IRAQ WAR TODAY
Keep Your Helmet On!




Be A Part of a Tribute to Fallen Heroes - Help Build the Fallen Soldiers' Bike
Help support the families of our deployed Heroes - Visit Soldiers' Angels' Operation Outreach
Help Our Heroes Help Others - Click Here to visit SOS: KIDS
Nominate your Hero for IWT's "Hero of the Month" - click here for details!
Search Iraq War Today only

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Charlie Troop says goodbye to friend

A Bradley Fighting Vehicle is parked next to the color guard for 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment attached to 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers as they stand behind a memorial for Sgt. Thomas Boyd Turner Jr., team leader, C Troop, 1st Sqdn., 32nd CAV, during a ceremony July 21 at Forward Operating Base Normandy near Al Muqdadia, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, July 21, 2006)


by Pfc. Paul J. Harris
3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team,
4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office


Al Muqdadia, Iraq (July 21, 2006) -- "The best way to describe Tom Turner would be a grizzly bear with a teddy bear's heart," said Staff Sgt. Matthew Loringer, during a memorial service for his fallen comrade and friend Friday at Forward Operating Base Normandy near Al Muqdadia, Iraq.

Loringer, a team leader for Charlie Troop, 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment attached to 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers continued by describing Turner’s likeable qualities. "The one that really shines was his humbleness. You could tell he was no stranger to hard work by his rugged, tough appearance."

Sgt. Thomas Boyd Turner Jr. died from injuries he sustained from a improvised explosive device July 14. Turner was a team leader for C Troop, 1st Sqdn., 32nd CAV. Prior to joining the Army he co-owned a logging company in Northern California. If ever asked why he gave up a successful business to join the Army he always replied with “I want to serve my country,” Loringer said.

While packing up Turner’s belongings Staff Sgt. Dustin Swanson, his platoon sergeant, noticed his notebook and saw a passage that was earmarked. "He was quite the deep thinker," Swanson said. "He would always try to write down powerful statements from brave and amazing people as well as passages from books and poems."

This inspired Swanson to read the passage from Shakespeare's Henry V during the ceremony knowing it would have meant a lot to Turner. "From this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be remembered; we few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother."

This sentiment was exemplified by Turner's best friend Sgt. Gary Mette, who was in the same unit. "These past couple of days has been the saddest of my life. I loved you like a brother and will always consider you as one," he said. "Thank you for touching my life in so many ways. There will always be an empty place in my heart for you that no one will be able to fill."

Turner served in Operation Iraqi Freedom I with Company D, 3rd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment at Fort Campbell, Ky., where he participated in the battle that killed Uday and Qusay Hussein. Turner deployed to Iraq for the second time in September of 2005 with C Troop, 1st Sqdn., 32nd CAV and conducted multiple air assault missions and patrols helping to maintain the security of the eastern Diyala Province, Iraq.

Some of Turner's medals include the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Army Commendation Medal. He is preceded by his father, Thomas Sr. and survived by his mother, Frances, his wife Jennifer and his two children Sarah and Ethan.

"Sgt. Turner embodied what we in 1st Sqdn., 32nd CAV refer to as being 'switched on'," said Lt. Col. Arthur Kandarian, commander, 1st Sqdn., 32nd CAV. "He understood why we are here, he understood why our Army fights the current evil, and he understood the mission. I know he knew what was at stake for Iraq, for our nation and for his and our families back home."




Sgt. Thomas Boyd Turner Jr., team leader, C Troop, 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment attached to 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers, picture adorns his memorial stand July 21 at Forward Operating Base Normandy near Al Muqdadia, Iraq. Turner was killed as a result of injuries sustained from an improvised explosive device July 14. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, July 21, 2006)



Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment attached to 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers fire volleys into the air for Sgt. Thomas Boyd Turner Jr., team leader, C Troop, 1st Sqdn., 32nd CAV, during a memorial July 21 at Forward Operating Base Normandy near Al Muqdadia, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, July 21, 2006)



