Latest news with #ShirleyWhite
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'They risked it all': 82nd Airborne Division honors fallen paratroopers at memorial ceremony
FORT BRAGG — It's been nearly 20 years since Stan and Shirley White's son, Staff Sgt. Robert 'Bob' White, 34, was killed Sept. 26, 2005, in Afghanistan after his mounted patrol came under enemy fire. He served with the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment. White's older brother, William, served in the Navy, as did his World War II-era grandfather, his father said during an 82nd Airborne Division memorial ceremony May 20. 'He wanted to jump out of airplanes and that's what he did, and he was a good family man, Boy Scout, Scout master, swimmer and just a fun-loving guy,' Stan White said. 'We called him Red. He loved the Falcons, Atlanta Falcons, that was his team.' Shirley White said that in their home state of Virginia, a memorial bridge is named for their son. 'When our friends drive by like we do, they'll say, 'Hi Bob,'' she said. Stan White said that even though two decades have passed since their son's death, they and the 82nd Airborne Division haven't forgotten to remember him. 'Gold Star mothers has a motto — everyone dies twice, and one is a physical and another is when their name is no longer spoken,' he said. Maj. Gen. J. Patrick "Pat" Work, the division's commander, said aloud the names of a few paratroopers who were killed in combat or died during training in service to the U.S. The division's first combat casualty was Capt. Jewett Williams, who died in June 1918 during World War I in Albert, France, Work said. Williams was company commander of the 326th Infantry. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he was a Rhode's scholar and an ordained Episcopal priest, Work said. 'That soldier also left behind a wife and a 5-month-old daughter,' he said. The division's last paratrooper killed in combat was Sgt. Bryan Cooper Mount, who died July 21, 2020, while conducting reconnaissance operations in Syria. From among the division's 5,098 paratroopers who did not survive the wars, Work said, he personally wears a bracelet on his right wrist bearing the name of Spc. Thomas J. 'T.J.' Barbiere. Barbiere, Work said, was killed in action Aug. 23, 2006, at the age of 24 while in Baghdad. 'T.J. was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his final act of valor to protect another paratrooper during a gunfight,' Work said. During the ceremony, Work also recognized the family of Spc. Corey J. Kowall, 20, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, who died Sept. 20, 2009, from a vehicle rollover. Also killed was Spc. Damon G. Winkleman, 23, of Lakeville, Ohio. Also recognized was the family of Sgt. Matthew J. Sandri, 24, of Shamokin, Pennsylvania, who was killed March 20, 2004, when his quarters came under a rocket attack in Fallujah, Iraq. 'I hope that none of us can ever drive down Gruber Road again and pass the Sandri Medical Training Center without thinking about that family's commitment,' Work said. 'That's not a building. That's a memorial to Matt Sandri.' White, Kowall and Sandri's names are all engraved in stone on the division's memorials outside the 82nd Airborne Division's Hall of Heroes and Museum. Another five names were added to the division's training memorial this week: Staff Sgt. Joseph A. Little; Capt. Clinton F. MacFarland Jr.; Spc. Garry N. Antoine; Spc. Benjamin S. Freed; and Spc. Matthew Perez, who died Sept. 13, 2024, from injuries sustained at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana. Danielle Hackbarth, a museum specialist in the archives and library, said that some of the other names recently added date back to World War I. Line of duty deaths weren't always recorded as they are now, but further research has confirmed the deaths, Hackbarth said. 'It's just kind of been putting the pieces of the puzzle together,' she said. For example, officials became aware of Antoine's death after a veteran paratrooper who served with him called seeking information, she said. Public safety records confirmed the death was during a training accident, she said. Officials learned about another paratrooper earlier this year because a deployment yearbook is dedicated in his memory. He died during a deployment training exercise, Hackbarth said. 'We definitely want to acknowledge those individuals who were training in preparation to give their lives for their country,' she said. 'They're still part of the division, and they're a big part of the success of the 82nd and their missions during active times.' Work said that everyone on the division's memorial "paid the levies of liberty with their blood.' 'They risked it all doing their duty in distant lands, from North Africa to Berlin. They spilled their blood in Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, Grenada and Panama. They made the last full measure of devotion in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria,' he said. Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@ or 910-486-3528. This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: 82nd Airborne Division adds more names to memorials
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Fairmont Gold Star Mothers monument receives new flower bed and bench for contemplation
FAIRMONT — In 2005, Army Staff Sgt. Robert White was working to secure fair and free elections for the people of Kandahar, Afghanistan, when a rocket propelled grenade fired by militants struck his vehicle. White's comrades filed the after-action reports and White returned home one final time, where he was interred at Arlington National Cemetery. He was 34. On Thursday, West Virginia Gold Star Mothers and the Marion County Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution unveiled a new bench and wrap around flower bed to a marker that honors mothers who lost their children to war. The new monument is part of the Marion County Vietnam Veterans Memorial at East Marion Park. White's mother, Shirley White, attended the ceremony. Staff Sgt. White wasn't the only son she lost to war. Her youngest son died from complications from post-traumatic stress disorder after he returned home from Iraq. 'It's very bittersweet, it really is,' Shirley White said after the ceremony. 'It's because it's emotionally draining. You could probably tell from the other ladies here that hearing the poems, it touches our hearts. Just to say our children's names, it means a lot to us. We don't want our children forgotten, and events like this help us to do that.' Rose Shilling and Sandra Skar, fellow Gold Star Mothers, joined White. Malinda Davis is past vice president general and honorary state regent for West Virginia Gold Star Mothers. While serving as state regent from 2016 to 2019, she wanted to do something to honor mothers who have lost their children in conflicts. Davis herself is part of a Gold Star Family, from her husband's side of the family. Later, the state society reached out to the Col. Morgan Morgan Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to see if they could spearhead adding and flower bed to the memorial. However, chapter president Barbara Channell said the DAR decided to go a little bit further and add the bench. 'We worked to create a lasting tribute that would embrace mothers of fallen soldiers,' Channell said. 'After blocks and concrete were laid, we incorporated the help of George Rogers Clark Chapter [Sons of the American Revolution] in planting the flowers and installing the bench. The flowing design of the wraparound flower bed represents the embrace of a mother and the yellow and red tiles acknowledge the Gold Star Mothers and the sacrifices their sons and daughters made.' White said the Gold Star Mothers organization used to be much more active during the Vietnam War era, but then it dissipated. In 2012, White and other mothers restarted the organization. She said she is appreciative of the effort the DAR has taken to honor them with the monument, because it means a lot to the mothers and families after losing a loved one to war. The organization is a service organization sanctioned by Congress as well, and they try to help veterans in need. One difference between the Vietnam era and the contemporary post-Iraq and Afghanistan era is that such a large number of soldiers were lost fighting in the jungles of Vietnam, White said. By contrast, the survival rate for more contemporary wars has been higher, but fitting back into society isn't easy, especially after everything a combat veteran experiences. Davis said it's important to honor Gold Star mothers. 'These sacrifices, I can't comprehend it,' Davis said. 'I wish I could hug every one of them and tell them how thankful we are.'
