3 Members Of Ft. Lewis Stryker Brigade Killed In Iraq

KOMO1000 News ^ | 12/08/03 | KOMO Staff

[TexKat]

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - Three soldiers from the Stryker Brigade Combat Team were killed in an accident during a combat patrol in Iraq Sunday night, ABC News reports. A fourth soldier was injured.

The accident occurred after an embankment on an unimproved road collapsed, causing two Stryker infantry carrier vehicles to roll over into a canal. ABC News says it was not a result of hostile fire.

Heavy rainfall in the area might have been a cause, but the Army is still investigating.

The names of those killed have not been released.

[oldironsides]

The ugly start for this Stryker group began when a female
Sgt was raped while showering. She was beaten and raped by unknowns. Possibly her own fellow trooper? She was a married 4 yr. vet from Lancaster County Pa. deployed to the middle east. She is not getting much support or help

[Victoria Delsoul]

Sorry to hear about the news. My prayers are with your wife's grandson. May God grant him eternal and peaceful rest.

[PokeyBS]

I am so sorry to hear of your family's loss. We are all proud of your wife's Grandson. Please convey to your wife that we will say a prayer for your family tonight.

Anita

[archy]

Thanks for all the posts on the strykers. We just found out this morning that my wife's grandson was one of the three killed in the accident. Till I read this we had thought that it was a bridge collapse that put them in the canal.

His war has come to an end, but his most important mission, that of taking care of his fellow troopers and soldiers, is not quite yet completed. Those other two families are now enduring that which you're feeling, and none of us can fully appreciate nor understand that loss.

I expect you know that if he was still around, he'd be doing what he could for those other two families, but since he can't, you have to be the ones to carry on that duty for him.

You know better than I that not everyone can or will react to such crushing loss the same way; some find religious faith or patriotism helpful, some retreat into grief, others find vengence a worthwhile goal- and I will not presume to tell you how you or the others will or should react; and there are other possibilities, of course. But only you can reach to those two other families that know this loss, and only you can rely fully upon each other in this time.

God bless you. But you take care of those others, for your grandson's sake, and in his memory. He died in some mighty fine company.

-archy-/-

[Alamo-Girl]

Amen. May God bless this family!

[sbct for freedom]

I am so sorry your phone had to ring. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. My the good time you shared shine bright and your memories stay strong.

[Vetvoice]

If the Senators who rammed these things through Congress (Stevens and Inouye) would not take the $500 Million dollars for each brigade in defense spending - I would have less heartburn over the vehicle.

In Inouye's case, he got one brigade of the 25th Infantry approved as a Stryker brigade and wanted another. In anticipation of receiving the second brigade he went ahead and requested a priority approptriation of $1 BILLION dollars in Hawaii for Garages, shops, and other buildings they do not have now. Surprise, he got his second Stryker Brigade in the next round of voting AND his $1 BILLION dollars for the Hawaiian contractors who will elect his protege General Eric Shinseki, who selected the Strykers, to the US Senate to Inouye's seat next year.

This entire project has been driven by politics instead of excellence since it began with all tracked vehicles excluded from bidding.

[Vetvoice]

I saw in Defense Links this morning that Fort Campbell is the heaviest hit of all military posts with 54 dead.

However, Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the 5th Special Forces Group, and the guys who fly the tough missions, the 160 Special Operations Avaition Regiment.

[Proud Legions]

Can't argue with some of your points. Clearly politics had a lot to do with the 25ID getting two Stryker Brigades. And if Shinseki does run for the Senate seat in Hawaii, it will look even fishier.

[ChadGore]

Thoughts and prayers with you and yours.

[blackie]

God bless and comfort you and your family ~ Amen ~ Bump!

[soldiers dad]

my sons name is Spc Brandon Turner He is in the C1-37 Field Artillery Unit of the SBCT. He is a 20 yr old Inupiaq Eskimo from Anchorage Alaska. He married his girlfriend the weekend before he shipped out. Thanks for asking.. and I pray daily for all those brave soldiers fighting the forces of evil.

