FOB Tacoma » 82nd airborne

JBLM soldier killed in southern Afghanistan

Adam Ashton — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:25:09 +0000

Minnesota news outlets are reporting that a Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier was killed in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province on Sunday.

Spc. Nicholas Dickhut, 23, of Rochester, Minn. just last week was photographed in an image that appeared on news web sites all over the country. It shows him lining up a shot after coming under fire in Kandahar three days before his death.

The Defense Department and Lewis-McChord have not released their formal press releases announcing his death.

“I don’t even want to think about the fact that he’s never coming home,” his mother, Jacqueline Carson, told …

Tacoma native patrols the road out of Iraq for 82nd Airborne

Adam Ashton — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:00:05 +0000

An Army staff sergeant from Tacoma had a good view of the American withdrawal from Iraq, as seen in this photo from a patrol last week.

Staff Sgt. Christopher King of the 82nd Airborne Division was walking the streets of Baghdad to guard the road to Kuwait for the soldiers on their way home.

The journey through remains a dangerous one. Two weeks ago, an improvised explosive claimed the life of a specialist from King’s battalion.

“The closer we get to the time of our departure, the more they want to get after us,” Lt. Col. David Doyle …

Deaths of JBLM soldiers described in WikiLeaks reports

Adam Ashton — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 22:20:54 +0000

Casualty reports describing the deaths of dozens of Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldiers can be found in hundreds of thousands of pages of classified Iraq war documents published last weekend by WikiLeaks.

The reports are immediate accounts of daily events in Iraq between 2004 and 2010. They’re quick and dirty, and will not reveal much new information to families who have received final investigations into the deaths of their loved ones from the Defense Department.

They reflect a constant grind for soldiers seeking out improvised explosive devices, drawing contact from insurgents and executing raids.

Here are some of examples …

Joey Caron’s dedication to country “remarkable,” commanding general says

Kris Sherman — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:01:03 +0000

Army Spc. Joseph T. “Joey” Caron “lived every day God gave him to the fullest” and was a dedicated soldier with a remarkable love for his country, his commanding general in Afghanistan wrote The News Tribune in a Letter to the Editor.

Parkland native Caron, 21, died in a bomb blast April 11 while on foot patrol in the Arghandab River Valley near Kandahar. Some 500 people attended funeral services for the 2007 Washington High School graduate on Sunday. He was buried with military honors at Mountain View Memorial Park.

Caron, a paratrooper, was a member of the 4th Brigade, …

Some 500 pay tribute to Pierce County soldier, 21, killed by bomb blast in Afghanistan

Kris Sherman — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 22:52:19 +0000

Pierce County buried a hometown hero Sunday.

U.S. Army Spc. Joseph T. “Joey” Caron was remembered as a man of many facets and talents who possessed one driving force: protecting freedom for family and friends.

He was a courageous paratrooper, a prankster, a protective and attentive brother. He would give a fellow soldier his last drink of water; put on a proud smile and confident glare as he took off on a trough assignment; assume the persona of Forrest Gump and earn belly laughs with his on-the-mark portrayals of the aw-shucks movie character, friends and family members said.

And he …

Memorial service set Sunday for Tacoma paratrooper killed by bomb blast in Afghanistan

Kris Sherman — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:21:27 +0000

A memorial service for Army Spc. Joseph Thierry Caron is scheduled at 11 a.m. Sunday at Washington High School in Parkland, 12420 Ainsworth Avenue S.

The paratrooper from Tacoma was killed by a bomb blast April 11 while he was on foot patrol in Afghanistan’s Arghandab River Valley. He was 21 years old.

Spc. Joseph T. Caron

Caron, called Joey by his family and friends, was a member of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne division. He was stationed at

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