See below for his most recent address for sending mail and other items.
His family thanks you.

Lloyd, Thomas
Taskforce Tiger 161
FOB AltimurA
P O  A E  09364

Former Rockford Resident Serving Our Country in the U. S. Army

U.S. Army Sergeant Ben Younker, Airborne 17th Cavalry, who recently made his Sergeant commission on October 1, 2009, came home in November from a tour of duty in Iraq and Egypt.  A 2000 Celina High School graduate, Ben and his sister, Cassie (Younker) Seals grew up in Rockford and still have some family in the area, where she continues to make her home. Ben married Brandi Lawson, from Celina, and has 3 sons, Kaine, 8, Bryson, 5, and Landon, 2. Ben enlisted in 2000 with the reserves and is currently on active duty. His brief visit in Celina with his family was celebrated by them, and he has now returned to the Middle East for a four month tour in Afghanistan. Following the assignment, he will be stationed at Fort Bragg, NC.  

His new address is:

SGT. Younker Benjamin
Operation Enduring Freedom
Task Force Saber APO AE 09355

Chris will be home November 14th through November 28th for his block leave; then in DEC. 2009 he will deploy to Afghanistan . On March 13th 2009, he married Megan Cheek also a Parkway Graduate. He is stationed at Ft. Bragg,  North Carolina and is in the 161st ESC 27th EN.BN. 

The Ladies of the legion post #508 sent out 10 packages total for military personnel from the Rockford area.  Each package contained a t-shirt, small box of Christmas lights, some homemade and store bought candy, toiletries, hot chocolate, instant coffee and a Photo Star and letters from the Parkway elementary kids. I hope they enjoy the boxes as much as we enjoyed putting them together!

Abbea Hoehamer was sworn into the U.S. Coast Guard on September 16th. Abbea
is a 2008 graduate of Parkway High School. She is the daughter of Robert
Hoehamer and Marilyn & Randy Long, all of Rockford. Anyone wanting to send
her a letter or card, the following is her current address:

SR HOEHAMER
company LIMA-180
U.S. Coast Guard TRACEN
One Munro Avenue
Cape May, NJ 08204-5083
 

World War II Veteran, Local Man Darrell Ralston Takes Honor Flight

Each man received and wore a T-shirt that read: If you can read this, thank a teacher; If you can read this in English, thank a Veteran!

World War II Veteran Darrell Ralston, 87, recently took a memorable air flight on Saturday, July 11, 2009, as part of the Honor Flight program that flies veterans to Washington DC for a tour of the capitol of the USA and in particular to see the World War II monument erected 63 years after the war ended.

Darrell, a former resident of Rockford and now living in Celina, was born and raised in the Rockford area on a homestead farm.

COMPLETELY FREE to veterans, the flight is unique and popular. The motto is “Veterans have paid enough already!” Outside donations come in the form of fund-raisers by any groups who feel compelled to support the $10,000 price tag per group flight.

Honor Flight was founded as a non-profit organization in Springfield, Ohio in 2005, by Earl Morse. Morse, an air force veteran, flew his veteran father to DC to see his own Viet Nam Memorial. He soon learned that many other veterans were wanting to go see their memorials as well.  A priority was set for the oldest living veterans, and now April through November sees a steady stream of groups of veterans and “guardian” volunteers who pay $250 for the privilege of accompanying their own personal veteran for the day, most in wheel chairs. Darrell is a spry 87 (he is still an avid golfer) and walked nearly the entire day, but at Arlington Cemetery he took a ride. “The gradual walkway uphill started to wear me out,” he said.
Click Here for More Pictures and the Rest of the Story on Darrell's Trip

He is still located in North Carolina, and you may write to Robert at this address:

CPL Roehm, Robert L.
VMA - 231   Airframes
PSC  Box   8066
Cherry Point, NC    28533-0066

                                                            
PFC Bryttany Heitkamp, daughter of Mark and Tina Heitkamp and a 2006 Parkway graduate, decided to take a break from her studies at Ball State University to serve the United States in the Army Reserves.  In early May of 2007, she left home for her basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.  While there, she learned the fundamentals of Army Warrior Training.  On July 20, she graduated in the top tier of her company and then headed for Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, to begin her Advanced Individual Training in the area of Operating Room Specialist.  On Tuesday, September 25, she graduated 4^th out of 79 soldiers from her 1^st phase of training.  From there, she traveled to Hawaii for her 2^nd phase of training at Tripler Army Medical Center.  During this stage of training, she will have the opportunity to train in actual medical activities including surgeries, ortho work, and delivery room situations, specifically c-sections.  She will graduate from there on December 14, 2007 and then begin spring semester back at Ball State University to continue her Junior year.

Kyle Randall is serving in the U. S. Army in the 10th Mountain Division.  He is currently deployed to Iraq.  He has been there since September of '07 and will finish his deployment in November of '08.  He enjoys hearing from family and friends back home. 

