On May 20, 2009 America lost one of its best.

First Lt. Roslyn L. Schulte, 25, died Wednesday near Kabul, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in a roadside bomb attack.

Schulte was the first female graduate of the Air Force Academy to be killed in action. One of her friends wrote:

Ros was truly an exceptional person. Usually when you hear that about someone who just died, it’s almost always exaggeration, if not pure BS. With Ros, it’s not. She passed up on the Ivy leagues to go to the Air Force Academy. She qualified for state in five different sports in high school, was an all-American in college, a qualified pilot. She was ALWAYS kind to others. She went out of her way to call her mom and dad two or three times a week every week she was here. Sorry I don’t do that, Mom and Dad. No one did, except for Ros. She dreamed of getting out of the air force to settle down and start a family. She didn’t drink. She didn’t like the lifestyle of the military — said it didn’t work well for family. She wanted to be a successful business owner (like her mom), but worried that would interfere with raising a family.

More coverage of the female warfighter’s loss:

CNN

KSDK

Ladies of Liberty

On February 7, 2007 America lost one of its best.

Cpl. Jennifer M. Parcell, 20, of Bel Air, Md., died Feb. 7 while supporting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

She was killed by a female suicide bomber. Parcell was part of the renowned “Lioness” program that the Marine Corps instituted where female warfighters were tasked to search female Iraqis.

More about this American Marine:

Our original story

Her high school mourns

MySpace memorial

On March 16, 2006, American lost one of its best. Sgt. Amanda Pinson was killed in a mortar attack.

We are deeply saddened for the loss of SGT Amanda Pinson. We are all still in shock. Amanda was a great soldier and an even better person. We all know where Amanda must be now. Amanda was already an angel and loved by all who knew her. We who knew Amanda are all devastated and heartbroken and she will never be forgotten.

I knew Amanda personally. Amanda was a 98C Signals Intelligence Analyst. Although I am the Senior 98C working in the same unit Amanda did not work directly for me yet I still often spoke with her and she often came to me for advice on many different matters. Although all of our soldiers are precious to us Amanda was like a daughter to me and she will always be loved and remain in my thoughts, prayers, and in my heart. I will forever miss hearing Amanda calling me Old Man.

Amanda will always be loved and missed by those who knew her. Amanda was always funny, full of laughter, and quite the jokester too. She always made everyone’s day a better day. Amanda set the example for all to live by. If only all people conducted themselves in this manner we would all be in a better place. We who knew Amanda are all truly blessed to have known her and all hope to one day be good enough to see her again.

I along with many other Rear Detachment soldiers from Amanda’s unit went to St. Louis to meet Amanda’s family, pay our respects, and attend her funeral. It was the saddest moment in my life yet the most rewarding. The attendance by those who loved and knew her and the support of the local community were truly amazing and emotional. I would like to thank Amanda’s family for their hospitality and their graciousness that they showed us in their own time of mourning. They are truly wonderful loving people just like Amanda.

V/R,
Stuart K. Bailey
101st ABN DIV

Read all the posts about this remarkable young American at this link.

America lost one of its best on March 3, 2009. Spc. Jessica Sarandrea, 22, of Miami, was killed during a mortar attack, in Mosul, Iraq.

Sarandrea, who graduated from Coral Gables High School, was stationed in Mosul, where she worked as a supply specialist performing logistical support for her battalion, said Alejandro ”Alex” Sarandrea, her husband. She was walking from her office, perhaps to get her gear, when she was hit by shrapnel from incoming mortar, her husband said.

More about this female warfighter:

Our Best: Spc. Jessica Sarandrea – KIA

Killeen Daily Herald

KWTX

Family website

She fidgeted with her black bracelet showing a black and white portrait of a man wearing dark sunglasses inscribed with a date and some words. Underneath her uniform, she wears a cross concealing within it, a vial of ashes. She smiled as she said, “I am a walking memorial of my brother.”

Capt. Linda A. Bass, a support operations resource plans officer for the 3d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), began her deployment hoping to visit Forward Operating Base Marez; where a street was named after her little brother, Sgt. 1st Class Richard Henkes, who died in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom in Sept. 2006.

“He had just been promoted … and this was his first time being a platoon sergeant, a “platoon daddy” as he liked to call it, and he was very excited about it,” Bass said.

Henkes was assigned to 2nd Battalion,3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Inf. Division, Fort Lewis, Wash., when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.

Approximately a month later, Henkes’ previous commander e-mailed Bass to tell her a road had been named in her brother’s honor. He also included a photo of the sign.

“I told my dad I’m going to see that sign and going to take a picture in front of it,” said Bass, a Bessemer, Ala., native. “I didn’t know it would actually happen.”

Bass spoke with the support operations officer for the 3d ESC, Col. Cheri A. Provancha, about her wishes to travel to FOB Marez. Provancha knew the commanding general of the 3d ESC Brig. Gen. Michael J. Lally was going on a trip to FOB Marez; she requested Bass accompany him. Lally agreed.

“I was very excited about that,” said Provancha, a San Diego, Calif., native. “The fact that she was able to go up there and get some closure is pretty important.”

“I was just amazed and gratified by their support and their willingness to do that for me, especially since I had just gotten here,” Bass said.

Bass flew by helicopter to Marez with Lally. While riding to the tactical operations center, Bass saw her brother’s road sign. She had a restless night waiting to find it again in the morning.

The next day Bass traveled around the base with her own driver. With his help they found two street signs with her brother’s name and stumbled upon a third. Bass laid a charm in the shape of a shield with the verse Joshua 1:9 inscribed on the back at the base of one of the signs. The verse is, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Bass, armed with photos of her brother on FOB Marez, visited more sights on the post and took photos to match the ones her brother took three years ago.

Her stops included a barrier where her brother’s unit’s art was displayed and the trauma room where he spent his last moments. She made a stop at the coffee shop on base thinking if it was there in 2006, it would have been one of the places he visited. “He was a coffee snob,” Bass laughed.

Before leaving FOB Marez, Bass was given one of the street signs with “HENKES Ln.” painted in bold, white letters slightly dusted by the weather of Iraq.

“Not many people who have lost their loved ones here can say that they’ve had an opportunity to walk where he walked and be where he last lived,” Bass said. “The fact that I get to bring a little piece of that home to share with my family is amazing to me.”

DVIDS
Story by Pfc. Amanda Tucker