Georgians KIA in Iraq Part Eleven: Pvt. Benjamin Freeman

Washington Post obit:

Pvt. Benjamin L. Freeman
Age: 19
Hometown: Valdosta, GA
Date of Death: 10/13/2003
Incident Location: Near Asad, Iraq

Branch of Military: Army
Rank: Pvt.
Unit: K Troop, 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment
Unit's Base: Fort Carson, Colo.

Three days before he left for Iraq, Pvt. Benjamin L. Freeman was married in Colorado. "He looked forward to being a wonderful husband to his wife, April, and having children of his own," said his mother, Vicki Freeman. Freeman, 19, of Valdosta, Ga., drowned on Oct. 13 in the Euphrates River northwest of Baghdad. He had joined the Army earlier this year and was based at Fort Carson. "He was only 19, but he was no longer just a teenager. He had become a determined young man, clear thinking and motivated," said his uncle, Lee Freeman. "He knew that we all recognized this, and he knew how proud we all were of him." Freeman was an accomplished guitarist who wrote his own music. A recording of one of his songs was played at the funeral.

I realize most would not consider Pvt. Freeman to have been killed in action, but he might very well still be alive if he hadn't been sent to fight an unjustified war. He was inspired to join the military because of the attacks on September 11, but he wasn't sent to bring those responsible to justice. He was sent . . . for what, again? Oil? Family Grudge match? WMDs? Well, the Iraqis have a huge surplus of cash from their oil profits, while we're facing an historically high deficit and spending billions to rebuild their country. There were no WMDs, and I just can't stand that Valdosta lost one of their bright hopes for the future because of the ridiculous excuse for foreign policy practiced by the Bush Administration. The occupation of Iraq must end. We must bring them home.
Related: Inspiration, Part One, Parts Two and Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten

Georgians KIA in Iraq Part Ten: Staff Sgt. Bobby C. Franklin

Washington Post:

Staff Sgt. Bobby C. Franklin

Age: 38
Hometown: Mineral Bluff, GA
Date of Death: 8/20/2003
Incident Location: Baghdad

Branch of Military: Army
Rank: Staff Sgt.
Unit: 210th Military Police Company
Unit's Base: Murphy, N.C.

After Bobby Franklin was called up by the North Carolina National Guard, his colleagues at the Carlton Colwell Probation and Detention Center made sure he periodically received care packages filled with comforts from home. Franklin supervised inmates working on construction projects in the community. The 38-year-old Franklin of Murphy, N.C., was killed Aug. 20 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Iraq. Family members had tried to talk the longtime reservist into calling it quits last year. "He was within a year of retirement," said Tim Nicholson, his brother-in-law. "That's why he went back this time." Franklin is survived by his wife, Brenda, and two children.
Source: Associated Press

We need to end this back-door draft NOW, before we lose any more like Staff Sgt. Franklin. Bring them home.
Related: Inspiration, Part One, Parts Two and Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine

Georgians KIA in Iraq Part Nine: Sgt. Nathaniel Hart

Washington Post:

Age: 29
Hometown: Valdosta, GA
Date of Death: 7/28/2003
Incident Location: Tallil, Iraq

Branch of Military: Army
Rank: Sgt.
Unit: 416th Transportation Company, 260th Quartermaster Battalion
Unit's Base: Hunter Army Air Field, Ga.

The Army was a family tradition for Sgt. Nathaniel Hart Jr., whose father and grandfather both served, but his loved ones remember him as much more than a soldier. To them, Hart was a family man who loved to take his two sons fishing and camping. He was a devout Christian who served as a youth pastor, sang in the choir and played drums in the church band. "I believe he was as big a hero in life as he is in death," said Hart's sister, Valarie Lowry. "He was a good example for everybody. His love and kindness were what he was known for. He was sweet in spirit." Hart, 29, died July 28 in a vehicle accident in Iraq. He was from Valdosta, Ga., and stationed at Hunter Army Airfield. Lowry said her brother's wife, Erica, was in shock over his death and the realization that she would be raising their sons, 7-year-old Nathaniel III and 5-year-old Gabriel, without him. "He had a big role in his family's life and his sons' lives," Lowry said.

And now his sons are 12 and 10. How much of their father do they remember? Will we send them off to die in an unjustified war, too?
Related: Inspiration, Part One, Parts Two and Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight

Georgians KIA in Iraq Part Seven: Spec. John K. Klinesmith Jr.