Sgt. Gary Mette, assistant team leader, 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment attached to 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers, is overcome with emotion as he speaks on behalf of his best friend Sgt. Thomas Boyd Turner Jr., team leader, C Troop, 1st Sqdn., 32nd CAV, during a memorial July 21 at Forward Operating Base Normandy near Al Muqdadia, Iraq. Turner died from wound sustained from and IED. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, July 21, 2006)



Sgt. Gary Mette, assistant team leader, 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment kneels and says a prayer for is his best friend Sgt. Thomas Boyd Turner Jr. during a memorial ceremony July 21 at Forward Operating Base Normandy near Al Muqdadia, Iraq. Turner, who was in the same unit, which is attached to 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers, died of wound sustained from and IED. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, July 21, 2006)



Our hearts are with the family, friends, and comrades of this fallen Hero.

On Patrol in Iraq

U.S. Army soldiers from the 402nd Civil Affairs Battalion employ flares to control traffic as they convoy through Al Alam, Iraq, July 14, 2006.U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Melissa Thornhill


U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Terry Davis Jr., from 402nd Civil Affairs Battalion, observes the surrounding area near Tuz, Iraq, during a convoy mission, July 13, 2006.U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Melissa Thornhill


U.S. Army soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division talk with local farmers during a nine-day operation in search of insurgents in Salah Ad Din, Iraq, July 6, 2006.U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika


U.S. Army soldiers conduct a foot patrol in search of weapon caches and to visit a small village near Mushahda, Iraq, July 17, 2006.U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Larson


U.S. Army soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division, Air Assault, perform a routine inspection of checkpoints guarded by Iraqi army soldiers from the 4th Iraqi Army Division along a main supply route near Samarra, Iraq, July 13, 2006.U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Shawn Hussong


U.S. Army soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division clear ask the residents of a home to wait outside in order to speak with an Iraqi farmer in Salah Ad Din, Iraq, July 6, 2006, as part of a nine-day operation in search of insurgents.U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika


U.S. Army soldiers prepare to search an abandoned building near Mushahda, Iraq, during a reconnaissance patrol in search of weapon caches, July 17, 2006.U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Larson


U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Wade, 101st Airborne Division, calls fellow soldiers to the front during a gun battle with insurgents during a nine-day operation in Salah Ad Din, Iraq, July 6, 2006.U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika


Two U.S. Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters take off during a patrol in Salah Ad Din, Iraq, July 6, 2006, as part of a nine-day operation in search of insurgents.U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika


Members of the U.S. Army, 101st Airborne Division, walk through a bombed out building after a firefight with insurgents in Salah Ad Din, Iraq, July 6, 2006.U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika


U.S. Army Sgt. Nicholas Fate provides perimeter security in a rural field near Mushahda, Iraq, during a patrol in search of weapon caches, July 17, 2006.U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Larson
RE-ENLISTMENT — Vice President Dick Cheney administers the Ceremonial Oath of Re-enlistment to U.S. Army Cpl. Jarrod Fields, at a rally for the troops at Fort Stewart, Ga., July 21, 2006. Fields was wounded by an improvised explosive device in 2005 while serving in Iraq with the 3rd Infantry Division. White House photo by David Bohrer
Remarks - Story

In Today's News - Sunday, July 23, 2006

Quote of the Day
"Terrorists oppose nations such as the United States and Australia
not because of what we have done but because of who we are
and because of the values that we hold in common. "

-- Australian PM John Howard

News of Note
Israel at War
'Knock Out Hezbollah'
Israelis cross into Lebanon
Reporter's Notebook: FNC's Greg Palkot Details His Journey
Israel Hits Lebanese TV Station
Warplanes Strike in Lebanon
Gaza Cease-Fire Reached?
Bush: Rice to Focus on Hezbollah
Video: U.S. Sends Arms to Israel
Video: Securing the Border
Video: No 'Intel' for Hezbollah
Video: Bush Talks Mideast
Transcript: Bush's Address
Pressuring Hizbollah, Iran, Syria key: Bush
US rushes precision-guided bombs to Israel: NYTimes
Cyprus takes in more evacuees - Video
Lebanese flee north raising white flags
Somali Islamists and government clash - Video
Israel battles Hezbollah, takes village
Survival may equal victory for Hezbollah
Bush: Rice trip will focus on Hezbollah
Palestinian militants deny cease-fire deal
Israel hastily musters its citizen army
Famed Beirut nightlife shows resilience

