Native Iowa soldier killed in Afghanistan

The Department of Defense announced Monday that Staff Sgt. Nathan M. Cox, 32, was killed Sept. 20 in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Cox, a native of Walcott, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas, which deployed to Afghanistan in July.

Cox, who graduated from Davenport Central High School, is survived by his wife, Annie Cox, a native of Princeton, Iowa and their five-year old daughter Sophia Cox.

Friends of Cox remember him for his sense of humor and calm nature, The Quad-City Times reports.

Cox was the 68th person with Iowa ties to die in Iraq and Afghanistan since March 2003.

A Memorial Day Tribute to Iowa’s Fallen Soldiers

A tribute to the 11 soldiers with Iowa ties, who paid the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan during the past year:

In Memory of…

Army Maj. Stuart Wolfer, 36, who served in Des Moines from May 1994 to November 1996 with the Army Reserve’s 19th Theatre Army Area Command of Fort Des Moines, and was killed April 6, 2008 in Baghdad, Iraq.

Marine Lance Cpl. Cody Wanken, 20, of Hampton who died April 2 at the Wounded Warriors hospital in San Diego from injuries sustained in Fallujah in Sept. 2007.

Army Spc. Chad Groepper, 21, of Kingsley, who was shot and killed Feb. 17, 2008, in the Diyala province northeast of Baghdad.

Army Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller, 24, a former University of Iowa student and Iowa City resident, who was killed Jan. 25, 2008 in Barikowt, Afghanistan.

Army Sgt. Adrian Hike, 26, of Ralston, who died Nov. 12, 2007, while on patrol in Afghanistan.

Army Sgt. Joseph B. Milledge, 23, who died Oct. 5, 2007, when a roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad, Iraq.

Army Sgt. Kevin Gilbertson, 25, of Cedar Rapids, who was shot and killed Aug. 31, 2007, in Ramadi, Iraq.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Scott Carney, 37, of Ankeny, who died Aug. 24 near Heart, Afghanistan, when the Humvee in which he was a passenger rolled during a convoy operation.

Marine Sgt. Jon Bonnell Jr., 22, of Fort Dodge, who died in an explosion Aug. 7, 2007, in Al Anbar, Iraq.

Army Pfc. Michael Patrick Pittman, 34, a Davenport native, who was killed in an explosion June 15, 2007, in Baghdad, Iraq.

Army Cpl. Llythaniele Fender, 21, a 2004 graduate of West Monona High School in Onawa, who was killed June 10, 2007, in an explosion in Karbala, Iraq.

In Memory of the other 56 soldiers with Iowa ties, who paid the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan since March 2003:


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In Memory of…

The 853 Iowans who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the war in Vietnam,

the 392 Iowans who were killed in the Korean War,

the 5,633 Iowans who died while serving in World War II.

and all of the other soldiers, Iowans and otherwise, who died in combat while serving the United States Armed Forces.

Funeral Set for Des Moines Army Officer Killed in Iraq

For the second day in a row, Iowans will say goodbye to another soldier with Iowa ties. Maj. Stuart Wolfer, 36, who served in Des Moines from May 1994 to November 1996 with the Army Reserve’s 19th Theatre Army Area Command of Fort Des Moines, was killed Sunday in Baghdad, Iraq.

The U.S. Department of Defense said Wolfer, who was deployed to Iraq in Dec. 2007, died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 11th Battalion, 104th Division of Boise, Idaho. Also killed in the attack was Col. Stephen Scott, 54, of New Market, Ala.

Funeral services, which are open to the community, will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Beth El Jacob Synagogue in Des Moines. Graveside services will directly follow at Glendale Cemetery in the Jewish section.

Wolfer is survived by his wife, Lee Ann, who he met while stationed in Iowa in 1995 and their three daughters: Lillian Wade, 5; Melissa Lacey-Marie, 3; and Isadora Ruth, 1. The Wolfers currently reside in the Emmett, Idaho area

"He was a very loving and amazing father," Lee Anne said in a written statement. "He called his children beautiful, because he said they looked like their mother. He held his family foremost in his life. Stuart was an amazing man and will continue to live on in the hearts of those he touched forever."