Spec. John K. Klinesmith Jr. | Faces of the Fallen | washingtonpost.com:

Hometown: Stockbridge, Georgia, U.S.

Age: 25 years old

Died: June 12, 2003 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Unit: Army, C Company, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

Incident: Klinesmith was last seen wading in the lake on the palace compound in Fallujah and a search was launched. His body was discovered at the lake.

Survivors include his mother, Domenica Columbus, of Carriere, Miss. He joined the Army in 1999. He was just out trying to cool off in the June heat. My hearts goes out to his mother and the fellow soldiers who found him. One more among the many horrors of this war. It's time to bring them home!
Related: Inspiration, Part One, Parts Two and Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six

Georgians KIA in Iraq Part Six: Spc. David T. Nutt

Profiles of Americans killed in Iraq | ajc.com: Army Spec. David T. Nutt

For Heidi Nutt, there was no doubt about David Nutt. "I knew it from the moment I met him," she said. The two were married seven months after meeting at Fort Campbell, where he was in the Army and she worked in child services.
"He was just a proud, wonderful man," she said. "A strong soldier who never complained." Nutt, 32, of Blackshear, Ga., was driving a truck in Iraq May 14 when he swerved to avoid an automobile driven by an Iraqi civilian. The truck overturned and Nutt was killed. . . Heidi Nutt last spoke with her husband the day after Mother's Day. She says she remembers every word. "He wanted to wish me a happy anniversary and he couldn't wait to come home to see us," she said.

The above quote and photo are from an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from May 20, 2003, which is linked at the top of the post. Although some sites list Specialist Nutt's death as accidental, I am including him in Georgians KIA because of the following from Georgia State House Resolution 1245:

Honoring and remembering the life of United States Army Sergeant David Terrell Nutt, killed in action during the course of Operation Iraqi Freedom; and for other purposes. . . WHEREAS, Sergeant Nutt courageously gave his life when the supply truck he was driving was ambushed and came under enemy fire . . .

The resolution also mentions that Specialist Nutt was "posthumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant and awarded the Bronze Star." He is survived by his parents, Mrs. Alice Taylor Nutt and Mr. Winfred Nutt, his wife Heidi, and their three daughters, Emily, Sarah, and Hannah. The resolution states that Sergeant Nutt was a member of the 101st Airborne Division, but other sites have him assigned to the 494th Transportation Division, but he was definitely at Fort Campbell.

There is a great deal of confusion between sites as to David's age. It seems obvious to me from his photo and story that he was 32 when he died, but several sites have his age at 22. I think this stems from a typo that got repeated. Either way, he was too young to be taken from his family.

I lost my father when I was fifteen, but he died of cancer, so we had some warning. I can't imagine what it must be like for his daughters, who were apparently all under 6 when he died. My heart goes out to his family as they continue to live each day without him. We must end this war. Too many families have lost loved ones to an unjustified war.

Related: Inspiration, Part One, Parts Two and Three, Part Four, Part Five

Georgians KIA in Iraq Part Five: Sgt. Wilbert Davis

Wilbert Davis, Sergeant First Class United States Army:

To hear friends and family tell it, Davis was anything but common. Davis, 40, grew up in the East Tampa neighborhood of College Hill. In 1975, at age 12, Davis pitched for the Belmont Heights Little League and led the team to the World Series. Even his teammates came for Wednesday's service. He graduated from Tampa Bay Tech, then worked at a Tampa Electric Co. plant. While a young man, he fathered two daughters before moving to Anchorage to live with his older sister. Cynthia Davis, an Army wife, persuaded her brother to enlist. He served in the 3rd Infantry Division. Before leaving for the Middle East, he lived outside Savannah, Ga., with his wife, Huiok, and their two young boys. March 31 was the last time Huiok heard from him. He died April 3 while en route to Baghdad with journalist Michael Kelly. Davis lost control of the Humvee he was driving when his convoy came under fire. The Humvee overturned into a canal. Both Davis and Kelly died in the crash.

