Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Rest In Peace

Today I watched the memorial for those who died in the Ft. Hood shooting.

When men and women join the military, they know going in that there is a chance that they will die while protecting their country. They never expect to be shot down by a "fellow soldier" while at home. It makes this tragedy hurt even more.

It's hard to explain the family feeling of being in the military, but it is there. It's a kind of "we're all in the same boat" feeling. And when soldiers are killed or injured, all of us hurt and mourn for them.

I pray for the victims of Nidal Malik Hasan (list from Fox News):

Michael Grant Cahill, 65, of Cameron, Texas, had just returned to work as a physician assistant after suffering a heart attack. (AP)

Maj. Libardo Eduardo Caraveo, 52, of Woodbridge, Va., is a native of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan. (AP)

Staff Sgt. Justin M. DeCrow, 32, of Evans, Ga., was helping train new soldiers on how to help new veterans with paperwork. (AP)

Capt. John Gaffaney, 56, of San Diego, Calif., was a psychiatric nurse and had arrived at Fort Hood the day before the shooting to prepare for deployment to Iraq. (AP)

Spc. Frederick Greene, 29, of Mountain City, Tenn., is described by his family as someone who displayed Army traits before even joining the army -- "loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage." (AP)

Spc. Jason Dean Hunt, 22, of Tipton, Okla. was one of 12 soldiers killed. Known as J.D., Hunt was voted "most quiet" in his senior class. (NewsOK.com)

Sgt. Amy Krueger, 29, of Kiel, Wis., was killed. The sergeant with the Madison, Wis.-based 467th Medical Detachment had arrived at Fort Hood on Tuesday and was scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan in December. (Herald Times Reporter)

Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka, 19, of West Jordan, Utah, was scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan in January, his family said in a statement. Nemelka had enlisted in the Army in October 2008, Utah National Guard Lt. Col. Lisa Olsen said. (AP)

Spc. Michael Pearson , 21, of Bolingbrook, Ill., was killed in the shooting. (MyFoxChicago)

Capt. Russell Seager, 51, of Racine, Wis., was a psychiatrist who joined the Army a few years ago because he wanted to help veterans returning to civilian life. He had gone to Fort Hood to for training before deploying to Afghanistan in December. (AP)

Francheska Velez, of Chicago, was killed in the shooting. She recently had returned from a tour of duty in Iraq. The 21-year-old was in the building where the shooting occurred filling out paperwork due to her pregnancy. (MyFoxChicago)

Juanita Warman, 55, of Pittsburgh was a military physician assistant. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Army Spc. Kham Xiong, 23, of St. Paul, Minn., died in the attack Thursday. Xiong graduated from St. Paul's Community of Peace Academy in 2004. He was at Ft. Hood preparing for a January deployment. (MyFoxTwinCities)

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and may perpetual Light shine upon them.
May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen

Prayers also for those who were wounded in the terrorist attack. †

3 comments:

Linda said...

Franceska was pregnant? So there were 14 victims. :(

Kalona said...

Yes, Linda, 14 victims. I was holding up okay until I heard that she was pregnant, then the tears flowed.

I hope the staff at BAMC made sure Hasan saw the memorial service on TV.

Sarah - Kala said...

God rest their souls and comfort their loved ones. May He be merciful to Hasan.