Moreover, his wife said that her husband was straightforward, ethical and he stuck to the law. “Stuart was an amazing man and will continue to live on in the hearts of those he touched forever,” Lee Anne said.

An hour before Sunday’s rocket attack on the Green Zone in Baghdad, the Idaho Statesman reports that Wolfer sent an e-mail message back to his manager at Thomson North American Legal in Boise, where Wolfer was employed as a trial lawyer.

"Stu forged strong relationships with just about everyone he encountered," Peter Warwick, president and chief executive officer of Thomson Legal, told the Idaho Statesman Tuesday. "Stu was a wonderful person.”

When he heard the news of Wolfer's death, Warwick sent a message to company employees. In it, he included one of many e-mails Wolfer sent to co-workers:

"The last few weeks have been incredible," Wolfer wrote. "I spent a day visiting the Iraqi Military Academy at Rustamiyah. The flight over started off with me sitting across from a fellow Reuters camera man from Baghdad. We embraced and said hello and then I explained to him that we were on the same team. He let me take a photo with his camera at about 1,000 feet."

Wolfer’s family has requested that donations be made to the “Stuart Wolfer Memorial Fund” at any Wells Fargo bank. The fund has been set up as a college fund for his children.

Wolfer was the 67th person with Iowa ties to die in Iraq and Afghanistan since March 2003.

Map of Iowa's fallen soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2003:


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Originally posted on "Iowa Independent"

The Iowa Front: Military & Veterans’ Weekly Roundup

As families gather for this holiday weekend to celebrate and honor the “working man,” I hope they’ll include the men and women working for us in Iraq and Afghanistan. I would like to take this moment to pay tribute to one such person, Master Sgt. Scott Carney of Ankeny, who was laid to rest Friday. Carney, age 37, was killed in Afghanistan Aug. 24, when his Humvee rolled over in a convoy near Herat, while serving with the Iowa Army National Guard’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division. Carney is the 20th member of the Iowa Army National Guard and the 60th soldier with Iowa ties to die while serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since March 2003. Carney is survived by his wife, Jeni, and their two twin sons, Jacob and Justin. (Des Moines Register)

A recently released Gallup poll shows that the military veterans’ presidential preferences closely mirror the national polls. With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan expected to be waged through next year’s November election, the candidates have targeted military veteran voters, which comprise roughly one out of every six Americans. These efforts, however, have yet to show any major impact in the polls thus far.

Another reason why the candidates are attempting to shore up support from veterans, is that most of them have not served in the military themselves and a strong veteran endorsement will help validate their support of the troops. A few interesting anomalies in the poll did manifest. On the Republican side, Arizona Sen. John McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, received a high favorable rating by veterans, but this favorability did not translate to solid preferential ratings when compared to his Republican rivals. Conversely, on the Democrat side, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton received low favorability ratings among veterans, but she received the highest preferential rating among her competitors, thus indicating that veterans are weighing more factors than just military and veterans’ issues. (Gallup Poll News Service)

As Congress prepares to reconvene Tuesday, a number of bills affecting military members and veterans await. One of these bills, the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act, is one such bill; however, a hold was placed on the bill by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who cited issues concerning the second amendment as the reason for his hold. (Iowa Independent)

Hooverfest Pays Tribute to 57 Iowa Sons and Daughters Killed in Iraq

More than 200 family members of the 57 Iowa soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in Iraq gathered Saturday at the gravesite of Herbert Hoover (see pic) for a ceremony honoring their service.

“This is a long overdue salute to our fallen Iowa heroes and to you the families, who have given so much in this war as it continues at this moment,” said Ron Steele, veteran KWWL news anchor and emcee of the event.

