In Memoriam
Over the last two years, I’ve had the honor to instruct, mentor and train Officers and Soldiers deploying to either Iraq or Afghanistan. To date, I have worked with dozens of consummate professionals, whose dedication, courage and loyalty has continued to make me proud to be part of an organization unsurpassed by any other Army in the world.
Unfortunately, several of my past students have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the performance of their duties and I feel a distinct obligation to thank them, acknowledge them to others who care to know them and render them a last “salute”.
Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air. John Quincy Adams
Army Capt. Shane R. Mahaffee, 36, of Alexandria, Va.; assigned to the 489th Civil Affairs Battalion, Army Reserve, Knoxville, Tenn.; died May 15, 2006 in Ludwigshafen, Germany, of injuries sustained May 5 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat patrol operations in Hillah, Iraq.
Army Lt. Col. Daniel E. Holland, 43, of San Antonio; assigned to the 352nd Civil Affairs Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died May 18, 2006 of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Baghdad. Also killed were 1st. Lt. Robert A. Seidel III, Sgt. Lonnie C. Allen Jr. and Pfc. Nicholas R. Cournoyer.
Army Capt. Brian S. Freeman, 31, of Temecula, Calif.; assigned to the 412th Civil Affairs Battalion, Whitehall, Ohio; died Jan. 20, 2007 of wounds sustained when his meeting area came under attack by mortar and smalls-arms fire in Karbala, Iraq
Army Maj. Alan R. Johnson, 44, of Yakima, Wash.; assigned to the 402nd Civil Affairs Battalion, Tonawanda, N.Y.; died Jan. 26 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee in Muqdadiyah the same day.
Navy Lt. Jeffrey A. Ammon, 37, of Orem, Utah; assigned to the Commander Navy Region Northwest, Bangor, Wash., and was serving in Afghanistan as a member of Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni; died May 20 in Aband District, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from an improvised explosive device.
