Posted on 04/11/2003 8:20:44 PM PDT by Happy2BMe
Miyuki Cawley, the wife of U.S. Marine Staff Sgt James Cawley, holds the flag from her husband's casket in her lap during graveside services at the Roy City Cemetery Thursday, April 10, 2003 in Roy, Utah. Cawley died March 29, 2003 while serving in Iraq and also was a member of the Salt Lake City police force.
Bishop Jaime Soto is shown Friday, April 11, 2003, at St. Joaquim Catholic Church in Costa Mesa, Calif., at the funeral of U.S. Marine Cpl. Jose A. Garibay, shown in foreground. Garibay was killed March 23, 2003, after encountering Iraqi troops near An Nasiriyah, Iraq
A U.S. Marine color guard escorts the casket of U.S. Marine Cpl. Jose A. Garibay following funeral services at St. Joaquim Catholic Church, Friday, April 11, 2003, in Costa Mesa, Calif. Garibay was killed Sunday March 23, 2003, near An Nasiriyah, Iraq. He was buried at Riverside National Cemetery.
Fernando Suarez del Solar, center, leads a group of pallbearers carrying the casket of his son Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jesus Suarez del Solar into his funeral at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Escondido, Calif. Friday, April 11, 2003. Del Solar was killed in Iraq on March 27th.
Amaryllis Hernandez, second from right, the mother of U.S. Marine Cpl. Robert Marcus Rodriguez, is aided with smelling salts at the funeral of her son at the Blessed Sacrament Memorial Church in Brooklyn Friday April 11, 2003. Cpl. Rodriguez was remembered Friday as a 'son of New York' who died in Iraq
Amaryllis Hernandez, upper left, the mother of U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Robert Marcus Rodriguez, looks skyward while being comforted by husband Clemente Hernandez, behind her, as her son's casket is carried by a Marine color guard from Blessed Sacrament Church, in Brooklyn, Friday April 11, 2003. Rodriguez was remembered Friday as a 'son of New York' who died in Iraq
Sgt. Javier Vila, from Miami, Fla. cries as he and fellow soldiers pay their respects at a memorial service for Cpl. Henry Brown in Baghdad on Friday, April 11, 2003. Brown was killed on April 7. Brown, 22, was from Natchez, Miss. and is survived by his wife Jordona
Soldiers pay their respects at a memorial service for Cpl. Henry Brown in Baghdad on Friday, April 11, 2003. Brown, who was the driver of the commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, was killed on April 7 when an Iraqi rocket hit the headquarters near Baghdad. Brown, 22, was from Natchez, Miss. and is survived by his wife Jordona.
A British army hand out photograph shows the coffin of British Royal Marine Captiain Philip Guy arriving to be laid to rest at Waltonwrays Cemetery, Skipton, North Yorkshire, April 11, 2003. Captain Guy was killed in a helicopter crash in Kuwait at the start of the conflict with Iraq. Leading mourners at the funeral, which took place with full military honours on Friday, was Guy's 29-year-old wife Helen who gave birth to the couple's daughter Emily shortly after his death.
The funeral prosession of Royal Marine Captain Philip Guy leaves the Holy Trinity Church in Skipton, North Yorkshire in Britain, April 11, 2003. Captain Guy was killed in a helicopter crash in Kuwait at the start of the conflict with Iraq
The coffin of Royal Marine Captain Philip Guy, who died in a helicopter crash in Kuwait at the beginning of the conflict in Iraq, is carried outside Holy Trinity Church, in Skipton, England Friday April 11, 2003. Captain Guy's funeral was being carried out with full military honours.
Cecil Cawley, the 8-year-old son of U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. James Cawley, waves at his fathers casket as it is loaded into a hearse Thursday, April 10, 2003, in Bountiful, Utah. Cecil's mother, Miyuki Cawley, left, looks on. Cawley, 41, a Marine reservist from Layton, died March 29 in Iraq when struck by a coalition Humvee as he sought refuge from enemy fire. He also was a Salt Lake City Police detective and served on the department's gang unit and SWAT team.
A Marine color guard carries the casket Lance Cpl. Thomas Slocum into Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church for funeral services, Thursday, April 10, 2003, in Denver. Slocum was among 10 Marines who died March 23 in fierce fighting near An Nasiriyah, Iraq
Keiko Cawley, at left, wearing light blue dress, the 6-year-old daughter of Staff Sgt. James Cawley, follows her father's casket as it is wheeled toward a hearse, Thursday, April 10, 2003, in Bountiful, Utah. Cawley, Utah's first casualty in the war in Iraq, was buried Thursday with full military and police honors. Cawley, 41, a Marine reservist from Layton, Utah, died March 29 in Iraq when struck by a coalition Humvee as he sought refuge from enemy fire. (
Miyuki Cawley, left, wife of U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. James Cawley, reacts as the American flag from her husband's casket is handed to her during graveside services at the Roy City Cemetery Thursday, April 10, 2003, in Roy, Utah. Next to Cawley are her mother, Aiko Miyagi, center, and her father, Takimitsu Miyagi, right. James Cawley died March 29 in Iraq when struck by a coalition Humvee as he sought refuge from enemy fire.
