For the second month in a row, CNN reports that US and coalition deaths in Afghanistan have surpassed those in Iraq. Tonight we honor the memories of three soldiers, Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey M. Radamorales, Master Sgt. Shawn E. Simmons, and Sgt. James M. Treber, who died in a non-combat related vehicle accident in Afghanistan, and a marine, Staff Sgt. Edgar A. Heredia, who was killed while supporting combat operations in Farah Province in Afghanistan.

Please follow me below the fold to learn more about these four men who sacrificed their lives for this country.

Tonight we honor the memories of three Guardsmen and a Green Beret – all killed in action in Afghanistan last week. Making the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country was completely in character for these men who all had dedicated their lives to service at an early age.

Sgt. 1st Class Joseph A. McKay, 51, of Brooklyn, NY, was born on the 4th of July. He joined the New York Army National Guard more than 30 years ago, had also served in Iraq and had guarded Grand Central and Penn Station in the days following 9/11.

Sgt. 1st Class Matthew L. Hilton, 37, of Livonia, MI, had been a reservist for 18 years and served in Iraq prior to volunteering for his most recent mission to Afghanistan.

Spc. Mark C. Palmateer, 38, of Poughkeepsie, NY wanted to serve his country all his life and his daughter recalled he would do anything for anybody.

Staff Sgt. Travis K. Hunsberger of Goshen Indiana, may have only been 24, but had accomplished much in that time – excelling as a Green Beret on his second tour in Afghanistan.

Please join me beyond the fold to celebrate their lives and mourn their loss.

Please also visit JeNoCo’s diary, IGTNT: Band of Brothers. Thanks to all who bear witness with us so faithfully!

Lives of great men all remind us
   We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
   Footprints on the sands of time...

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "A Psalm of Life"

Six more soldiers and Marines have perished in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of them probably didn’t know each other, and yet they were all there for the same reason: to make a difference for their families, their friends, and their country. And in so doing, they left behind them footprints that will not soon fade.

Let us remember together these six great men: Staff Sgt. Christopher D. Strickland, Chief Warrant Officer Robert C. Hammett, Major Dwayne M. Kelley, Lt. Col. Max A. Galeai, Capt. Philip J. Dykeman, and Cpl. Marcus W. Preudhomme.

Please also visit twilight falling's diary, IGTNT: Footprints on the Sands of Time. Thanks to all who bear witness with us so faithfully!

From King Henry V by William Shakespeare:

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother..."

Brothers for eternity, then:

Army Sgt. Gene F. Clark was buried today at a cemetery outside of his hometown of Muncie, Indiana.  On the way to the cemetery, his flag-draped coffin was driven past his childhood home.

Army Sgt. Edward J. O’Brien will be buried on July 2nd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with full military honors.

Sgt. Clark and Sgt. O’Brien died just three weeks and ten miles from each other, each on cold battlefields near Unsan, North Korea, in November 1950.  Their bodies were not recovered for decades.

Join us in remembering these gallant young men tonight, both of whom are finally home.

Tonight, we gather to pay tribute to two more heroes who gave their last full measure this week, Cpt. Gregory T. Dalessio, 30, of Cherry Hill, NJ and Spc. Ryan J. Connolly, 24, of Vacaville, CA.  This diary was especially tough to write.   These two men, one a dedicated leader and a loving son, the other a war weary father and husband - the sense of loss in their loved ones must be unbearable.  Join me in grieving with their families and in sharing their loss.  Pray that they may take some solace in knowing that their loved ones were very special men who did their duty.

NOTE:  I will be out, with my sweet daughter, until about 10:00.  I promise that I will respond to all comments when I come back.

The Roberts Supreme Court Decision endorsing a "personal right" to own guns is a devastating affront to decency and common sense, and yet another reason to support Obama,and not the "straight-talking" McCain, who will further  stack the Court with conservatives.

The Department of Defense announced four casualties in  Afghanistan.  So far, the war in Afghanistan, also called Operation Enduring Freedom, has claimed 532 American lives.  According to the Iraq Casualty Count, there have been 4110 killed in Iraq.

Tonight we remember:

Sgt. Matthew E. Mendoza, 24, of San Antonio, Texas who died June 20 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Du Hai Tran, 30, of Reseda, California who died Jun. 20 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds caused by an improvised explosive device.

Navy Hospitalman Dustin Kelby Burnett, 19, of Fort Mojave, AZ has served his final mission.

He was known as "Tex" to his friends and "Doc" to all the people he helped while serving the 2/7 Marines in Farah province in Afghanistan. He’d been in Afghanistan less than 3 months, but he and his buddies had already received care packages thanks to Military Moms, a Bullhead City, AZ community organization that sends care packages to the troops.

