S.C. National Guard remembers fallen over Memorial Day
The South Carolina National Guard will be supporting communities throughout the state to honor the fallen over Memorial Day weekend.
Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the S.C. National Guard has deployed more than 18,000 Soldiers and Airmen overseas. Sixteen Soldiers from the S.C. Army National Guard have paid the ultimate price supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. They are:
Operation Iraqi Freedom
PVT Algernon Adams– 36, of Aiken, S.C.; assigned to the 122nd Engineer Battalion, S.C. Army National Guard, Edgefield, S.C.; died Oct. 28, 2003 of non-combat-related injuries at Forward Operating Base St. Mere, Falluja, Iraq.
CW4 Patrick Leach – 39, of Rock Hill, S.C.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 151st Aviation Regiment, South Carolina Army National Guard, Columbia, S.C.; died Dec. 9, 2004 in an Apache helicopter accident in Mosul, Iraq. Leach died when his AH-64 collided with a UH-60 helicopter during a night mission.
SSG Jerome Lemon– 42, of North Charleston, S.C.; assigned to the 1052nd Transportation Company, South Carolina Army National Guard, Kingstree, S.C.; killed Oct. 27, 2004 when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle in Balad, Iraq.
1LT Andrew Shields– 25, of Campobello, S.C.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 151st Aviation Regiment, South Carolina Army National Guard, Columbia, S.C.; died Dec. 9, 2004 in an Apache helicopter accident in Mosul, Iraq. Shields died when his AH-64 collided with a UH-60 helicopter during night mission.
MSG Thomas Thigpen, Sr- 52, of Augusta, Georgia. Thigpen died in Camp Virginia, Kuwait (north of Kuwait City), of non-combat related injuries. He was assigned to the 151st Signal Battalion, Greenville, South Carolina. Thigpen died on March 16, 2004.
Operation Enduring Freedom- Afghanistan
SGT Stephen High– 45, of Spartanburg, S.C.; assigned to the 228th Signal Brigade, South Carolina Army National Guard, Spartanburg, S.C.; killed April 6, 2005 when the CH-47 helicopter in which he was riding crashed in Ghazni, Afghanistan.
SPC Chrystal Stout– 23, of Travelers Rest, S.C.; assigned to the 228th Signal Brigade, South Carolina Army National Guard, Spartanburg, S.C.; killed April 6, 2005 when the CH-47 helicopter in which she was riding crashed in Ghazni, Afghanistan.
SSG James Bullard– 28, of Marion, S.C.; assigned to the South Carolina National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 263rd Armor Regiment, in Marion, S.C.; died Oct. 30, 2007 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using rocket-propelled grenade fire, machine gun fire, mortars and small-arms fire during combat operations.
SGT Edward Philpot– of Latta, SC; He was killed from a non-combat related Humvee rollover accident in Afghanistan Oct. 3, 2007. Philpot was assigned to 1st Battalion, 263rd Armor Regiment, South Carolina National Guard, Dillon, SC.
SGT Shawn Hill– 37, of Wellford, S.C.; assigned to the 178th Engineer Battalion, 218th Infantry Brigade, South Carolina Army National Guard, Rock Hill, S.C.; died Jan. 2, 2008 in Khowst province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.
SGT David Leimbach– 38, of Taylors, S.C.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 118th Infantry, Fountain Inn, S.C., and attached to the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry (Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition), New York Army National Guard; died May 25, 2008 near Bala Baluk, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.
SSG Willie Harley– 48, of Aiken, S.C.; assigned to the 1221st Engineer Clearance Company, Graniteville, S.C.; died Oct. 1, 2010 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his military vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
SGT Luther Rabon– 32, of Lexington, S.C.; assigned to the 1221st Engineer Clearance Company, Graniteville, S.C.; died Oct. 1, 2010 in the Paktika province, Afghanistan. Rabon when vehicle he was riding in struck an improvised explosive device.
Sgt. John “J.D.” David Meador II– 36, of Columbia, S.C.; assigned to 133rd Military Police Company, Florence, S.C.; died June 20, 2012 in Khowst province, Afghanistan, of wounds caused by an improvised explosive device.
1st Lt. Ryan Davis Rawl– 30, of Lexington, S.C.; assigned to 133rd Military Police Company, 51st Military Police Battalion, Florence, S.C.; died June 20, 2012 in Khost, Afghanistan, of wounds caused by an improvised explosive device.
Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Bradford “Brad” Thomas– 30, of Travelers Rest, S.C.; assigned to 133rd Military Police Company, Florence, S.C.; died June 20, 2012 in Khowst province, Afghanistan, of wounds caused by an improvised explosive device.
“It is important to remember the stories of our fallen,” said Maj. Gen. Robert E. Livingston, Jr., the adjutant general for South Carolina. “It is by hearing the stories of these heroes, the men and women who sacrificed, that we gain an understanding that freedom is not free. We owe a debt of gratitude to them and the families they leave behind.”
