Replies

Army Reserve Specialist Brandon Tobler

http://www.katu.com/news/war_story.asp?ID=55794

Portland soldier falls victim to wartime accident

On Saturday, Gail Tobler's worst fear was realized.
She came home to find a military car in the driveway and three officers at her door. She immediately knew that her son wouldn't be coming home.

A Southeast Portland family mourns for a young man who was just 19-years old.

"The loss is just unbearable, unbearable," said the young soldier's uncle Scott Tom. "He was a dynamic young man. He touched everyone he came in contact with."

Tom speaks fondly of his nephew, showing pictures to KATU, "This is one of my favorite pictures right here. This is a rosy cheeked young man who volunteered to fight for his country."

The soldier, Brandon Tobler volunteered for the Army Reserve as a way to make money for college.

The Franklin High School graduate dreamed of one day becoming a Portland Police officer. But on Saturday those dreams died in the Iraqi desert.

Brandon was traveling north from Kuwait to Baghdad with a military convoy.

His Humvee crashed into the back of another heavy truck during a blinding sandstorm. Brandon was instantly killed.

Last December, KATU spoke to Brandon's mother, who was struggling to get through the holidays without her only child.

"I don't advocate war, especially when it takes our people. but I know our country had to be defended in some way shape or form," said Gail Tobler.

Now her son and her family has made the ultimate sacrifice.

"He told us in church that he was going to Kuwait. And he said, 'It's ok grandma. I'll be in the rear with the gear. It will be ok. I'll be in the rear with the gear," said Tom.

Brandon's body is still in Iraqi in what's called a 'hot zone' where choppers not allowed to fly him out.

So for now, funeral arrangements are on hold.

Lance Corporal David Fribley

http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/1/031736-5051-009.html

Fighting claims 1st Indiana victims

'He . . . led by example rather than with words.'

By Dan McFeely and John Tuohy
dan.mcfeely@indystar.com
March 26, 2003

ATWOOD, Ind. -- This is how war truly hits home.

A loud knock on the door. A glance at the clock. Visitors at 4 a.m.

With two boys in the military, Garry and Linda Fribley had a pretty good idea what to expect when the knock came. Two Marines and a military chaplain confirmed their fear.

Their oldest son would not be coming home alive.

"This was something we knew could happen, but this is what David wanted to do," said Garry Fribley. "I have always told my kids to follow their hearts, and that is what he was doing."

Lance Cpl. David Fribley, 26, was killed in action Sunday, one of nine Marines ambushed by an Iraqi unit that pretended to surrender near An Nasiriyah, a city about 230 miles southeast of Baghdad. He had been in the service about a year.

Tuesday afternoon at the Fribley home in Atwood, a small community west of Warsaw, his father struggled to make sense of what happened in the desert that night.

"They were too nice, and they trusted them," Fribley said. "You can't trust anyone. But David would have given the shirt off his back to help anybody.

"War is ugly. There are no nice guys."

Sitting on a concrete stoop, wiping tears from his eyes, Fribley said he feels no anger against the government. But he had a message for President Bush.

"It is time to take the gloves off. Let's get the job done and get everyone back home."

His youngest son, Steven, serves in the Air Force in Great Falls, Mont. He was expected home Tuesday night to be with his family.

David Fribley's body is still in Iraq. The Marines told his father it could be three or more weeks before the body is returned to the United States.

Fribley's family has turned down an offer to have him buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Instead, he will be laid to rest in a small township cemetery in nearby Etna Green, a short drive from the family home.

"His mother and I want him home," Garry Fribley said. "It was a great honor that he could be buried in Arlington, but we know David. He loved the small town, quiet scene.

"And, if I want to go to talk to him in the cemetery, I can do that here."

Neighbors in Etna Green said the family was a large, hard-working clan that had deep local roots.

Dick Jordan, 67, worked with David Fribley one summer at the local Creighton egg plant.

"He was a tremendous kid," Jordan said. "Not one of those wild types. And he was a hard worker."

