Better than a Hero

"Mike wasn't a hero, he was better than a hero... Mike was a professional." - MAJ Todd Fredette about his friend and fellow Soldier MAJ Mike Mundell, KIA 1-5-07

MAJ Todd (l) and MAJ Mike.
"Just a picture of two middle-aged married guys, far away from home, missing their families."

Hi Everyone,

I would like to tell you about my friend and teammate, Major Michael Mundell. Mike was killed last Friday by an IED while on our way to assist another unit in trouble. He was the 3007th death in Iraq.

I met Mike at Fort Hood Texas, where a bunch of strangers were thrown together to form a tight-knit 11-man team and ironically we did just that. I have to admit I didn't like Mike at first, but we ended up being the closest of friends and we jokingly referred to our relationship as a "marriage of convenience".

He was originally from Pittsburgh, the son of a cop and a housewife. Mike's parents instilled a sense of duty in him that motivated him to become Army officer. He served in Germany. Later, he worked for the Federal Reserve Bank in Cincinnati and then as a civilian contractor for the U.S. Army Armor Training Center at Fort Knox.

He was married with four children; his oldest will be graduating High School this spring. He loved history and his knowledge of the civil war was phenomenal. He was a voracious reader. He would start one book in the morning and have the second one done before bedtime. He was 46 years old and he took a lot of abuse from the Marine Corp augments who are young enough to be his children. He loved the Pittsburgh Steelers and loved being a soldier.

What I want you all to know is that the people who fight and die here aren't special and they aren't different. They're people just like you and me: they have families, they pay bills, and they have Bar-B-Qs. They aren't heroes and they aren't saints, they're just people who have a job to do.

Mike wasn't a hero, he was better then a hero... Mike was a professional. Mike took his job seriously and the lives of everyone on the team seriously. His Iraqi counterparts paid him the highest complement; they called him... Brother. I will miss him every day.

I have a dozen pictures of Mike and me together, we were together on every mission including the one where he was killed, but I have only one picture of us without all our war gear on.

It's just a picture of two middle aged married guys, far away from home, missing their families.

A "little note about my friend Mike", sent by MAJ Todd Fredette.


Previous: Soldiers' Angels Mourns MAJ Michael L. Mundell

Landstuhl News

Receipt of donations to SA Germany are confirmed by email, to which I often add news about our most recent visit.

The following is an email sent after our Christmas visit to Landstuhl. Although intended for private distribution it has subsequently been circulated and published in a couple of newspapers, so I thought I'd post it here.


* * *

From: MaryAnn Phillips
bcc:
Date: Dec 30, 2006 10:20 PM
Subject: Shipments to SA Germany & Landstuhl Christmas News


Dear Angels & Friends,

Thank you for your thoughtful and generous donations for our soldiers recovering in Germany!

It's been a very busy month, so I'm taking the liberty of sending a group mail to acknowledge receipt of your shipments. If you have specific questions about your items, please feel free to respond and ask away!

As many of you know, my Dad suffered a stroke on 11 Dec, so I flew to the States for about a week. He's doing much better, and I'd like to thank you all for your well wishes and prayers. I'll be going back within the next couple of days to see him again.

I was at Landstuhl from the 22 - 28 Dec spending time with the patients and distributing donations. Our freight rooms were full of mail from all of you, including cards, baked goods, candy, Christmas decorations, Blankets of Hope, clothing, and much more.

Patients were arriving from Iraq and Afghanistan daily over the holidays. Unfortunately, several of them were severely injured and one died at Landstuhl hospital on Christmas day. We don't lose many patients here, and everyone took it very hard. Each and every loss is difficult to bear, but it hurts just that much more at Christmas.

Some of the ancillary services at the hospital and outpatient barracks were closed for the Christmas weekend so we went through a lot of supplies and many of your donations were put to immediate use. On Chirstmas Day we delivered a trunkload of Blankets of Hope to the hospital Chaplains and directly to the ICU.

Lots of outpatients came to our freight rooms while we were working to request clothing and hygiene items, and we continually replenished the "SA Donations Shelf" in the barracks. Sweats, knit caps, and gloves were especially appreciated due to the very cold weather.

Food - gosh, did we have food at Kleber! An extra table was set up in the barracks for baked goods sent by you and brought by local supporters. Several local groups brought in complete meals on the 23, 24, and 25. An Air Force Squadron based at Ramstein even brought their own chafing dishes! We were kept busy helping the groups set up, clearing used platters, consolidating plates of cookies, etc.

