Maine soldier reported killed in Iraq

[MaineDem]

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) A soldier from Maine was killed in Iraq, WCSH-TV reported Tuesday.

The soldier was from Westbrook and his wife was notified of his death, the station said. No details were available.

The report was not immediately confirmed by the Pentagon, a Maine National Guard spokesman or the offices of the state's two U.S. senators.

A funeral service will be held Saturday in Portland for Spc. Christopher Gelineau, an Army National Guard soldier who was fatally injured a week ago in an ambush in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/118/region/Maine_soldier_reported_killed_:.shtml

Two KIA from Maine in a week. That's a lot for this small state. :cry:

[democratreformed]

1. Four for us here in Arkansas

One from Batesville area, one from Little Rock (previously the Hope area), one from Carlisle, and one from Hazen

[democratreformed]

8. More info

"Military officials have identified and released the names of the four Arkansas soldiers killed in a rocket attack at the base of Arkansas' 39th Infantry Brigade in Iraq.
Those soldiers are:
*Capt. Arthur L Felder, 36, of Lewisville
*Chief Warrant Officer Patrick W Kordsmeier, 49, of North Little Rock
*Staff Sgt. Billy J Orton, 41, of Humnoke
*Staff Sgt. Stacey C Brandon, 35, of Hazen

[PaDUer]

11. One dead from this area, and

another injured yesterday..Was on our local news tonite--Scranton, PA...Wonder how this area is going to handle this! Fallujah is really hopping, isn't it! Bet there's going to be a lot more! * is so proud!I wish I was able to get an online copy of the pix on the front page of tonite's Scranton Times newspaper because the pix is titled--Local troops in the Heat of Fallujah! Soldiers of the Scranton-based 2nd battalion, 103rd Armor Regiment of the PA Army National Guard, keep a shaky peace today in Fallujah, the epicenter of the growing Iraqi insurgency..

[PROGRESSIVE1]

2. "Ignore this post. All is well in Iraq. We are winning the war.....

on terrorism. Do as you're told, vote Bush and love America."

:eyes:

[JohnyCanuck]

5. And don't forget to shop.

n/t

[mindfulNJ]

3. omg..I moved from that area a year ago

My kids both graduated from Westbrook High...praying for the family...:cry:

[democrank]

4. Such sad news.

Seven Vermont soldiers killed to date. Will someone please make this stop?

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. We will

but it will take time...

[jpak]

7. Maine people are very sensitive to news like this

I can guarantee that everyone in the state was shocked and saddened by Spc. Christopher Gelineau death last week - and the story is still front page news.

and now this?????

The Maine Guard unit in Iraq (the 133rd) is an engineer battalion.

It hasn't suffered a combat death since WW2.

In the past, they trained in Central America repairing/constructing bridges and other infrastructure for the local populations.

...until Bush drafted them for duty in Iraq.

Earlier this week, the Portland Press Herald printed a comment from a Maine guardsman in Iraq.

He said:

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this"

[Aries]

10. In today's Portland Press Herald

http://www.pressherald.com/news/local/040427soldier.shtml

...Each day at the end of his shift, at 3 p.m. in Mosul, Iraq, Christopher Gelineau would hurry to a computer and log on to the Internet.

At the same time, 7 a.m. in Portland, Lavinia Gelineau would sit down at her computer in the spare bedroom. Each would have a digital camera pointed at them so they could send live photos through their computers.

Within moments, they would be smiling at images of each other and typing messages around the globe about the littlest things and, often, about how much they were in love.

Chris Gelineau's face never appeared on his wife's computer screen last Tuesday. Gelineau, a 23-year-old University of Southern Maine senior and a specialist with the 133rd Engineer Battalion of the Maine Army National Guard, died earlier that day in an attack on his convoy.

...Lavinia's grief now sometimes gives way to anger that her husband was put in danger. She said she gets angry when people say he was there to do his duty, or for some higher purpose.

"He was just there because the Guard told him to go there," she said. "I just want them to bring the troops home. No one needs to go through this. No one needs to bury a husband who is 23 years old."...

[jimbot]

9. They name the second soldier here:

http://www.wcsh6.com/home/article.asp?id=13172

It recently was updated on the wcsh6 web site.

Chris's funeral will be at USM this weekend...so very sad.

--JT