving the United States Armed Forces.

Mothers of fallen service members began calling themselves “Gold Star Mothers” during the First World War, but the sorrowful bond they share reaches back to every woman who has lost a son or daughter in uniform since our nation’s revolution.

In 1918 President Woodrow Wilson approved the wearing of black armbands bearing a gold star by those who had a family member who died in the military service to the United States. This distinguished them from the blue stars, representing a family member presently serving in the armed forces.

During World War I, families would hang flags in their windows that were white with red borders, inside, a blue star would represent each family member who was serving in the military. The name the Gold Star Mothers was derived from the custom of military families who when a service member was killed, the blue star was changed to a gold star.

Eleven years after the end of World War I, the United States Congress took an unprecedented step in the history of warfare, giving unusual recognition to the mothers of those killed in that war.

American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. was incorporated in 1929, obtaining a federal charter from the US Congress. It began with 25 mothers living in the Washington DC area and soon expanded to include affiliated groups throughout the nation. On June 23, 1936, a joint congressional resolution designated the last Sunday in September as Gold Star Mother’s Day, a holiday that has been observed each year by a presidential proclamation.

In 1947, the Gold Star Lapel pin was designed and created to be presented to eligible surviving family members of service members who died while deployed in support of overseas contingency operations, or who died from wounds sustained in theater. A gold star symbolizes a family member who died in the line of duty while serving the United States Armed Forces. It may be seen on a service flag or in the form of a pin, which is worn by Gold Star mothers. The pin is not limited to mothers and it is awarded by the US Department of Defense.

In the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944:

“There is nothing adequate which anyone in any place can say to those who are entitled to display the gold star in their windows America lives in freedom because of the sacrifices of America’s finest citizens and of the mothers who raised them..”

Sen. Barnes and Rep. Baldasaro join George Lutz in New Hampshire

 Senator Barnes and Rep Baldasaro on June 16, 2010 at the presentation of personalized flags to Jim and Lynn Savage by George Lutz.

Veterans Park Dedication

Please join us on Sunday, October 6, 2013, at 2 p.m. at the newly restored and enhanced Veterans’ Park at Jacob Square, Hooksett, NH as we dedicate the park. To search for directions, use 5 Veterans’ Drive; that’s the church adjacent to the park.

The event will include the dedication of a new memorial area “to honor all who served in war and peace.”

Parking will be available in the Congregational Church parking lot, on Veterans’ Drive and, if necessary, at the Holy Rosary Church.

Kathie Northrup, Chair
Hooksett Heritage Commission

Run For The Fallen ~ NH

Dear Families, Friends and Supporters,

Our 2013 Run has come and gone and again this year. We find that the spirit of the day has touched us in way only our hearts can speak.

We hope you share this spirit and it stays with you throughout the year.  Over 700 of us came together on Sept. 15th, 2013 to celebrate the lives of our 71 Fallen Heroes.  This was our biggest turnout yet.

We are ever grateful for our sponsors and donors, without their generosity the event would not be possible. We also thank our volunteers for their time and support and for our runners commitment & energy. Clearly we all share a dedication to preserving the memory of these men and women of our state’s military who lost their lives while bravely protecting our freedom. Crucially,  your participation and  support ensures that we continue to tell the stories of our soldiers, and for that,  we and their families are forever indebted.

We are currently debriefing and already looking to make 2014 even better!

Please check back on our web for fund raising events throughout this and  next year and stay in touch via Facebook.  Also, merchandise is always available via the Online Shop.

Warmly,

“RFTF-NH” {Julie, Fran, Cindy, Nichole}
www.runforthefallennh.org

 

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