On the 24th, the Marines Liaisons hosted a lunch for their inpatients and the staff at the hospital. Several of their patients attended in wheelchairs, as well as many of the nurses. We made up plates for the ICU staff and brought them up. The delicious ham, sweet potatoes, etc. meal was prepared by one of the Marines volunteers, and she made enough for the Kleber outpatients as well.

The guys at Kleber were eating the stuff as fast as it came in, and were awed at the volume of support. "You don't know how it feels to be able to just come in here and eat a chocolate chip cookie, " said a Soldier who had been running missions near Ramadi and eating MREs for 2-3 weeks at a time. "Or to be able to get on the phone and call home any time I want", he added.

You can read a short vignette about this Soldier on the blog here.

The Chaplains had set up 2 gorgeous Christmas trees in the dayrooms, and we had a lovely informal service on Christmas Eve.

One of our Christmas projects was to hang up Christmas cards from home at Kleber outpatient barracks, assisted by the outpatients. It looks great and we had a lot of fun. I posted a photo on the blog here.

We were also able to distribute many, many Christmas/Thank You cards to the staff at Landstuhl hospital who were very, very touched. I explained to each group that people back home wanted to let them know how much their work is appreciated.

Last but not least, we assembled and distributed 500 Christmas Goodie Bags complete with phone cards to the patients at Landstuhl and Kleber.

In spite of the circumstances, we had a wonderful Christmas at Landstuhl/Kleber.

Thank you for making a difference to our fighting men and women recovering in Germany. They are always so moved by your thoughtfulness, compassion, and support. I wish you could meet them - you would be very, very proud.

God bless you all and God bless our troops.

mp

--
MaryAnn Phillips
Director, International Operations
Soldiers' Angels
www.soldiersangels.org

Someone You Should Know

I'm sure many of you are familiar with Blackfive's Someone You Should Know series, but I wanted to post a reminder that many of these tributes are available as audio interviews with Matt of Blackfive in Pundit Review's radio archives.

For example, you may want to listen to the Someone You Should Know segment about Marine Corporal Jason Dunham, who will be awarded the Medal of Honor (posthumously) by President Bush today.

Dunham is the first Marine to earn the Medal of Honor in more than 30 years and one of only two U.S. service members to be awarded the medal since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began.

The first was SGT 1st Class Paul Ray Smith, and you can listen to the segment about him here

In a society increasingly obsessed with irrelevant entities such as Hollywood stars, it's good to hear about the real American heroes.

Soldiers' Angels Mourns MAJ Michael L. Mundell

From Cathy of the Soldiers' Angels Living Legends Team:

We have a fallen Hero from Soldiers' Angels, Maj. Michael Lewis Mundell.

Mundell, 47, of Brandenburg, Ky., was killed Friday in Fallujah, Iraq.

He was serving with the 108th Division, a training unit of 4,500 soldiers that is headquartered in North Carolina.

Mike is survived by his wife, Audrey, and their 4 children, Erica 17, Ryan 14, Zachary 13 & Dale 11.

Cathy

Ken Sofranko said he talked to his brother-in-law shortly before Mundell deployed to Iraq in June, and he said Mundell was excited about going.

"He said, 'This is what I was born to do,'" Sofranko said.

Mundell was a 1977 graduate of Canon-McMillan High School in Canonsburg. He graduated in 1981 with a history degree from Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Washington County.

Mundell then served 10 years in the Army as a tank officer in Kentucky and Germany.

He was working as a civilian contractor to the Army when the Iraq war broke out and volunteered to return to active duty.

On the day after Thanksgiving he was wounded when a sniper's bullet pierced his portable radio and Kevlar vest. He looked in the direction of the shot and saw a sniper in a minaret of a mosque, his wife Audrey said. They were unable to find the shooter.

On January 5, after an American tank was hit by a large IED in Falluja, Iraqi Army units being trained by Mundell moved in to help secure the area. The units were hit by a second bomb while en route, killing Mundell and an Iraqi lieutenant.

According to his wife, he was supposed to be on "light duty" but refused less dangerous assignments.

Sources: Courier-Journal, Kentucky.com, Bill Ardolino for the Examiner

The Patriot Guard Riders are standing by to ride for will be riding for Maj. Mundell upon family request.


Remember our Heroes.


Updates:
Better than a Hero by MAJ Todd Frenette.
Army MAJ Michael L. Mundell tribute at the Soldiers' Angels Fallen Heroes blog.

Soldiers' Angels Mourns SPC. Michael J. Crutchfield

From Renee of the Soldiers' Angels Living Legends Team:

We have a fallen Hero from Soldiers' Angels, Spc. Michael J. Crutchfield.