The above quote and link are from the Arlington website, dated August 24, 2003. Sgt. Davis had only moved to Hinesville 15 months before his death, but I decided to include his profile, since some sites list him as being from Georgia. I don't know if his wife and sons stayed in Georgia, but the boys would both be teenagers now. Honestly, I hope for Mrs. Davis' sake that her sons don't sign up. I also hope that we get the kind of leadership in this country that will stop this cycle of endless war we've gotten into, so that the possibility of a draft can be avoided.
Related: Inspiration, Part One, Parts Two and Three, Part Four

Georgians KIA in Iraq Part Four: Captain Edward J. Korn

Captain Edward Jason Korn, 31, of Savannah, was killed on April 3, 2003. He was killed by friendly fire while scouting for Iraqi positions during a tank battle 15 miles southeast of Baghdad. Captain Korn grew up at the Bethesda Home for Boys. Jason, as his family called him, was a Desert Storm Veteran and Bronze Star recipient. He had been stationed at Fort Knox, but volunteered for war duty in March 2003. He was deployed with the 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart. There is a great deal of information about Captain Korn at the Arlington website. This is where I found this quote, from William McIlrath, assistant director of the Bethesda Home, who remembered Jason from his time there: "The thing that really impressed me about him was that he always told the truth, no matter how much it embarassed him or got him into trouble." If only the same could be said for President Bush, maybe Captain Korn would still be with us today.

Related: Inspiration, Part One, Parts Two and Three

Georgians KIA in Iraq Parts Two and Three: PFC Diego Fernando Rincon and PFC Michael Creighton Weldon

Army Pfc. Diego Fernando Rincon

19, of Conyers, Ga.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.; killed in a suicide car-bombing near Najaf, Iraq. Died: March 29, 2003

"Diego Rincon was inspired to fight for his adopted homeland following the brutal attacks of September 11. . . . The suicide attack that took Diego's life at Al-Najaf was the first of its kind during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Diego Rincon was awarded posthumous citizenship in a gesture that inspired national law." From My Country to Defend, a book by A. E. Dimond about PFC Rincon, who was born in Colombia.




Army Pfc. Michael Russell Creighton Weldon, 20, of Conyers, Ga.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.; killed in a suicide car-bombing near Najaf, Iraq. Died: March 29, 2003
While other soldiers lost their lives in that suicide bombing, PFCs Rincon and Weldon were the two who had Georgia listed as their home state, although many sites list Palm Bay, FL as PFC Weldon's home state. It appears that he lived in Conyers, but was actually from Palm Bay. Pfc. Weldon followed in the footsteps of his mother, Sgt. Maj. Jean Weldon, who recently retired from the military.


As I post these profiles, it makes me sick how these soldiers were lied to. PFC Rincon joined up because of the September 11 attacks. At the time of his death, the country was actively being deceived by the Bush Administration that there was a link between Saddam Hussein and those attacks. All the medals in the world won't make up for the fact that these young men died because of Bush's lies. That doesn't take away from their bravery and service, but it sure does piss me off!

Related: Inspiration, Part One

Georgians KIA in Iraq Part One: Army Spc. Jamaal R. Addison

Army Spc. Jamaal R. Addison Died: March 23, 2003

22, of Roswell, Ga.; assigned to the 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas; killed in an ambush near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Specialist Addison's mother, Patricia M. Roberts, set up a foundation in his name "as a means of honoring his service and life. The JAMF's primary focus is to offer opportunities for positive growth and expose youth to the wide options available to them to lead successful lives."

Addison attended Henderson High School from eighth to 10th grade, then went to Lakeside, where he was a member of the Junior ROTC and graduated with a college prep degree. Relatives fondly described Addison as the family's computer guru. His enlistment in the military came as a surprise to his ROTC instructors at Lakeside.

"I had no idea he was going into the Army," said Lt. Col. Sydney Sider, 58, a senior Air Force ROTC instructor at Lakeside High. "The last talk we had was that he was going to college."

But Sider added that Addison had the strength and character to be successful in the military.

"He was a very nice young man ... and a very good student," Sider said. "He was good in ROTC. I just wish I had him a little longer." Spec. Addison was a straight-A student who joined the Army days after graduating from high school to secure a future for his infant son.
He was deployed to Iraq just after his wedding to Tek'la, and they have a seven-year-old son (Jamaal II) and eight-year-old daughter (Christian).

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said March 26, 2003 that the 507th Maintenance Company ran into a heavily armed Iraqi combat unit that included two tanks and automatic weapons when it made the wrong turn near An Nasiriyah.

Spec. Addison's stepbrother, Rodney Fisher, was quoted in an LA Times article as saying "I never thought there was a reason to go to war in the first place. This sure as hell doesn't make it any better. This was a good man. He didn't deserve this. This whole thing is nonsense."
It should be noted that Spec. Addison was said to have been fully in favor of the war.

Related: Inspiration