Hey guys I'm definitely still a noob here and don't have a cafe yet but thought some of you might be interested.
Its a memorial ride for some fellow soldiers of mine that were killed in Iraq in 2005. If you have any questions PM me or post up in here. Thanks for supporting a noob on this!!
Come hell or highwater I will be there.
June 27, 2010 Hallstead, Pennsylvania
3rd Annual 109th Memorial Motorcycle Ride Sponsored by Post 357 American Legion Riders The ride starts at the American Legion Post 357 in Hallstead. Registration is from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm. The ride will last 2 hours and go about 75 miles in Pennsylvania and parts of New York. There will be several stops including one at the 109 Armory Fallen Heroes Memorial near New Milford. The ride fee is $20.00 for the rider and $10.00 for a passenger. The fee includes a chicken barbeque dinner.
Here is the link and the news story for these guys passing away.
http://mfso.org/article.php?id=392
Five Pa. Guardsmen killed in Iraq, raising Pa. total to over 100
by MICHAEL RUBINKAM, Associated Press
September 30th, 2005
NEW MILFORD, Pa. - Five Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing west of Baghdad on Wednesday, pushing the state's death toll past 100, the military said Friday.
All five Guard members were residents of northeastern Pennsylvania and served in units of the 109th Infantry. Their deaths represent the largest loss of life from a single attack involving Pennsylvania soldiers in Iraq.
"They'll never be replaced and they'll never be forgotten here at the unit," said Sgt. James Ditchey, a recruiter who enlisted four of the five soldiers who died.
The five were killed near Ramadi while on a routine patrol to provide security for the construction of a railroad bridge. An explosive device struck their M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, which was then attacked by small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, setting it ablaze, according to the military.
The soldiers' names were released at a news conference at the New Milford Readiness Center, about 15 miles south of the New York border. Killed were Spc. Lee A. Wiegand, 20, of Hallstead; Staff Sgt. Daniel L. Arnold, 27, of Montrose; Staff Sgt. George A. Pugliese, 39, of Carbondale; Spc. Eric W. Slebodnik, 21, of Carbondale; and Spc. Oliver J. Brown, 19, of Athens.
Gov. Ed Rendell offered his condolences to the relatives of the soldiers, and said he would reach out to the families over the weekend.
"I've yet to meet a Pennsylvania soldier on a welcome-home ceremony who said, 'This is a waste of time, we're endangering our young people, we ought to get out now,'" Rendell told The Associated Press. "Everyone believed we were making progress and believed we were there for the right reasons and that's what I try to tell the parents to offer them some consolation."
Rendell ordered state flags lowered to half staff through Oct. 30 in remembrance of the eight Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers who have died in Iraq over the past two weeks.
Arnold, a heavy-equipment mechanic, is survived by a wife and two sons, said his mother, Janet Arnold.
"He was an excellent soldier, but he was a devoted father and a loving son," she said.
Arnold's family received word of his death Thursday, the same day Arnold's father Kendall received a 62nd birthday card from him in the mail.
Pugliese, a Bradley tank commander who had been in the National Guard 18 years, left behind a wife and three young children. Brother-in-law Steve Allison said Pugliese, who worked as a state prison guard, called his family nearly every day he was in Iraq and looked forward to getting home.
"He cared about everybody and everything," Allison said. "He was telling us to stop sending him stuff and giving us the names of soldiers who weren't getting anything."
The latest deaths increased to 104 the number of soldiers with ties to Pennsylvania who have died in support of the U.S. war in Iraq. The Pennsylvania National Guard also lost five soldiers in two attacks on Aug. 9.
The Pennsylvania AP has included in its list of state fatalities two categories of soldiers: those identified by the Pentagon as being from Pennsylvania, and those who grew up in Pennsylvania and spent much of their lives in the state but whose military careers later took them elsewhere.
Before word of the deaths leaked out Friday morning, members of the community already were mourning an Iraq death at the funeral of Spc. William Evans, also of the 109th Infantry. Evans, 22, of Hallstead, was killed Sept. 19 along with two other soldiers in a roadside bombing.
"We pick ourselves up by the bootstraps when things like this happen," said Maj. Stephen Zarnowski.
Dozens of soldiers were among more than 600 people who packed the gymnasium at South New Milford Baptist Church to pay their respects to Evans. Many wore bright colors to symbolize life, and afterward, people stood on porches waving American flags as the funeral procession went past.
Evans told his mother that he would rather have a party than a funeral if he died, said the Rev. Bruce Rosa, the church's youth pastor.
Pugliese was with Evans when he died, according to Allison. Evans' parents visited the Pugliese home Friday night.
U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood, whose district includes the hometowns of Evans and the five soldiers killed Wednesday, said the deaths would have a heavy impact on the community.
"This is a terrible blow for a small, rural area to accept," said Sherwood, R-Pa. "We'll be in their debt forever."
More than 3,200 Pennsylvania guardsmen are deployed in Iraq, the highest per capita in the nation. Only California and Texas have suffered more casualties than Pennsylvania in the war in Iraq. All but five of the Pennsylvania soldiers died after May 1, 2003, when President Bush announced the end of major combat in Iraq.
