In Memory of the Fallen Soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas (pictures below)

Yesterday was a stressful day for us in Killeen, TX.  The Killeen Independent School District had an early out so at 1:00pm I started making my rounds.  First to my oldest son's school to get him.  Walk home and then jump in the car to get my youngest son from preschool across town.  Got home around 2:30pm, put some cartoons on the Directv for the boys and I cracked open a book for some down-time before getting dinner started.  My husband calls.  He works on Fort Hood.  He tells me that he's OK.  "Of course you are, why wouldn't you be?"  Then he told me there was a shooting on post.  OK.  It's a military installation and there are lots of weapons...not being carried around by Soldiers all the time...locked up, but if you go to the range, deploy, maintenance, etc. the weapons come out.  I guess it just wasn't sinking in and my hubby could tell.  Then he tells me 7 are dead and the post was locked down.  It sank in and the news went on in the other room so I could watch and the kids could still be entertained away from me.  You know it's bad when it's on ALL the news networks.  I called my hubby's parents.  I texted his sisters.  Called my mom.  Wanted everyone to know he was OK.

So much speculation and misinformation was put out.  Is it our society or generation's need for instant gratification that makes everyone jump to conclusions?  I expect this to an extent, but not on news networks!  It was frustrating, but it was news and I suppose at the time I was delighted to have some.

A friend of mine is staying with me before heading to Iraq.  She's supposed to leave in the next week or so, and her friend just returned from Iraq.  They could have been anywhere on post.  Thankfully she called me right after my husband to let me know that she and her friend were off post when it happened so they were safe (and wouldn't be able to get on post).  Slowly news came in from friends, texts went out with updates.  Seriously, I texted more yesterday than in the entire decade of owning a cell phone!

Kids were stuck at after school programs until 9:00pm or later waiting and hoping for their parents to show up.  Those poor little guys.  It's one thing to worry about mom or dad when their deployed, but to have to worry about them going to work everyday.  And you know that's going to happen for some of them.

OK...so jackass...er, MAJOR Nidal Malik Hasan didn't want to deploy...OK.  Who the hell does?  So he was of Arab descent...who cares lots of people in our military are.  That doesn't mean that they pull this crap.  But dude was a PSYCHIATRIST who specialized in TRAUMATIC STRESS!  Dude goes to the SRP building and just opens up on Soldiers returning and preparing for deployment.  For those who don't know this is a building where the Soldiers tie up loose ends prior to deployment (wills, shots, etc) and get things in order upon their return.  EVERYONE SRPs.

But dude takes it out on his brothers and sisters in arms!  There is a special place in hell for a person like MAJ Hasan, but thankfully he is not there yet.  I am soooooooo glad that they got him alive.  I want to know WHY!!!!  I hate those people that take it to the grave.  I'm looking forward to military justice for this dirtball.  He's lucky I don't believe in torture.  I want to see him in a military prison.  Oh how the imprisoned Soldiers will welcome him!

I'm sure in the days and weeks to come we'll get a better picture of the why and how of the whole thing, but I want to take time to remember the fallen.  Those who served their country and were gunned down by a coward.

PFC Aaron Thomas Nemelka - West Jordan, UT







 

PVT Franceska Velez - Chicago, IL     (3 months pregnant)

PFC Michael Pearson - Bolingbrook, IL

 SPC Jason Dean Hunt - Frederick, OK

SGT Amy Krueger - Kiel, WI

(CPT) John Gaffaney - Serra Mesa, CA

CPT Russell Seager - Mount Pleasant, WI

Michael Grant Cahill (civilian) - Spokane, WA

SPC Kham Xiong - Saint Paul, MN

(MAJ) Juanita Warman - Havre De Grace, MD

 SSG Justin DeCrow - Plymouth, IN

 MAJ Libardo Eduardo Caraveo -Woodbridge, VA

SPC Frederick Greene - Mountain City, Tennessee





Rest in Peace to our brave men and women.  You were taken from life far too soon.

I will update this posting as new names become available.  If you click on their pictures you will be taken to a news article about that fallen Soldier (who knows how long the links will work).

The Fort Hood AUSA branch is taking donations for this tragedy.  If you are writing a check please include "Community Response to 11/5" on the memo line.

For more information, e-mail AUSA at Leadership@forthoodausa.org


The Central Texas-Fort Hood Association of the U.S. Army
Attn.: Community Response to 11/5
P.O. Box 10700
Killeen, TX 76547-0700