His address is:

Kyle Randall
Alpha Co. 1-87 IN Battalion
FOB Warrior
APO AE  09338

The Rockford American Legion is preparing "care" packages to go to our local servicemen and servicewomen from the Rockford, Mendon and Willshire areas. Who do you know that could use a care surprise ~ a son, a daughter, a grandchild, a wife or husband, a neighbor or friend? Please email your names and addresses of those serving to the Parkway Independent by using this address editor@parkwayindependent.com . Or contact the Rockford Legion members on Bridge Street in Rockford. And remember that they are taking up collections of items to send.

Nathan is in the Air Force and is the husband of Melissa (Laux) Sinning, a Parkway graduate. She is living in Rockford with their 3 children. Nathan is on a year-long deployment in Iraq.  Nathan is a Van Wert native.

Former Rockford Resident  Flies with the JSTARS Over  Iraq
Editor's Note: This article is posted to the Air Force Website and Features Lieutenant Colonel Joe Schmidt formerly from Rockford and son of Cletus and Irene Schmidt

Soldiers team with combat aircrews to engage enemy

by Senior Airman Erik Hofmeyer
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

3/12/2007 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNEWS) -- Joint combat environments don't just exist on the ground, but also exist in the sky above Iraq.

U.S. Army Soldiers serve as crewmembers on the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft. An Army deputy mission crew commander and two enlisted personnel form a team of three soldiers on the 21-person JSTARS crew to assist in finding, fixing, tracking, targeting and engaging enemy forces throughout Iraq.

"They're a vital part of the crew; we're together whether at home or deployed. We fly, fight, and win together as one joint team," said Lt. Col. Joe Schmidt, the 128th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron commander. "We rely on one another; it's a joint fight anytime, anywhere."

Joint STARS evolved from Army and Air Force programs developed to detect, locate and attack enemy armor at ranges beyond the forward area of U.S. ground forces. The aircrew uses the E-8C's radar and communications systems to provide a one-of-a-kind command and control capability focused exclusively on air to ground operations.

"E-8C aircrews use the radar, called moving target indicator, to detect what is moving on the ground. This radar data is sent via datalink to ground forces operating Joint STARS Common Ground Stations located throughout Iraq," Colonel Schmidt said. "This data is either exploited real time or used post mission by CGS personnel to provide tactical ground commanders a comprehensive and common view of the battlefield for battle management, intelligence and targeting operations.

"Meanwhile, the aircrew fuses the real-time radar data with available intelligence information to provide direct guidance and support to fighters, attack helicopters, joint terminal attack controllers, and ground maneuver units in the field," Colonel Schmidt said.

"We make sure the CGS operators get as much intelligence and data they require to do their mission and keep ground forces safe," said Army Staff Sgt. Gregg Swanson, the 128th EACCS Airborne Targeting Surveillance supervisor.

Ground forces have conducted operations using the information received from Joint STARS to successfully find numerous weapons caches, improvised explosive device emplacers, and border smuggling routes.

"I used to be on the ground in Iraq, looking at the MTI, and now I'm on the Air Force side of the house," Sergeant Swanson said. "It's helped me give better inputs and understand how I can best get ground forces the help they need."

The joint aircrew also aids in communication between the services. When things get passed between the branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, some things tend to get lost in translation.

"All of us together, with all of our different information and skill sets, are able to better support ground commanders," said 1st Lt. Lawrence Brown, 128th EACCS air weapons officer. "It's a powerful mission system with the soldiers combining all of their experience and knowledge with Air Force mission crews."

Enlisted soldiers serving on Joint STARS must be NCOs who have previously served as an Army CGS operator to fly on the E-8C.

Another facet of Joint STARS is that the 128th EACCS, like all Joint STARS flying squadrons, epitomizes Total Force operations with approximately 20 percent of the unit composed of Georgia Air National Guardsmen.

The unit is one of only three operational squadrons worldwide, all stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., Colonel Schmidt said.

The aircraft and its operators, maintainers, and support personnel have had a continuous presence in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility as part of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing since May 2003.

"I'm proud to say Joint STARS has now logged over 25,000 flight hours serving in either Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom," Colonel Schmidt said.

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Link to the Article on the Air Force Site  
 

Marine Corporal Adam Beougher Deploys to Iraq
Adam Beougher of Rockford, son of Leigh Ann Osborn of Rockford and Mark Beougher, Celina landed in Kuwait, then deployed to Iraq on Saturday, February 10. Adam has been a Marine for a year and recently made Corporal. His address while in Iraq is:

Cpl Beougher, Adam M.

2nd MLGFWD HQCO S-3

Unit 73591

FPO AE 09509-3951

Write to Adam at:

Editor's Note:
Thanks, Jeff!
Readers - Remember that if you have someone in the military, the Parkway Independent will post their information and pictures for free.