Spc. Crutchfield, 21, of Stockton, Calif., died Dec. 23 in Balad, Iraq, of a non-combat related injury.

Michael was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Fort Bragg, N.C. Crutchfield’s death is under investigation.

Michael is survived by his foster parents, Richard and Danielle Duarte.

Renee

Local papers as well as an Army spokesman at Fort Bragg have reported Crutchfield's death as a suicide.

At his funeral, however, those close to him chose to focus not on the way he died but instead on the way he lived.

A friend who said Crutchfield moved in with him and his family for more than a year remembered him as an enthusiastic friend who would wake the house up to join him in whatever he had chosen to pursue that day, whether it was jogging or spending hours at a mall arcade.

Friends said Michael Crutchfield did not talk about his problems or his childhood.

Instead, he appeared to be the one they often depended on. His comrades in the Army nicknamed him "Crutch," because they leaned on him for information in his unit, said Brig. Gen. John McMahon.


Remember our Heroes.

Reminder

(Wanted to post this Tuesday afternoon EST but Blogger was down.)

Milblogger J.R. Salzman of Lumberjack in a Desert is having surgery on his left hand today. I'm getting on a plane so I wanted to remind everyone before I go to stop by J.R.'s later and see if he's posted an update.

J.R. lost his right arm below the elbow in an IED explosion, passed through Germany at Christmas, and is now at Walter Reed.

Andi visited him and Josie on Sunday and they asked her to pass on how much your messages of support on his blog have meant to them.

Ok, folks. You know what to do.

My Dad's Home!

My Dad's back home again for the first time since his stroke on 11 December.

He was discharged from the hospital on 23 December and he spent the past 2 weeks at Helen Hayes Hospital doing rehab. I can't say enough good things about that facility and their wonderful staff. Special thanks to Sharon, his speech therapist (and favorite), as well as Michelle and Katie (PT and OT).

His recovery has been quite remarkable, but then again he's a very motivated guy ;-) Not sure if I've mentioned this, but at age 82 he had still been working in addition to other activities such as the Volunteer Fire Department, Republican Club, Board of Adjustment, etc., etc.

Physcially he's pretty much as good as ever. The coordination of his right hand is almost back to normal. I asked him to write the numbers 1 - 10 on a piece of paper last night, which we compared with the same thing done in the hospital 2 weeks ago. I wanted him to see the dramatic improvement as a motivational exercise. Too bad we don't have the slip of paper with his first "handwriting" just after the stroke, which was nothing more than a few meaningless squiggly lines.

The ongoing challenge is speech/cognitive ability. The mind is an amazingly complex thing, and there's so many individual wires that can get crossed. For example, when we say the letter F and ask him to write it, he says "S" and writes "S". We're like, "no, F", and he says "yeah, that's what I said - S." Most other letters are no problem at all!

Last night we discussed the changes of command at CENTCOM and in Iraq, and he had some difficulty pronouncing the names right. I suppose Petraeus is not the most common name in the world, and it certainly doesn't help when you have to say Abazaid in the same sentence. Names are difficult for him but he was able to rattle off their respective backgrounds.

Lots of logistics involved in his recovery now, particularly transportation. He's taking Coumadin, so needs to have his blood checked twice a week. Plus other doctors' appointments and 8-10 therapy sessions per week.

But none of that matters. It's so great to have him home.

Thank you all for your concern, well wishes, and prayers.

Soldiers' Angels Mourns SPC Richard A. Smith

From Renee of the Soldiers' Angels Living Legends Team:

We have a fallen Hero from Soldiers' Angels, Spc. Richard A. Smith.

Spc. Smith, 20, of Grand Prairie, Texas died Dec. 31 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was conducting a combat patrol.

Richard was assigned to the 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Richard is survived by his wife and high school sweetheart, Amber. Amber is due to give birth in three months to their first child.

Richard is also survived by his mother, Barbara Speer of Grand Prairie; his father and stepmother, James and Tammy Smith of Frisco; his brother, Andy Preston of Grand Prairie; and two sisters, Denise Thompson of Arlington and Jessica Preston of Grand Prairie.

Renee

The Dallas Morning News:

Spc. Smith married his high school sweetheart in July 2005 after completing boot camp.

"He loved her so much," said his mother, Barbara Speer of Grand Prairie. "He told me that the worst thing he could think of was if he died there... because he wouldn't want to hurt her."

She said her son had transformed his life since marrying Ms. Smith.

