DOD Announces Casualties 16-Jan-10

[IndianaGreen]

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 037-10
January 16, 2010
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DOD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Jan. 13 at Combat Outpost McClain, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. The soldiers were assigned to the 118th Military Police Company (Airborne), 503rd Military Police Battalion (Airborne), 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Daniel D. Merriweather, 25, of Collierville Tenn.

Pfc. Geoffrey A. Whitsitt, 21, of Taylors, S.C.

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13243

[UrbScotty]

1. .

[Thothmes]

2. RIp Sgt Merriweather and Pfc. Whitsitt.

[IndianaGreen]

3. Local news coverage of Pfc. Geoffrey A. Whitsitt

21-year-old Pfc. Geoffrey A. Whitsitt, of Taylors, S.C., died Wednesday.

SC Soldier Killed in Afghanistan

The military announced Saturday that 25-year-old Staff Sgt. Daniel D. Merriweather, of Collierville Tennessee, and 21-year-old Pfc. Geoffrey A. Whitsitt, of Taylors, South Carolina, died Wednesday.

Whitsitt joined the Army on February 12, 2008 and went to basic and AIT at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. where he graduated as a 31B-Military Policeman.

Upon graduating from AIT, he attended and completed Basic Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. and was later assigned to the 118th Military Police Company (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Whitsitt deployed to Forward Operating Base Airborne, Afghanistan in May 2009 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom IX. His awards include the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal- Campaign Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Parachutist Badge, and the Combat Action Badge.

Officials say the men were in a vehicle that was damaged by an explosive device.

http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=82981&catid=2

[IndianaGreen]

4. Local news coverage of Staff Sgt. Daniel D. Merriweather

I am sorry to say that I found very little about SSG Merriweather. He was a young man whose life was cut short. The fallen are not just a number, or even a name. They left behind family and loved ones and, unlike us, they will not see tomorrow. May he rest in peace.



Army Staff Sgt. Daniel D. Merriweather

25, of Collierville Tenn.; assigned to the 118th Military Police Company (Airborne), 503rd Military Police Battalion (Airborne), 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Jan. 13 at Combat Outpost McClain, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Pfc. Geoffrey A. Whitsitt.

http://www.militarycity.com/valor/4459023.html

[IndianaGreen]

5. Local news coverage of Staff Sgt. Daniel D. Merriweather (Update)

I finally found news from Memphis about SSG Merriweather.


Sgt. Daniel Merriweather holds his newborn son Daniel Merriweather Jr., now 3 months old


Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Dewayne Merriweather

Memphis soldier killed in Afghanistan

By Ryan Poe
Posted January 15, 2010 at 5:26 p.m. , updated January 15, 2010 at 10:56 p.m.

A Memphis soldier was killed in Afghanistan this week when the Humvee he was driving triggered a roadside bomb, family members said Friday.

Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Dewayne Merriweather, 25, was killed by the blast on Wednesday, along with another, unidentified soldier in the vehicle, according to family members.

Merriweather, who lived with his wife Rachelle near Fort Bragg, N.C., last saw his family in October when he returned home for two weeks for the birth of his second child.

He is the 13th soldier from the Memphis area killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since the conflicts began. The last casualty from the Greater Memphis area was 21-year-old Brandon Owens who was killed Oct. 2, also in Afghanistan.

Merriweather had served two previous tours of duty — first in Afghanistan, then in Iraq — before he was shipped back to Afghanistan in May 2009, said his sister Adrienne Winton, 27, of Chicago.

She said her brother joined the Army in 2002, shortly after graduating from Overton High School, where he studied broadcast journalism and played football.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jan/15/memphis-soldier-killed-afghanistan/