Operation Iraqi Freedom
2 U.S. GIs Killed in Iraq- Maliki: Cease-Fire in Mideast- More Troops Deployed to Iraq
2 U.S. troops, 12 others killed in Baghdad


Operation Enduring Freedom
19 Suspected Taliban Killed
NATO to Expand in Afghanistan
Afghan attacks kill 8

Homeland Security / War on Terror



Immigration / Border Control



NSA / CIA



Worldwide Wackos
Castro, Chavez visit Che Guevara home in Argentina


Homegrown Moonbats



Politics / Government
Dems: Nev., S.C. Should Move Up Presidential Primaries
Dems may put caucus between Iowa, N.H.
Arrested Bush dissenters eye courts
In the Courts



U.N. News



Hurricane Season / Wild Weather / Mother Nature
Recovery Slow in St. Louis- Parts of NYC Still Blacked Out
Calif. temperatures spark record power use
Some see accused New Orleans MD as hero
Battered St. Louis seeks volunteer nurses
Heat-battered St. Louis begins recovery

Oddities
Jury acquits man of 'handshake' assaults


Other News of Note



Fox News
Kansas Sisters Found Starved
Take Walk in Space for $35M
Girl Missing in Grand Canyon
Landis Retakes Lead on Eve of Tour de France Finish
Tiger Leads British Open
FULL SPORTS COVERAGE

Reuters: Top News
Killings, horror rise in Sri Lanka's war zone
Sex is on everyone's mind at swinging convention
Former mayor at center of sex scandal dies
California to lend stem-cell center up to $150 mln
Microsoft ready to do the robot
New chips give Intel upper hand in price war
"Jungle justice" on the rise in Cameroon
Togo says halves HIV/AIDS rate
Living with dirty air may boost heart attack risk
Aguilera "Back" with ambitious album
Toby Keith makes movie debut
Earnings and Mideast to keep stocks on edge
Wireless, Web seen driving AT&T, Verizon earnings
Google stock treads water despite standout results
Amylin shares fall on Lehman downgrade
Stocks drop as Dell weighs on tech shares
On the Radar: LatAm ADRs
The Reuters Select wrap-up
FDA clears AstraZeneca asthma drug
On the roller coaster with leveraged ETFs
Stock buybacks boom, where's the bounce?
Microsoft ready to do the robot
M&A boom brings more deals, but premiums shrink

AP World News
Los Lonely Boys bassist arrested in Texas
Hydrogen fuel cell company starts small
No one ready to give this major to Woods
Barring disaster, victory awaits Landis
Fey, Dratch leaving 'SNL' for '30 Rock'
New washers, dryers send messages to PCs
Warmer waters disrupt Pacific food chain
July 30 election is watershed for Congo
Woman granted court order against Cusack
Orlando set to shatter homicide record
2 recovering after Tenn. knife attack

CENTCOM: News Releases
MND-B SOLDIERS CAPTURE WANTED TERRORIST

IARQI, MND-B SOLDIERS SCOUT OUT EXPLOSIVE DEVICES, RENDER THEM HARMLESS

COALITION TURNS OVER AMIR GUL TO AFGHAN GOVERNMENT

TWO IRAQI FORCE RAIDS IN BAGHDAD NET FOUR INSURGENTS

URUZGAN GOVERNOR RETURNS TO CHENAR TU

COALITION SOLDIER KILLED FROM ROCKET ATTACK IN SHARANA

COALITION FORCES CONDUCT RAID NORTHWEST OF BAQUBAH

IWO JIMA ESG ARRIVES TO ASSIST WITH DEPARTURE OF AMERICAN CITIZENS FROM LEBANON

IRAQI ARMY SOLDIERS KILL 5 TERRORISTS, WOUND 13, DETAIN 47 DURING FIREFIGHT

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Iraqis Net Insurgents, Weapons - Story
Forces Kill, Detain Terrorists
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
U.S. Marines Keep Vigilant Watch in Ramadi - Story
Chinooks Save Lives by Transporting Troops - Story
Iraqi Government Assumes Control in Mosul - Story
Iraqi Security Forces Accept Control of Bases - Story

