Three days after she learned that her husband had been killed in Afghanistan, Jennie Allgaier received flowers and a card for their wedding anniversary. Her husband had remembered.
He had remembered the wife he loved, and so shall we remember him; him and the others who died when their helicopter went down on May 30th.
DoD Identifies Army Casualties – June 4, 2007
The DoD announced today the death of five soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died May 30 in Upper Sangin Valley, Afghanistan, when their helicopter crashed apparently due to enemy fire. They were assigned to the 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 82nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Killed were:
Chief Warrant Officer Christopher M. Allgaier, 33, of Middleton, Mo.
Chief Warrant Officer Joshua R. Rodgers, 29, of Carson City, Nev.
Staff Sgt. Charlie L. Bagwell, 28, of Lake Toxaway, N.C.
Sgt. Jesse A. Blamires, 25, of West Jordan, Utah.
Sgt. Brandon E. Hadaway, 25, of Valley, Ala.
All five of the soldiers had children and most had at least one previous deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. Allgaier and Rodgers were piloting the helicopter when it crashed, said 82nd Airborne Division spokesman Maj. Tom Earnhardt.
These were young men who died in the upper Sangin Valley in Afghanistan. The pilots were 33 and 29. One remembered to send flowers to his wife on their wedding anniversary, the other loved to talk about his daughters, his three princesses.
The three crew members, they were 28, 25 and 25. One dreamed of being an astronaut, another was described as "a big ol'teddy bear." The third had been a standout high school football player before he joined the Army in 1998.
There's more to them than that, you know it. There are mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles. their neighbors and friends and it might be there is a dog or two waiting to hear familiar footsteps.
When we talk about the expenditures of the war in Afghanistan and the one in Iraq, we talk of blood and treasure, using the words as though they refer to separate things. They are not separate.
They are not.
We spill our dearest blood in these wars, more to be treasured that gold.
See what the family and friends of the soldiers have lost.
See what we have lost.
From: Fayetteville Online
Published on Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Army IDs soldiers killed
By Kevin Maurer
Staff writer
Jennie Allgaier received flowers and an anniversary card from her husband, Chief Warrant Officer Chris Allgaier, on Saturday, three days after he was killed in Afghanistan. Allgaier, 33 from Omaha, Neb., was one of the five paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division killed Wednesday in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.
He and his comrades were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Also killed in the crash were: Chief Warrant Officer Joshua R. Rodgers, 29, of Carson City, Nev.; Staff Sgt. Charlie L. Bagwell, 28, of Lake Toxaway; Sgt. Jesse A. Blamires, 25, of West Jordan, Utah; and Sgt. Brandon E. Hadaway, 25, of Valley, Ala.
Their Chinook crashed Wednesday after dropping off as many as 40 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne, according to news reports.
SNIP
Army officials said the cause of the crash remains under investigation, but Bagwell’s father said that Fort Bragg officials told him Thursday that the helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade.
SNIP
Chief Warrent Officer Joshua R.Rodgers was Allgaier’s co-pilot who just joined the unit in February.
Like Allgaier, he was very proud of his family.
"Josh always talked about his three princesses. He strove to provide them everything they ever needed, and even more," Chief Warrant Officer Heath Barrett said in a statement. ... "Josh died with courage defending what he believed in," said Barrett. "He died protecting those he loved most in this world. Josh died being the best soldier he knew how to be."
SNIP
The other three crew members — Bagwell, Hadaway and Blamires — were flight engineers.
Sgt. Jesse A. Blamires dreamt of being an astronaut and would often spend off nights gazing at the stars, friends in the unit said in a statement. .... This was his second combat deployment.
SNIP
Sgt. Brandon E. Hadaway was a gregarious guy who liked a good laugh, his unit mates said.
"Brandon was a big ol’ teddy bear," Staff Sgt. Ronald E. Walton said in a statement. "He could get upset at times but, for the most part, he was always joking and having fun with the guys."
..."He lived his life to the fullest and died doing his duty, fighting for freedom for the people of Afghanistan," Chief Warrant Officer Dave Cox said.
Staff Sgt. Charlie L. Bagwell, was liked by everyone who knew him, his unit mate said.
"You couldn’t help but like Charlie. He was just one of those people you rarely meet that leave a lasting impression on you. I will truly miss him and there will never be anyone like him," Cox said in a statement.
A memorial service for the five paratroopers was held Saturday in Afghanistan.
Staff writer Kevin Maurer can be reached at maurerk@fayobserver.com or 486-3587.
Copyright 2007 - The Fayetteville (NC) Observer