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Associated Press writers Marc Levy and Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg contributed to this report.
________________________________________
Its a memorial ride for some fellow soldiers of mine that were killed in Iraq in 2005. If you have any questions PM me or post up in here. Thanks for supporting a noob on this!!
Come hell or highwater I will be there.
June 27, 2010 Hallstead, Pennsylvania
3rd Annual 109th Memorial Motorcycle Ride Sponsored by Post 357 American Legion Riders The ride starts at the American Legion Post 357 in Hallstead. Registration is from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm. The ride will last 2 hours and go about 75 miles in Pennsylvania and parts of New York. There will be several stops including one at the 109 Armory Fallen Heroes Memorial near New Milford. The ride fee is $20.00 for the rider and $10.00 for a passenger. The fee includes a chicken barbeque dinner.
Here is the link and the news story for these guys passing away.
http://mfso.org/article.php?id=392
Five Pa. Guardsmen killed in Iraq, raising Pa. total to over 100
by MICHAEL RUBINKAM, Associated Press
September 30th, 2005
NEW MILFORD, Pa. - Five Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing west of Baghdad on Wednesday, pushing the state's death toll past 100, the military said Friday.
All five Guard members were residents of northeastern Pennsylvania and served in units of the 109th Infantry. Their deaths represent the largest loss of life from a single attack involving Pennsylvania soldiers in Iraq.
"They'll never be replaced and they'll never be forgotten here at the unit," said Sgt. James Ditchey, a recruiter who enlisted four of the five soldiers who died.
The five were killed near Ramadi while on a routine patrol to provide security for the construction of a railroad bridge. An explosive device struck their M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, which was then attacked by small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, setting it ablaze, according to the military.
The soldiers' names were released at a news conference at the New Milford Readiness Center, about 15 miles south of the New York border. Killed were Spc. Lee A. Wiegand, 20, of Hallstead; Staff Sgt. Daniel L. Arnold, 27, of Montrose; Staff Sgt. George A. Pugliese, 39, of Carbondale; Spc. Eric W. Slebodnik, 21, of Carbondale; and Spc. Oliver J. Brown, 19, of Athens.
Gov. Ed Rendell offered his condolences to the relatives of the soldiers, and said he would reach out to the families over the weekend.
"I've yet to meet a Pennsylvania soldier on a welcome-home ceremony who said, 'This is a waste of time, we're endangering our young people, we ought to get out now,'" Rendell told The Associated Press. "Everyone believed we were making progress and believed we were there for the right reasons and that's what I try to tell the parents to offer them some consolation."
Rendell ordered state flags lowered to half staff through Oct. 30 in remembrance of the eight Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers who have died in Iraq over the past two weeks.
Arnold, a heavy-equipment mechanic, is survived by a wife and two sons, said his mother, Janet Arnold.
"He was an excellent soldier, but he was a devoted father and a loving son," she said.
Arnold's family received word of his death Thursday, the same day Arnold's father Kendall received a 62nd birthday card from him in the mail.
Pugliese, a Bradley tank commander who had been in the National Guard 18 years, left behind a wife and three young children. Brother-in-law Steve Allison said Pugliese, who worked as a state prison guard, called his family nearly every day he was in Iraq and looked forward to getting home.
"He cared about everybody and everything," Allison said. "He was telling us to stop sending him stuff and giving us the names of soldiers who weren't getting anything."
The latest deaths increased to 104 the number of soldiers with ties to Pennsylvania who have died in support of the U.S. war in Iraq. The Pennsylvania National Guard also lost five soldiers in two attacks on Aug. 9.
The Pennsylvania AP has included in its list of state fatalities two categories of soldiers: those identified by the Pentagon as being from Pennsylvania, and those who grew up in Pennsylvania and spent much of their lives in the state but whose military careers later took them elsewhere.
Before word of the deaths leaked out Friday morning, members of the community already were mourning an Iraq death at the funeral of Spc. William Evans, also of the 109th Infantry. Evans, 22, of Hallstead, was killed Sept. 19 along with two other soldiers in a roadside bombing.
"We pick ourselves up by the bootstraps when things like this happen," said Maj. Stephen Zarnowski.
Dozens of soldiers were among more than 600 people who packed the gymnasium at South New Milford Baptist Church to pay their respects to Evans. Many wore bright colors to symbolize life, and afterward, people stood on porches waving American flags as the funeral procession went past.
Evans told his mother that he would rather have a party than a funeral if he died, said the Rev. Bruce Rosa, the church's youth pastor.
Pugliese was with Evans when he died, according to Allison. Evans' parents visited the Pugliese home Friday night.
U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood, whose district includes the hometowns of Evans and the five soldiers killed Wednesday, said the deaths would have a heavy impact on the community.
"This is a terrible blow for a small, rural area to accept," said Sherwood, R-Pa. "We'll be in their debt forever."
More than 3,200 Pennsylvania guardsmen are deployed in Iraq, the highest per capita in the nation. Only California and Texas have suffered more casualties than Pennsylvania in the war in Iraq. All but five of the Pennsylvania soldiers died after May 1, 2003, when President Bush announced the end of major combat in Iraq.
---
Associated Press writers Marc Levy and Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg contributed to this report.
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