His first cousin offered a recollection of him from their youth:
[Ryan] grew up in a rough side of town, so he learned to defend himself and his two younger sisters through martial arts training. From his mother, a collegiate swimmer, he was gifted with Aquaman-like skills. In other words, like it or not, Ryan was born and bred a Marine.
In memorial, Governor Brown of CA ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol on August 17th and Gunnery Sgt. Jeschke's family will receive a letter of condolence.
Staff Sgt. Scott Edward Dickinson, age 29, San Diego, California. Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. One of three Marines killed while "supporting combat operations" in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on August 10th. Jesse Fournier, who graduated from Horizon Christian Academy along with Dickenson, said he embraced him as a friend when he was still new to the school. "I definitely remember him as the nicest guy," Fournier said, "[He was] always happy and really had no worries in a sense. Things didn't really get to him." Pauline Dickinson said her son hoped to be assigned to an embassy after his current deployment so he could spend more time with his wife.
Lance Cpl. Gregory Thomas Buckley, age 21, Oceanside, New York. Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. One of three Marines killed while "supporting combat operations" in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on August 10th. In other words, another Marine who was shot and killed by an Afghani "policeman" that U.S. troops are ordered to train to handle "security." Buckley's father says his son had recently expressed concerned for his safety on the base. "My son said, 'In my heart, dad, I feel like something is going to happen to me. I'm not going to be home in November.' He's a funny kid," Buckley, Sr., said. "He was a beautiful boy, and this world has no idea what they're going to miss."
Staff Sgt. Eric Scott Holman, age 39, Evans City, Pennsylvania. 767th Ordnance Company, 192nd Ordnance Battalion, 52nd Ordnance Group, 20th Support Command. Eric was killed by an IED in Godali, Ghazni province, Afghanistan, on August 15, 2012. Sgt. Holman was working with a U.S. Special Forces team in a remote are of the Afghan mountains when he was killed. His death came just weeks before he was supposed to return to the United States. A large contingent of family members, including his mother, Carol, his father David and his stepmother, were at Dover Air Force Base, in Delaware, when his body was brought back to the United States. "He had planned to make the Army a career," Jan Holman said, "He liked everything about it."
Pfc. Andrew James Keller, age 22, Tigard, Oregon. Company B, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. Andrew was killed when enemy forces attacked his unit with small-arms fire in Charkh, Logar province, Afghanistan, on August 15th. He died from a gunshot wound to his head. Andrew was a son, a brother, a best friend and soon to be married to Marissa Jones, his fianceà © and girlfriend since eighth grade. Marissa, choking back tears as she spoke in a well-prepared speech during the memorial service said, "Andrew and I had a love that's enough to last for an entire life...I know he is going to guide me through the rest of my life until we are able to be together again. I am beyond blessed to call him my better half, my soul and the love of my life."
This brings us to the mid-August, where seven Americans along with three Afghan soldiers and an Afghani civilian interpreter died in a helicopter crash. The crash is under "investigation" as Taliban leaders claim the UH-60 Blackhawk was shot down, while the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), NATO and the pentagon claim they do not know what really happened.
Sgt. Richard Allen Essex, age 23, Kelseyville, California. Company A, 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. Richard was one of four soldiers killed along with three sailors when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in the Chinartu area of the Shah Wali Kot district in northeastern Kandahar province, Afghanistan, on August 16th. At his funeral, military officials presented his family with 15 medals and badges, including a posthumous purple heart and a bronze star. A military guard then fired three volleys followed by a rendition of Taps.
Petty Officer 1st Class Patrick Delaney Feeks, age 28, Edgewater, Maryland. SEAL Team Three, Naval Special Warfare Group One. Feeks died in the aforementioned UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash. Feeks is survived by his parents, Thomas and Virginia, and his wife, Emily.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Suresh Niranjan Aba Krause, age 29, Cathedral City, California. Company A, 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. Suresh died on August 16th in the UH-60 crash. "Ba" (Suresh's nickname which is short for baby as he was the youngest) was a graduate of Cathedral City High School and went on to earn a degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in May 2005. A friend of his, Dianna Geck from Hawaii wrote, "Suresh, you are such a beautiful person, inside and out. We will miss you terribly, for you are one of a kind. We will fly in to see you and your family"and pay our most humble respects to a true American hero.
Petty Officer 2nd Class David John Warsen, age 27, Kentwood, Michigan. SEAL Team Three, Naval Special Warfare Group One. David also died in the UH-60 crash in northeastern Kandahar province, Afghanistan, on August 16th. Warsen was a graduate of East Kentwood High School. He joined the Navy in March 2009, and his tour in Afghanistan was set to end Oct. 1. Warsen and his fiancà ©e were planning a Dec. 8 wedding. Flags throughout Michigan were lowered at half-staff in his honor on August 30th.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brian Daniel Hornsby, age 37, Melbourne, Florida. Company A, 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. Brian also died in the UH-60 crash in Chinartu, Afghanistan on the 16th. His parents, Glenn and Donna Hornsby of Lehigh Acres said, "Brian"was a loving and compassionate husband, father, son, brother and friend who never chose the easy path in life"We've got a lot to do yet".We've been talking with our daughter-in-law."
Petty Officer 1st Class Sean Patrick Carson, age 32, Des Moines, Washington. Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Three. Sean also died in the Black Hawk crash on August 16th in Chinartu, Afghanistan. His mother Fran Carson, said to KATU in Seattle, "He knew probably his entire life that he wanted to be in the military"He was a wonderful son, he was a wonderful father to his daughter."
Sgt. Luis Antonio Oliver Galbreath, age 41, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Company B, 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. Luis also died on August 16th in the UH-60 crash. Luis was married and had three children.
Pfc. Michael Robert DeMarsico II, age 20, North Adams, Massachusetts. Company C, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. Michael died on August 16th of wounds suffered when an IED exploded near him in Panjwayi, Afghanistan. At his funeral, Rev. David Anderson said, "We will never forget this day. We will never forget the day the war in Afghanistan came home to us all." Jessica Storie, 18, a girlfriend who in church sang a song entitled "A True Hero" that she wrote for the "lovable, good-hearted" DeMarsico, said "He loved his job." She based the song on a line that DeMarsico embraced on Facebook: "A true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."
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