The ceremony culminated this year’s annual Hooverfest in West Branch, which played host to a day filled with Hooverball, rain, live music, more rain, food and sunshine. Hooverfest grew from residents of Herbert Hoover’s birthplace to celebrate the 31st president of the United States by keeping the flame of Hoover’s humanitarian spirit alive.

This motif manifested throughout the evening’s ceremony as political dignitaries including Culver, former Iowa Gov. Bob Ray and Belgian Ambassador Dominique Struye de Swieland made the connection between the humanitarian and military call to service. “No group better exemplifies the Hoover spirit of service than those Iowans in the armed forces and the Iowa National Guard,” said Culver while addressing the families of the fallen.

Accompanied by bagpipe music, the ceremony that drew the fallen soldiers’ families and honored guests began at the Herbert Hoover Museum and Presidential Library and made its way toward Hoover’s gravesite atop the hill (see pic above). Onlookers stood along the procession and paid tribute to the families by clapping, while some veterans executed a military salute.

The ceremony showcased the Tipton boys’ choir singing the national anthem, a flyover by a CH7 Chinook (see pic left) from Davenport Company B 2nd Battalion 211 General Support Aviation and speeches by Ron Steele, Belgian Ambassador Dominique Struye de Swieland, and Iowa’s Commander-in-Chief Chet Culver. A tribute film honoring the fallen soldiers and fireworks accompanied by contemporary patriotic music followed the speeches.

With the graves of former President Herbert Hoover and his wife, Lou Henri, as the backdrop, Culver delivered the keynote address to the families. “Here in front of Hoover’s final resting place, we remember and celebrate the lives of 57 other great Iowans, those who have died since the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.”

Tapping into Hoover’s legacy, Culver connected his service to those of Iowans. “Being an Iowan means many things to many people,” Culver said. “However, I believe there is one common bond that unites everyone who has lived in our state, and that’s a never-ending commitment to serving our fellow Iowans. The idea of giving something back to our community still matters in Iowa.” At the apex of his speech, Culver, on behalf of the soldiers killed in Iraq, specifically addressed those left behind in their wake. “As their commander in chief, I would like to say a few words to their families,” Culver said. “Words cannot express my gratitude and appreciation for the sacrifices that your sons or daughters or niece or nephew or aunt, uncle or husband or wife or mother or father have made on behalf of our state.”

“Though you will never to be able to fill the hole in your heart, I want you to know that every Iowan is ready to assist today and in the future in any way possible,” Culver said. “You are a part of the Iowa community, and when we lose somebody too young and so full of life, everyone grieves, too.”

After a moment of silence, Culver made a vow and oral contract with the families that he will do anything in his power to help them through suffering and struggles brought on by their losses. Culver said how proud he was that his first executive order as governor was to lower flags half-staff to honor Iowa’s fallen soldiers. “This simple act makes visible the sacrifice made by these soldiers.”

At the end of his speech, he reiterated Iowans' call to service by quoting another former president, John F. Kennedy, who once said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by those words.”

“These 57 eternal patriots that we honor here tonight are the ultimate embodiment of Iowa’s spirit of service and we must honor our own lives in honor of their sacrifice. We must dedicate our lives to the same spirit of service they did. We owe it to them,” Culver said. “Let us work together in our communities and to give our children every opportunity of success, so they may pass this spirit of service down to future generations of Iowans. By doing so, we will make our state better by making the lives around us better, thus paying a lasting tribute to these soldiers on behalf of all of us.”

The Iowa Front: Military & Veterans’ Weekly Roundup

Last night I attended the ceremony at West Branch’s annual Hooverfest honoring Iowa’s 57 soldiers killed in the Iraq War. The event was also intended to pay tribute to the soldiers’ families who have been left behind. Iowa’s commander-in-chief, Gov. Chet Culver, spoke at the ceremony, and the event culminated with a firework show accompanied by contemporary patriotic music. Be sure to read tomorrow’s Iowa Independent for a more detailed write up.