[lobo59]

Thanks to all of you for your lovely wonderful thoughts. This is not to slight anyone who wished her well. Please think of the families of those lost, any time there is a combat or accidental death among our brave and dedicated troops. The impact reaches far into our communities and across our nation. Bless you all.

[TEXOKIE]

Lobo59, words fail in expressing the emotions felt upon learning of this loss, but they are all we have. Please, accept my deepest condolences. Please accept my deepest gratitude for the service of your grandson.

RC, thank you for letting me know about this.

Dear Heavenly Father,

We have learned of the loss of this young man in an accident while he was being transported in one of the new Stryker vehicles. Father, we mourn his loss. Please wrap him in your arms and take him to a very very special place in Heaven. Please convey directly to him the gratitude we have for the service he gave this nation and those who love freedom on this planet. Assure him that we shall not forget the sacrifice. Father, he stepped up to the plate and was willing to place himself between his loved home and the war's desolation. He is, by coming forth when his nation was under attack, wearing the uniform, training, and being deployed, one of our genuine heroes.

Father, if there is anything to be learned about this new Stryker vehicle because of this accident, then let the lessons be learned so that the sacrifice of our young friend may not have been in vain. We call forth your holy angels of protection to please surround each and every Stryker vehicle, tank, humvee, car, trailer, airplane, jet, motorcycle, train, ship, boat, and all conveyances used to transport our troops.

Father, we join lobo59 and their family during this time of sorrow and mourning. Father, bring forth your angels of comfort and healing to surround this family. Grant them a measure of true joy and true peace during this Christmas season despite the devastating loss. Father, we have come to trust the profound caring you have for each of us. You ARE our beloved Father, and you have never ever given us a stone when we have asked you for Bread. We are grateful for your Will outplaying in our lives. We may sometimes not fully appreciate your Plan as it unfolds, but grant us a measure of faith and Vision to stay hallowed in a sphere of trust that all will be well.

This which we call forth for lobo59, we call forth for all who are grieving the loss of a young person who will not be coming Home. We continue to call forth the mitigation and minimizing of all loss of life of our troops as much as your great Law will allow. Grant these families a very special Christmas miracle of your love and healing.

Amen

[blackie]

Thank God for the brave men and women fighting for our freedom and God bless their families!

[Vetvoice]

Shinseki has already begun his gladhand rounds on Capitol Hill squired around by Senator Inouye. My friends in Hawaii tell me that he is at all public gatherings. That's not the lifestyle you would expect from a General taking time off after a military career that spanned almost 4 decades.

He's running for the Senate in Inouye's stead and he's got enough chips stacked at General Dynamics to carry the race. Hawaii is not an expensive media market comparatively speaking. He can buy it all.

[Mr. Silverback]

I don't know if your wife can take this now, but when she can, please tell her that I and my house also mourn his loss because we know where our freedoms come from. He is a hero proved in liberating strife, and we are so grateful that he heard and answered freedom's call. May he rest in peace.

We send you Isaiah 61:3.

Christ will...
comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion-
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.

[TexKat]

I just read your post. My condolences to you, your wife and all who is a part of this young brave hero. May God rest his soul and bless all of you.

[archy]

Staff Sargeant Stephen H. Bridges of Tracy, Calif., shown in this undated family photo released Thursday, Dec. 11, 2003, was one of three soldiers killed in a Stryker accident in Iraq (news - web sites) Dec. 8, 2003. Three of 19 soldiers inside two of the new Stryker combat vehicles died and a fourth was injured when an embankment collapsed and the vehicles fell into an Iraqi irrigation canal on Monday.
(AP Photo/Courtesy U. S. Army, via The News Tribune, File)

Spc. Joesph M. Blickenstaff is shown in this undated family photo released Thursday, Dec. 11, 2003, by the public affairs office at Fort Lewis, Wash. Blickenstaff, 23, of Corvallis, Ore., was one of the three Stryker Brigade soldiers that died in Iraq (news - web sites) this month, the Department of Defense (news - web sites) said on Thursday. (AP Photo/Courtesy of U.S. Army, Fort Lewis, File)

[Darksheare]

Putting faces to names.