IN IRAQ
Denver Broncos Cheerleaders Rally Troops
Airborne Soldiers Add Armor to Humvees
Airmen Teach Iraqi Volunteers to Battle Blazes
Soldiers Expand Forward Operating Base

IN AFGHANISTAN
Extremists Destroy Afghan School

DefendAmerica Week in Review
Sunday - Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday

BACKGROUND
IRAQ
Renewal In Iraq
Iraq: Security, Stability
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq (PDF)
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (PDF)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Weekly Reconstruction Report (PDF)
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Fact Sheet: Budget Request
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

CASUALTIES
Marine Killed; Casualties Identifieds - Story

Weather
Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut
An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul

Gitmo

Today in History
0636 - Arabs take control of most of Palestine from the Byzantines.
1253 - Jews are expelled from Vienne, France on the order of Pope Innocent III .
1298 - Jews are massacred at Wurzburg, Germany.
1798 - Napoleon captures Alexandria, Egypt.
1877 - Cincinnati Southern becomes the first US municipal railroad.
1886 - Steve Brodie supposedly jumps off the Brooklyn Bridge and lives to tell the tale.
1904 - At the Louisiana Purchase Expo, Charles E. Menches creates the ice cream cone.
1914 - Austria-Hungary issues the ultimatum to Serbia that will lead to WWI.
1920 - Kenya becomes a British colony.
1931 - France announces they can't afford to send a team to the 1932 Olympics (LA).
1940 - The "Blitz" begins with an all-night raid on London.
1944 - U.S. forces invade Japanese-held Tinian.
1947 - 1st (US Navy) air squadron of jets, Quonset Point, RI.
1952 - General Neguib seizes power, ending the monarchy in Egypt.
1956 - The Bell X-2 rocket plane sets a world aircraft speed record of 3,050 kph.
1958 - The British House of Lords sees the first four women named to peerage.
1964 - The Egyptian munition ship "Star of Alexandria," an Egyptian munitions ship, explodes dockside, killing 100, injuring 160, and causing $20 million of damage.
1974 - The Greek military dictatorship collapses.
1978 - Israel rejects Egypt's call for the return of parts of Sinai.
1980 - Billy Carter admits to being paid by Libya.

This Day in Terrorism
1968 - The PLO hijacks an El Al plane for the first time.
1977 - A Washington jury convicts 12 Hanafi Moslems on hostage charges.

Holidays
Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Oman - National Day (1952)

Birthdays
1888 - Dr. Milan Stoyadinovich Serbia, fascist, Yugoslavina PM
1892 - Haile Selassie emperor of Ethiopia
1919 - Pee Wee Reese, baseball great
1927 - Elliot M. See Jr., astronaut
1936 - Anthony M. Kennedy., U.S. Supreme Court Justice
1947 - Don Imus, radio personality
1950 - Kaity Tong, news anchor (WABC-TV NYC)

Passings
1844
- Christian Gobrecht, 4th U.S. chief engraver
1885 - Ulysses S. Grant, 18th U.S. President

Reported Missing in Action
1962

Matagulay, Roque S., US Army (CA); interred by the Japanese as a child on Guam, "Atomic Soldier", also exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam, captured while out with a hunting party, released December, 1962 - deceased December, 1999.

1966
Newsom, Benjamin, USAF (USVI); F105F shot down, remains returned March, 1974

Pemberton, Gene Thomas, USAF (MO); F105D shot down

Smith, William W., USAF (AR); O1E shot down, KIA, body not recovered

1968
Gosen, Lawrence D., USN (MN); A4F impacted water and exploded immediately following launch, KIA, body not recovered

1972
Shank, Gary Leslie, USN (KS); A7B shot down, KIA, remains returned July, 1984

nocashfortrash.org