Political/Veterans’ Front

“Legislation Clears Senate to Name Marshalltown Post Office after Fallen Soldier”: One of the fallen soldier honored at the ceremony was Major Scott Nisely, whose public service was recognized by companion bills passed by both chambers of Congress. Legislation to name the Marshalltown Post Office after Nisley cleared the Senate last week. The bill, first introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Bruce Braley, D.-1st Dist., had already passed in the House. The bill now goes to the president to be signed into law.

“This is a fitting tribute to Major Nisely and the welcoming home of his National Guard unit. He was the epitome of a great American and served his country valiantly for nearly 30 years in the military, but his public service didn’t stop there. He also worked for 12 years with the United States Postal Service,” Grassley said in a press release. “I know he is missed by his family, friends, co-workers and fellow Guard members. I hope this will serve as positive reminder of a man who gave so much to his country.”

Nisely’s military service included nearly 25 years with the United States Marine Corps and Marines Corps Reserve during which he achieved the rank of Major. Most recently, he took a significant decrease in rank to serve in the Iowa Army National Guard for close to four years. His public service also includes 12 years with the United States Postal Service.

“Lifelong Republican and Marine Veteran Breaks Ground with "Support the Troops, End the War" Yard Sign”: Americans Against Escalation in Iraq “Iraq Summer” Campaign officially kicked off its "Support the Troops, End the War" yard sign drive in Iowa Monday as part of an ongoing effort to convince Senator Chuck Grassley and U.S. Representative Tom Latham to change course and vote for the safe and responsible redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq. The first yard sign of the 6,000 sign statewide campaign drive was planted in the yard of Dr. Larry Koenig, a lifelong Republican who served in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. Both his daughter and son joined the United States Army, and his son is still on active duty.

“The current culture of divisiveness is making it hard to end the war,” said Dr. Larry Koenig. “It’s not about being a Republican or a Democrat – it’s about doing the right thing. These signs bring awareness that our troops are in a situation that is not in their best interest or our country’s.”

“It’s wonderful to have someone like Dr. Koenig whose family has given so much for this country standing with us in this effort to bring a safe and responsible end to the war in Iraq,” said Sue Dinsdale, mother of an Iraq war veteran and the Field Director for Iowa’s ‘Iraq Summer’ Campaign.

“We hope Senator Grassley and Congressman Latham get the message that Iowans all of walks of life, of both political parties, are united in calling for an end to this war. These signs are a great way to show neighbors our love and support for our US military - and a great way to show our representatives in Washington that the best way they can show their support for our troops is to vote to bring them home safe.”

“Iraq Summer” is a nationwide, 10-week long campaign with nearly 100 organizers in 15 states and 40 congressional districts to turn up the heat on Republican members of Congress who have opposed setting a timeline to bring a safe and responsible end to the war in Iraq. The effort will culminate with a national “Take a Stand” day on August 28th, when members will have the opportunity to explain their stance on the war to their constituents in a town hall setting.

In Cedar Rapids, Gulf War veteran Joe Stutler, was the first person in eastern Iowa to place a “Support the Troops, End the War” yard sign as part of the campaign. Be sure to read Lynda Waddington’s account of the event in the Iowa Independent.

Another Native Iowa Soldier Killed in Iraq by IED

The story coming out of Iraq is sounding too familiar: “Soldier Killed in Iraq by Improvised Explosive Device” -- while the acronym IED has become more commonplace in American households. Tragically, this familiar story has rung true in Iowa for the second time this week. Army Pfc. Michael Patrick Pittman, 34, was killed by an IED in Baghdad on Friday. Pittman is a native of Davenport, where he lived with his wife and four children until he enlisted in the Army and moved to Kansas in 2005.

Earlier this week, Iowa lost another native son, Cpl. Llythaniele Fender, 21, who was also killed in Iraq by an IED. Fender and Pittman, respectively, were Iowa’s 57th and 58th fallen soldier with Iowa ties to have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

To read Pittman’s family and friend’s reactions to his death, go to the “Des Moines Register” for more extensive coverage.