David Fulkerson, athletic director at Warsaw Community High School, called Fribley "a quiet kid who was well-respected by his teammates."

"He was the kind of guy who led by example rather than with words."

Fribley played center and defensive end at Warsaw, where he was named most valuable player for both the track and football teams.

Ted Huber, assistant football coach at Ball State University in Muncie, coached Fribley in football and basketball at Warsaw.

"He wasn't a loud guy, but he had a great sense of humor. He had this little smirk he wore when he had just pulled one over on someone. It made people laugh."

After he heard the news Monday night, Fulkerson said, he "drove around town and just broke down crying."

Huber said he was shocked.

"You watch this and see reports of casualties and never imagine that of all the people, it would be someone who was so close to you."

After graduating from Indiana State University in 2001 with a degree in recreational business management, Fribley got a job at Shell Point, a retirement community in Fort Myers, Fla. There, he coordinated events for residents. He loved working with older people.

He was working there when terrorists attacked New York City and the Pentagon.

"It affected him a lot, and that's when he began pondering joining the Marines," said Kathy Nordman, Shell Point spokeswoman.

"One of the retirees here he was close to was a former Marine, and I know he had a lot of discussions with him."

When Fribley left his job, he sent a note to his manager, Tammy Laude.

"The greatest gift one can give is the gift of service," he wrote.

One week after enlisting, he met someone, fell in love and was engaged to be married. The family won't name her because "she has to get on with her life."

After boot camp, Fribley was stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., until he was shipped to Kuwait. He called home shortly before the war started.

"He had seen conditions that were worse than you can imagine," Garry Fribley said. "He said something needs to be done.

"(Saddam Hussein) is a bad person -- we all know that. Do I hate him? No.

"Do I hate his regime? Well, they are just thugs who want to rule the world. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. And if we don't take care of this now, 10 to 20 years down the road, we are all going to pay."

Sgt. Michael Vernon Lalush

http://www.wric.com/Global/story.asp?S=1210324&nav=0RcxEyG1

2nd Virginian Killed (He was born on the 4th of July)

Sgt. Michael Vernon Lalush could hardly wait to send home pictures of his new job helping transport wounded soldiers in southern Iraq to hospitals. This was exactly the kind of service he wanted. Those pictures will now be the last images Lalush's family will have of their 23-year-old son.

Marines told the family that Lalush died Sunday in a Huey helicopter crash while serving in the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron in southern Iraq. He had been deployed from the Marine Corps Air Station at Camp Pendleton, California. Military officials said the helicopter crashed at a forward supply and refueling point, killing three Marines and injuring one. The cause was unclear but enemy fire was not involved, Capt. Dani Burrows of U.S. Central Command said.

``He was a wonderful child,'' Lalush's mother, Becky, said Tuesday. ``He was going to be career military. He felt they were doing the right thing.''

Lalush was the second Virginian reported killed in the war with Iraq. Marine Staff Sgt. Donald C. May Jr., 31, whose mother lives in Richmond, was killed last week when his tank went off a bridge into the Euphrates River.

From birth it seemed, Lalush was trying to fix things, said Linda McMillan, a family friend who knew Michael Lalush from birth. He always had his hands in equipment, tinkering with lawnmowers
and cars. As a teenager, he dragged home a pink 1965 Volkswagen Beetle, rebuilt and repainted it, and in no time was driving it around the neighborhood.

Lalush moved to Virginia with his family in 1994 from Sunnyville, Calif., settling in a quiet house on a hilltop overlooking farmland about 20 miles north of Roanoke. A tall, gangly boy who eventually sprouted several inches above his parents, Lalush was anything but the stereotypically domineering military man, McMillan said. He was quieter, more sensitive, she said. He loved his sister, Danielle, and depended on his family. ``He was just like a little puppy,'' McMillan said. ``He wouldn't like it, but I'd always rub his prickly head.'' More than anything, McMillan said, Lalush wanted to be a pilot and he wanted to be a Marine.