As we mourn his loss, I ask you to consider honoring this corpsman's memory by making a contribution – however small or large – to the Netroots for the Troops’ Care Package project at Netroots Nation ‘08.

Please join me tonight as the IGTNT team celebrates the lives of six of America's finest:

Specialist Thomas F. Duncan III, 21, of Rowlett, Texas who died in Iraq on June 9, tragically, from friendly fire during combat operations.

Staff Sargeant Tyler E. Pickett, 28, of Saratoga, Wyoming, who died June 8 in Kirkuk Province, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his unit was attacked by enemy forces using a suicide bomber and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Captain Eric Daniel Terhune, 34, of Lexington, Kentucky and Lance Cpl. Andrew Francis Whitacre, 21, of Bryant, Indiana.  Both Marines died June 19 while they were conducting combat operations in Farah Province, Afghanistan.  

Specialist Jason N. Cox, 21, of Elyria, Ohio, who died June 16 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds he suffered near Hillah when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device (IED).

And finally, let us Welcome Home Lieutenant Commander Ralph C. Bisz, U.S. Navy, of Miami Shores, Florida.  Lt. Cmdr. Bisz disappeared while in his Skyhawk over Vietnam on Aug. 4, 1967.  His remains have finally been returned to his family for closure and burial.

Tonight, it is my privilege to honor two fine Americans who lost their lives on June 18 as a result of wounds suffered from an enemy rocket attack in northern Paktika province, Afghanistan.

Please join me below to celebrate the lives of Navy Hospitalman Marc A. Retmier, 19, of Hemet, California, and Petty Officer First Class Ross L. Toles III, 37, of Davison, Michigan.

Tonight, there are two more casualties announced by the DoD.  One was 19 years old and had spent his lifetime in the foster care system.  The other was a father and a twenty two  year Veteran who looked forward to retiring and living in Tennessee.  

According to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count the number of names released by the DoD is now 4100 and there is 1 more name of the deceased awaiting notification of the next of kin before being publicly released.  In Afghanistan, there are 521 U.S. deaths  from Operation Enduring Freedom.  

Thanks to Timroff for our logo.

If you know my name, you know that I have writen tributes to our fallen servicemen and women on DailyKos for the past year. I, along with my fellow IGTNT diarists, put much care into paying tribute to these men and women by researching as much as we can to properly honor them.

I've written about the loss of some remarkable people and I cry over every one of them.

Last August I wrote a diary that included tributes to two soldiers - Spc. Kamisha Block and Staff Sgt. Paul Norris - who had died in what the Army called a "non-combat related incident." The family was initially led to believe it was "friendly fire."

As it turns out, Paul Norris murdered Kamisha and then took his own life. But it took 6 months for Kamisha's family to learn the truth about her death. Beyond that, the Army has admitted that it failed to protect her from abuse.

I know that many here at dKos may say "not another Russert diary" but it's not for those people, so if that's anyone's reaction, move along...nothing to see here.

I started to write this on Friday, that day we all got such sad news, but a day that obviously forever changed your life and your mom's life . I didn't, thinking it was kind of silly to write to someone I'll likely never meet and someone who will likely never see it. But I keep thinking these thoughts and in the days since, as I've watched you handle yourself with such maturity, grace, humor, love and wisdom beyond your years, I felt like I wanted to say these things.

  May the good Lord be with you
  Down every road you roam
  And may sunshine and happiness
  Surround you when you're far from home
  And may you grow to be proud
  Dignified and true
  And do unto others
  As you'd have done to you
  Be courageous and be brave
  And in my heart you'll always stay
  Forever young, forever young

  From "Forever Young" by Rod Stewart

Tonight we remember two marines. One died in Iraq of undisclosed causes. The other died in the United States from injuries he had sustained in Iraq. Both were only 19 years old.

[Cross-posted at The Left Coaster.]

With an ever-present sense of incredulous disbelief I have watched over the past three weeks as Telecom immunity for FISA lawbreakers has somehow been reborn in the House.  President Bush feloniously chucked the FISA statue down the toilet, telecoms broke four more statutes to heinously take America into the habits of dictatorship, they got caught before the election but were enabled by the New York Times, and ever since Congress has beat back attempts to change the law and let the telecoms off the hook.

Yesterday was my birthday.

My second birthday without my mom.

2007 was a "big" birthday and last year I was surrounded by friends who went to a lot of trouble to make sure I wasn't alone for my milestone celebration. Although I was deeply stuck in a grief rut and almost canceled the dinner party several times, on the actual evening I did enjoy myself a little and greatly appreciated the love behind the gesture.

This year I spent my birthday alone.

It was very hard.