4 Hawaii-based soldiers die in Iraq explosion
A Salute to the Fallen
Read the stories of fallen service members with Hawai'i ties, most of whom were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since the spring of 2003. Follow our coverage of Hawai'i troops and read the messages from friends and family in Dispatches.
 |
Post your condolences |
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
| |||
 |
|
||
| |||
|
|
||
| |||
|
|
||
| |||
|
|
||
| |||
|
|
||
| |||
|
|
||
A Stryker vehicle from Schofield Barracks hit a roadside bomb and was torn apart Friday in Taji, Iraq, killing four soldiers and injuring six, according to the mother of one of the wounded soldiers and military officials.
The Pentagon yesterday identified the four soldiers killed as Spc. Michael T. Manibog, 31; Sgt. Timothy P. Martin, 27; Staff Sgt. Jerald A. Whisenhunt, 32; and Sgt. Gary D. Willett, 34.
The fatal blast was the second involving Hawai'i's Stryker brigade, which deployed in November and December with 4,000 soldiers and about 328 of the eight-wheeled Stryker vehicles.
Sgt. Caleb Martin, 22, suffered a crushed vertebrae in the blast, his mother, Sylvia Martin, said by phone. (The Martins are not related to Timothy Martin.)
The New Mexico woman said part of a 20-ton Stryker blew apart and landed on her son, who was taken first to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, and yesterday was en route to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Her son could move his toes and was walking a bit before he was placed on a plane bound for the United States, Sylvia Martin said.
"We just feel lucky, and our hearts go out to those that didn't get the news that we got," she said.
The Pentagon described the four soldiers killed in Taji:
'MOST TERRIFYING THING'
Caleb Martin's wife, Ebony, said her husband was best friends with Manibog. Ebony Martin, who also is in the Army, was preparing to fly from Hawai'i last night to be with her husband at Walter Reed.
"It's the most terrifying thing ever," Ebony Martin said. "I'm lucky to still have Caleb in my life."
Manibog was almost part of the family, she said, and he and her husband liked to play basketball and football.
"Manibog was a very joyful person. He was laughing all the time," Ebony Martin said. "He loved to sing. He was always singing and he loved to dance. He would always just bust out with a song. It'd be completely quiet and he'd just bust out with a note or two or a song."
Schofield Barracks officials said in a release that the Whisenhunt family requested that media not contact them. Timothy Martin's father in California also would not comment yesterday when reached by phone.
THREATS IN TAJI
The first Stryker combat fatality occurred Jan. 19, when Spc. Jon Michael Schoolcraft III, 26, of Wapakoneta, Ohio, died from wounds suffered when his Stryker vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.
That death, also in Taji, was four days after the brigade officially took over responsibility for Taji, which is northwest of Baghdad.
The Hawai'i Stryker brigade reports to the 4th Infantry Division and Multinational Division-Baghdad. Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, who recently stepped down as commander of the 25th Infantry Division, and who also spent 15 months in charge of Multinational Division-North in Iraq, recently said he was familiar with the threat in the Taji area.
The Taji and Tarmiya areas are along the so-called "Baghdad belt" roadways just north of the capital, and are important for insurgents to control for weapons and suicide bomber movement, Mixon said in a previous interview.
Weapons are kept outside Baghdad until an operation in the city is imminent, he said.
Mixon predicted, "It will be a pretty rough fight for (the Stryker brigade soldiers) over the next several months, I'm sure."
CONDOLENCES OFFERED
The bombing on Friday was the single largest loss of life for Schofield Barracks since 10 soldiers from the post were killed in a UH-60 Black Hawk crash in northern Iraq on Aug. 22.
Members of Hawai'i's congressional delegation reacted to the latest deaths, with U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye saying he was "saddened to learn of the deaths of the four Schofield-based soldiers ... they were part of our Island 'ohana, and we share the pain, sadness and grief of their family and friends.
"I salute these four brave soldiers for their service and sacrifice in a dangerous place far from home. We owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid."
U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka said: "I am deeply saddened today by the loss of these brave soldiers, and I am again reminded about the true cost of this war. My heart and prayers go out to their families and friends. They answered the call to duty and made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. They will not be forgotten.
"I think I speak for everyone in Hawai'i when I say these families have our love and support, and we will do what we can to ease their pain from this tragic loss. Let us all pause and remember these brave men who died far too soon."
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.