After graduating from Lord Botetourt High School, Lalush left for boot camp at Parris Island in South Carolina. He was transferred to Camp Lejeune, N.C. and then to Camp Pendleton, said David Lalush, his father. As expected, Lalush specialized in fixing things.

In his final message that the family received last Wednesday, Michael said he was finally discovering his dream in Iraq. He told his mother that he was finally using his skills to help people. ``He said, 'Momma, this is what it's all about,''' McMillan said.

Becky Lalush said a memorial service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery, where Michael Lalush will be buried.

Army Cpl. Michael Curtin

http://newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2003/0402/Front_Page/001.html

Howell soldier Falls In Iraq

By Kathy Baratta
Staff Writer

The war in Iraq came home to Howell on Monday with the news that township resident Army Cpl. Michael Curtin, 23, was one of four American soldiers killed on March 29 by the first reported suicide bombing of the war.

Curtin, who was with the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division, was killed along with three other soldiers who approached their disguised killer with the intention of coming to his aid.

According to information provided by the Army, an Iraqi officer disguised as a taxi driver had deceived the four soldiers into believing he needed their help and then detonated his cab full of explosives when Curtin and his fellow soldiers drew close enough to the vehicle at the U.S. checkpoint near Najaf, Iraq. Curtin, a 1998 graduate of Howell High School, is survived by his parents, a brother and three sisters. He is the first soldier from the Jersey Shore area to be reported killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom, which began March 19.

In a statement released by the family through Fort Monmouth Public Affairs spokesman Henry Kearney, the Curtin family said, "Our family is deeply saddened and our hearts are heavy at this time. Our son, Michael, was a kind and courageous young man. Although he was with us but a short time, he displayed tremendous bravery, unwavering faith and a devout love for his family. We are extremely proud of his patriotism and service to his country. He was fighting for our freedom, which we should never take for granted. He was a hero in our eyes. Our hearts and prayers go out to the other servicemen who were killed and their families."

On Monday afternoon, members of the Curtin family met with reporters outside their home in Howell. Curtin’s uncle, John Curtin, said his nephew had been attending a civilian school at the Lakehurst military base in Ocean County to study tool and die making. Curtin said Michael’s instructors were former military personnel and he believes that association may have inspired Michael to enter military service.

Curtin played football at Howell for Coach Cory Davies, who on Monday recalled him as a dedicated team player.

"He was the kind of young man every football coach wants," said Davies. "He was always at practice, understood discipline, worked hard and always had a smile on his face."

Curtin was not a starter at Howell, but he nevertheless gave as much to the team as if he had been. That impressed Davies as much as anything.

"He was a very nice young man, one of those guys who gave 100 percent," the coach said. "He knew his role and worked very hard."

According to Kearney, Curtin had joined the military in May 2001 and completed basic training at Fort Benning, Ga. The soldier had been based at Fort Stewart, Ga., and was deployed to Kuwait on Jan. 25.

Kearney said Curtin was a graduate of Army paratrooper training school and had received several medals. He said the Curtin family received the news of his death from a uniformed army officer from Fort Monmouth on Saturday at about 5 p.m.

Kearney said the family had last heard from their son and brother in a letter received about two weeks ago.

Curtin is survived by his mother and father, Joan and Michael Curtin; his brother, Dan; his sisters, Katie, Jennifer and Stephanie; and his niece, Kayla.

His sister, Stephanie, had recently written a poem about her brother:

"My Brother"

My brother is the one who is kind and polite. He is the one who is willing to fight.

My brother is strong and brave as could be. I know that he will always succeed.

My brother is willing to risk his life, every hour day and night.

I want everyone to know how lucky I am, to have such a great brother, and such a great friend!

Howell Mayor Timothy J. Konopka, a retired army intelligence officer, said he spoke with Curtin’s mother and told her how proud the Howell community was of her son.

"Understanding her profound loss, I told her to draw comfort in knowing her son was not only a hero to her and those who knew and loved him, but to all of his fellow countrymen," the mayor said.

Greater Media Newspapers staff writer Tim Morris contributed to this story.