"He became very passionate about the Army and about doing what God was trying to tell him to do," his mother said. "I cried because I didn't want him to go into the service at first. Then he told me, 'Mom, I'm going because God called me, and you can't cry.' "

During the short time he served in the Army, Spc. Smith gained recognition as the 1st Cavalry Division's soldier of the year.


The Patriot Guard Riders are standing by to ride for Spc. Smith upon family request. After much consideration and with much gratitude, the family has decided on a private funeral.


Remember our Heroes.

Brothers in Arms

In April, I posted a story about a Soldier's extraordinary experience with a young Iraqi girl who ran up to him asking to be picked up - almost as if she knew him.

Her father explained he had been rescued from prison shortly after the end of Saddam Hussein's brutal reign by soldiers of the 101st, and since then his daughter believed the Screaming Eagle patch represented angels sent to protect her family.

Not sure what prompted me to search for a follow up, but when I did, I found this letter from the father of a fallen Canadian Soldier to the newspaper which originally published the story above. It's from May 5 of this year.

Letter From Canada: Grieving dad thanks those who rushed to help son

I have no idea who I am writing to. I was just searching the Internet, desperately trying to find information on the four Canadian soldiers who were killed on April 22, and I came upon your Web site. I started to read and couldn't stop.

Assuming I am writing to Americans, I want to share something with you.

My son Paul joined the Canadian Forces in January 1998 and deployed to BosniaHerzegovina in 2000 and 2001.

On Jan. 23 of this year, I was in Winnipeg, Canada, seeing Paul off to Afghanistan. He was with B Company attached to the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry on Operation Archer in Kandahar.

I had taken a red-eye flight from Nova Scotia to Winnipeg and surprised him by showing up at the military airstrip in the morning just before he and his comrades arrived to prepare to leave for their mission.

He was joking and smiling with his buddies, no different than if they were a hockey team preparing to go on the ice.

While standing with him and all his comrades in the hangar at the airport, I noticed a small insignia U.S. flag on his boots. Jokingly, I kicked his ankle and said, "Paul, what's that? ..."

His comrades, hearing me, continued joking, "Yeah, Davis, you better cut that tag off. ..."

Paul's warm smile suddenly turned serious for the moment.

"No, we train with these guys and we fight alongside with them. If we get in trouble over there, they will be the first to come to our aid," he said.

As he started toward the line to board the plane and as I started toward my taxi, we turned to look at each other and made eye contact for the last time.

On March 2, Cpl. Paul James Davis of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry was killed.

The first to arrive at the scene was a United States Black Hawk helicopter.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

-- Jim Davis Nova Scotia, Canada

Seattle P-I EDITOR'S NOTE: Jim Davis of Nova Scotia wrote to the Seattle P-I in response to a recent Other Voices essay that ran on this page. The essay, "Dispatch from Iraq: A tiny bit of comfort," was written by National Guardsman Aric Catron, who is serving his second tour in Iraq. It motivated Davis to write in and share a story about his son.

God bless you, Mr. Davis. We're proud to stand with men like you and your son, and we're proud to stand with Canada.

Related:
Proud to Stand with You, Canada
Proud to Stand With You, Canada - Part 2
Our Canadian Friends Stand With Us Again To Show Support During Cindy's Protest
Side by Side
Happy Birthday America - Land of the Free Because of the Brave
Mak's Back!
Why do emails like this make me cry?
Landstuhl Medical Staff Honored for Extraordinary Treatment of Injured Canadian Soldiers

Soldiers' Angels Mourns Army SGT Christopher P. Messer

From Renee of the Soldiers' Angels Living Legends Team:

We have a fallen hero from Soldiers' Angels, SGT Christopher P. Messer.

Christopher, 28, of of Petersburg, MI, died Dec. 27 in Baghdad of wounds received from an improvised explosive device that detonated near them while on dismounted patrol.

He was assigned to 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2d Brigade Combat Team, Fort Drum, N.Y.

Christopher is survived by his wife, Amie and his mother, Michelle Vore.

Renee

A native of Petersburg, Mich., Messer enlisted in the Army in February 2003 and completed basic and advanced individual training at Fort Benning, Ga. In October 2003 he was assigned to 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment at Ledward Barracks, Schweinfurt, Germany.

In July 2005, he was reassigned to 4-31 Inf. at Fort Drum.

Messer participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom from February 2004 to March 2005.

His military education includes the Warrior Leader Course and the Combat Livesaver Course.

His awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal with 'V' device, Valorous Unit Award, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge and the Driver Badge.


The Patriot Guard Riders will be riding for SGT Messer.


Remember our Heroes.