A U.S. Marine Honor Guard carries the casket of Marine Cpl. Evan James to his grave site in LaHarpe, Ill., Thursday, April 10, 2003. James, 20, of LaHarpe, drowned while attempting to cross a canal in southeast Iraq on March 24.
A Marine Honor Guard carries the casket of U.S. Marine Cpl. Evan James into funeral services Thursday, April 10, 2003, in La Harpe, Ill. James drowned while crossing the Saddam Canal on March 24 in southeast Iraq
Jorge and Yolana Rincon watch with their children Jorge Jr., and Stephanine as an American flag is folded during a funeral service for their son Army pfc. Diego Rincon Thursday, April 10, 2003 in Conyers, Ga. Rincon was killed March 29 in Iraq. In Spanish and English, friends and family of Diego Rincon remembered the Colombian-born U.S. soldier Thursday as a young man who touched hundreds of lives in just 19 years of life.
Dog tags, boots, rifles and photos of the fallen soldiers are on display as part of the fallen comrade memorial display at the memorial service for three servicemen from Fort Sill who were killed in the war in Iraq, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Thursday, April 10. Pictured in the photographs from left to right are Sgt. 1st Class Randall Rehn, Sgt. Todd Robbins and Spc. Samuel Oaks, Jr. who were killed in Iraq on April 3, 2003.
Nannette Slocum, stepmother of Marine Lance Cpl. Thomas Slocum of Thornton, Colo., kisses the casket bearing the body of the soldier killed in Iraq after a memorial service in Fort Logan National Cemetery in Sheridan, Ccolo., on Thursday, April 10, 2003. Slocum wass the first soldier from Colorado killed in the conflict with Iraq
Nannette Slocum, left, stepmother of Marine Lance Cpl. Thomas Slocum of Thornton, Colo., writes a message on the lid of the casket bearing the first Colorado soldier to die in Iraq, as the Marine's 12-year-old stepsister Amanda fights back tears after a memorial service at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Sheridan, Colo., on Thursday, April 10, 2003.
Army Pfc. Diego Rincon's uniform and photograph stand next to his flag-draped casket during a funeral service Thursday, April 10, 2003 in Conyers, Ga. Rincon was killed March 29 in Iraq
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington
 Associated Press Sgt. 1st Class James MacKenzie plays "Taps" during the funeral of Army Ranger Capt. Russell B. Rippetoe at Arlington National Cemetery. |
Rippetoe, 27, an Army Ranger from Denver, and two other soldiers were killed April 4 when a car bomb exploded at an Iraqi checkpoint.
Another Ranger who was wounded in the incident was bandaged and witnessed the service from a wheelchair. Another, injured in a seperate incident in Iraq, was on crutches with a heavy knee brace.
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Eight Rangers from his unit, wearing khaki berets and blinking back tears, were honorary pallbearers.
"When he joined, he joined full force. He didn't just join the Army, he joined the Rangers," said Lt. Col. James May, an Army chaplain. "Russell was a man who loved his troops and they loved him."
Next to the grave, framed with a wreath of flowers, were pictures of Rippetoe, grinning as a infant, others as a young soldier in fatigues smiling in a tent and holding a rifle, and another kissing his mother on the cheek.
 Associated Press Army Ranger Capt. Shawn Daniel, left, presents the flag to Rita, the mother of Army Ranger Capt. Russell B. Rippetoe, as his father, retired Lt. Col. Joe Rippetoe looks on. |
His father, retired Lt. Col. Joe Rippetoe, who was wounded during two tours in Vietnam, was in uniform and saluted the Rangers as they knelt in front of the parents expressing condolences.
Rippetoe was a fire support officer, who called in airstrikes and artillery support for his unit, said Capt. Logan Stanton, who was based with Rippetoe at Fort Benning, Ga.
"He loved being in the Rangers," Stanton said. "He was a warrior and a Ranger."
Rippetoe was manning a checkpoint in Iraq when a pregnant woman jumped from a car stopped at the checkpoint screaming in fear. The soldiers approached the car when it exploded, killing two Rangers, the woman and the driver of the car, according to the Defense Department.
He was born July 21, 1975, and spent most of his childhood in Bellevue, Neb., until his family moved to Denver in 1988. He graduated from Broomfield High School in Denver 1993 and Metro State College in 1999. He was a member of the University of Colorado ROTC program. After college, he joined the Rangers in the 3rd Battalion of the 75th Ranger regiment at Fort Benning.
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Still reeling from the dreaded news that 22-year-old Specialist Mathew George Boule was killed when an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Iraq, they're looking to a reunification with a sense of relief.
Mathew Boule was among six soldiers killed in the crash, becoming the first Massachusetts casualty of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Four colleagues were injured and one remains missing.
All were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment based at Hunter Army Airfield near Savannah, Ga. The Boules received the dreaded news Thursday at 11:30 p.m. when an Army colonel knocked on the door of their 15 B Primrose Hill Road home, a natural shingle two-family house.
On Sunday, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Walker Rogers Post 662 in Lowell will honor Mathew and tie yellow ribbons along a fence to show support for the troops.
It's the soldier not the reporter who gives you the freedom of the press.
It's the soldier not the poet who gives you the freedom of speech.
It's the soldier not the campus organizer who allows you to demonstrate.
It's the soldier who salutes the flag, serves the flag, whose coffin is draped with the flag that allows the protester to burn the flag!!!
"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen."
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