Garfield Ridge Soldier Recognized for Heroism

While Garfield Ridge resident Capt. Joe Martinez was stationed in Afghanistan, he helped save the lives of 29 Canadian soldiers when their helicopter was shot down in enemy territory.

Martinez is considered to be a war hero for his actions.

In September of 2005, he was deployed to Afghanistan where he was a flight section leader and aided in flight planning.

On Dec. 4, 2005, Martinez was co-piloting a Chinook carrying 29 Canadian soldiers. The aircraft was shot down over enemy territory. Martinez was flying a Chinook during his last deployment to Afghanistan. There were 29 Canadian special forces on board who were flying to a special assignment.
"On Dec. 4, the aircraft in which I was flying was shot down by enemy fire, and our crew was forced to crash-land in enemy territory after [the Chinook] caught fire," Martinez wrote. "By following standard protocol and maintaining situational awareness, my pilot- in-command, CW3 John Sims, and I were able to save the lives of 29 Canadian special forces and crew aboard the aircraft."

Martinez alerted other aircrafts on the mission that they had been hit. They had to land the Chinook because it had caught on fire.

Martinez assisted the Canadian soldiers up a mountain to safety. All of the soldiers survived.

Martinez considers his actions to be a natural reaction to the situation.

“That’s our job, it’s what we’re supposed to do,” he said.

Martinez was awarded the Air Medal With Valor for getting shot down by enemy fire. He also has earned an Air Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and an Overseas Service Ribbon.

He served in Afghanistan until March 2006. He was promoted to captain on July 1, 2006. Martinez, along with his wife Kim and two children, Ryan and Natalie, returned to Chicago in April 2007.

Currently, Martinez is an Assistant Professor of Military Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He teaches Junior ROTC Cadets the skills necessary to become future officers in the military.

Martinez credits his parents, Arnold and Linda, with making him the person that he is today.

“They taught (me) the values of respect, loyalty, not dishonoring your name. That is how we were raised,” he said.

Thank you Captain Martinez - you are a true inspiration to all.

A PROUD MOM
Linda Martinez never thought one of her four children would join the military. She's in awe of her son.
"I was never against it," Martinez said. "But I have a 25-year- old son, and I still can't picture him being in charge."
Linda is a Chicago cop, and her husband is a detective, so she's no stranger to the perils of a life-and-death kind of job. But watching other people struggle on the street and become the victims of violence isn't the same as watching your own kid guide 29 other troops to safety out of a burning helicopter.
Linda Martinez gets very emotional just talking about it.
"I never thought my kid would go off to war," she said. "I support them all."

Master Corporal Darrell Jason Priede - May 30th

Master Corporal Darrell Jason Priede

I have received confirmation about our fallen Canadian Soldier.
Master Corporal Darrell Jason Priede, a military Imagery Technician serving with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Regional Command (South) Headquarters at Kandahar Airfield, was killed when the helicopter in which he was a passenger went down at approximately 9 p.m. Kandahar time on May 30th, near the town of Kajaki, Helmand Province, about 95 kms northwest of Kandahar City. Master Corporal Priede was a member of the Army News Team from 3 Area Support Group, based at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, New Brunswick. His next of kin have been notified.
The other six military personnel (5 from the US and one from England) aboard the helicopter were also killed in the incident.

The Honourable Gordon O'Connor, Minister of National Defence, issued the following statement today "On behalf of the entire Defence community I extend my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Master Corporal Darrell Jason Priede who died when a helicopter, in which he was a passenger, went down in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. I also extend my condolences to the families and friends of the six other coalition troops who died in this incident.Master Corporal Priede was a valued member of the Army News Team from 3 Area Support Group, based at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown. He gave his life not only to protect Canadians and our national interests, but also to provide hope to Afghans for a better future.Master Corporal Priede was part of an international coalition working to bring peace and security to this troubled country. Canadians are forever proud and grateful for his service and for the contributions of all our men and women in uniform."

My thoughts and prayers are with their friends and families both here and in Afghanistan.

A Devestating Loss -

John and Roxanne, of Grand Forks, received a 'nightmare' visit early Thursday from army officials. One many of us brace ourselves for and dread.

Their 30-year-old son Darrell had died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan

John Priede sits looking at photos of his oldest son holding the Stanley Cup, snapped just weeks ago at his military base in Afghanistan.
Early Thursday, Priede and his wife, Roxanne, of Grand Forks were visited by army personnel, including a chaplin -- and plunged into what he describes as a "bad nightmare."
Their son, Darrell Jason Priede, a military photographer, was dead. The helicopter he was in crashed Wednesday outside Kandahar, near the town of Kajaki, they learned.
"It was totally devastating," he said in a telephone interview with The Vancouver Sun late Thursday morning. "I mean, it's just too bad. I was looking forward to seeing him on the news one day as a journalist or a newscaster. [That's] gone now."
Priede says his 30-year-old son, who volunteered to go to Afghanistan as a photographer, wanted to become a journalist.
"He was just the type of boy that when he put his mind to it, he just succeeded in what he did," he says. "He had that knack -- that thing about it. And he's going to be greatly missed now."
As Priede speaks on the phone, he says he's flipping through photographs he printed out of his son in Afghanistan, as well as images captured through his son's camera lens.
"He's holding the Stanley Cup as I'm looking at him right now ... I've got an eight-inch by 10-inch of him holding the cup and a few other photographs of him with his equipment -- and Kandahar coffee from Tim Hortons. Go Canada Go," Priede says, his voice breaking a little.
He pauses and adds: "I mean, like I say, in the time he's been there, he's done fabulous things."
A few days ago, Priede chatted with his parents via the Internet from Kandahar, using a video webcast: "We talked to him on video for about five to six minutes. Time was up so we had to go," Priede says.
"He was sitting at the booth looking at us and laughing and smiling as normal -- just talking about regular things."
He says his son, who joined the army 11 years ago, loved taking photographs and was doing what he wanted to do.
"He thoroughly wanted to show the people of the world what good Canadians and people are doing over there," says Priede. "It totally backfired but he loved what he was doing and he was good at it."
Darrell Priede, along with six American and British soldiers, died when their helicopter crashed about 95 kilometres west of Kandahar, just after 9 p.m. local time.
Some reports have suggested the helicopter may have been shot down by the Taliban, but Karen Johnstone, a military spokeswoman in Ottawa, said this hadn't been confirmed.
"The cause of the crash is currently under investigation," she said.
A release on the International Security Assistance Force website said units responding to the crash were later "ambushed by enemy fighters."
Capt. Mark Gough, an army spokesman in Halifax -- who works with Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in New Brunswick where Priede was stationed -- said military photographers, or "imagery technicians," play an essential role documenting the experience.
"His pictures spoke volumes [about] the work we're doing over there and are the window into our operations there," Gough said.
"Without guys like Darrell, without photos that they bring back and show back in Canada, people won't understand what we're doing over there."
Some of Priede's photos are posted on the military's combat camera website (www.combatcamera.forces.gc.ca).
Although Priede served twice overseas in the Balkans as part of the infantry, this was his first time documenting the experience for the military, says Gough, who knew Priede personally.
"He volunteered to go. He didn't have to go," he says.
"In this case, it was something he'd always wanted to do. This was his first tour overseas as a photographer."
He says Priede had a talent for photography and was one of the best military photographers around.
"He was a quiet, unassuming guy. His work spoke for his abilities."
John Priede said he and his wife will fly to Ontario so they can meet their son's body when it arrives at CFB Trenton on Sunday. After that, they'll go to New Brunswick to be with Priede's wife, Angela. The couple lived near the base in Oromocto.
"It's tough. His wife is even going through worse I imagine," he says.
"They had lots of plans and ambitions."
They didn't have children yet, he says.
Priede says he learned a lot from his son.
"You can never fail if you put your mind to doing something," he says, of his son's outlook. "Have ambition and go and get what you want in life."
And that's what his son did, he says.
"He told us he wanted to do it. He wanted to show what good we're doing over there," Priede says.
"He's beautiful, too. Did you see his picture? He was."
A photograph of Darrell Priede, posted on the Defence Department website, shows a well-built man with broad shoulders, clad in army fatigues. Fingers on the shutter of his Nikon, he smiles at the camera.
In a statement Thursday, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, said Priede "gave his life not only to protect Canadians and our national interests, but also to provide hope to Afghans for a better future."

Seven NATO Soldiers Died in Helicopter Crash

As I awoke this morning to this news - I was truly saddened. (Please note there are currently unconfirmed reports of nationalities of the soldiers.)

I know what many family members are going through.. "the wait" ... while the heart races and .. yes the tears come easily.
Let's pray for and take those soldiers' families and friends and take them into our hearts today no matter which country they are from.... as they are all our family.. our military family.

Chinook Helicopter

Seven NATO soldiers died when their Chinook helicopter crashed on Wednesday in southern Afghanistan, the site of some of the heaviest recent fighting between Western forces and the Taliban.
Troops responding to the scene of the crash were ambushed and called for an air strike to eliminate the threat, NATO officials said.
NATO would not say immediately if the big, twin-rotor military helicopter was directly involved in a battle with Taliban guerrillas or whether it was shot down. The cause of the crash was under investigation.

"Clearly there were enemy fighters in the area," said Major John Thomas, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Kabul. "It's not impossible for small arms fire to bring down a helicopter."
The helicopter went down in the southern province of Helmand, Afghanistan's main opium poppy-growing region, where Western forces have clashed repeatedly with Taliban militants in recent months following a winter lull in fighting.
"The entire crew of five died in the incident. There were also two military passengers who died," ISAF said in a statement. "One Afghan civilian was injured by small arms fire after the crash."

ISAF did not release the nationalities of soldiers killed or wounded in Afghanistan.