EOD Tech Killed in Iraq today
 

Phillips Number 2 man, Johnny, was killed today while disarming a roadside bomb. Phillip is ok but I do not know any details yet. Johnny was injured with a severe concussion not long after they got to Iraq when a bomb went off. Phillips wife Connie is on her way to Johnnys house and his wife as I am writing this. Will let you know more as I find out.

Sid...sorry to hear about this. I hope that Phillip and the others are doing ok. Will double the covering fire headed their way.

Trav

Sid - prayers go out to Phillip and the others. They will look to you for support and I know your the right person to help them through this ordeal.

God Speed and take care - I'm keeping good thoughts and a positive attitude that things will come out OK for you and them all. My regrets to the lost soldier one can only know why things happen like they do - but their loss will be tough over these holidays.

Sid sorry to hear about this. I hope that Phillip and the others are doing ok prayers go out to Phillip and the others.
Prayers go out to Johnny's family

May God watch out for Phillip and his familyand God bless Johnny and his family. Damn sandstormes :32:

Prayers enroute to Johnny and his family
Bob K

Johnny this is for you... :32:

Thank you Soldier. Phillip was so proud of the work you were doing there and the rest of us were inawe and full support of your mission of saving lives.It's a dark day in Oklahoma hearing you have left us for the other side, may the peace that passes understanding surround your team members and family as they walk through the years without you.

Arrow

Sid, This is very sad news and don't know what to say right now

We all knew that this would happen
 

It was just a matter of time and gods will as to who it would be. This is a small and very close knit group of guys. When you disarm two or three bombs a day it is just a matter of time. I haven't heard any more yet but I'll let you know as soon as I do.

Sid,

Been on Parris Island all day. I'm sorry but sure your son will be fine. I know it! Rounds out for Johnny my friend!

Hang tuff!

Pack

Sid I am so sorry to hear about this.. Its always bad but right her at the holidays..

My prayers go out to phillip and the guys..
My prayers go out to Johnny and his family
My prayers go out to Your family and all johnnys friends

tina

My prayers for Johnny's family, Sid, family and Phillip, and all of Phillip's brothers.

Larry

SSG Johnie Mason 718th Ordnance Co. Explosive Ordnance Disposal
 

They had gone out on a call this morning to disarm a roadside bomb. They had completed the disarming of the bomb and were walking back to the Humvee when one of the guys saw something about 100 feet down the road. Johnie walked down to the object and was about 15 feet away when he recognized it as another bomb (IED). Johnie turned and yelled to cover and the bomb was command detonated. SSG Johnie Mason is on his final flight back home as I am typing this. There will be a ceremony at Ft Campbell and then SSG Mason will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The exact arrangements dates and time have not been finalized yet but I will post them as soon as I know.

I will forward all comments made on the PF files to his wife and family. As soon as I receive it I will post an address where any cards or flowers may be sent if so desired.

Prayers out to Johnnys family :a: may all the Johnnys and Susies come home to a better reception than our brothers in the 70's. May Phillip's EOD gang be safe this holiday season and in the years to come, God Bless and Amen :32:

When Johnny comes marching home
lyrics circa 1863:

When Johnny comes marching home again, Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give him a hearty welcome then, Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will cheer, the boys will shout
The ladies they will all turn out
And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.

The old Church bell will peal with joy, Hurrah! Hurrah!
To welcome home out darling boy, Hurrah! Hurrah!
The village lads and lassies gay
With roses they will strew the way
And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.

Get ready for the jubilee, Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give the heroes three times three, Hurrah! Hurrah!
The laurel wreath is ready now
To place upon his loyal brownd we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.

Sid,
 

my condolences to the family of Johnie, and a prayer for him. May he Rest In Peace.

Also, a prayer for Phillip and his team to get them through the loss of a comrade and friend.

Prayers to Johnny's family;
 

We are keep the family in our prayers.

Keith

Prayers for Johnny and his family.

God, please hold Johnny's family in your hand and comfort them as only you can do.

Emotion. Ain't been able to talk to and don't want to talk to any body all day. Sorry. I am so glad Philip is OK

Sid
 

I asked Annette to read this thread. She got tears in her eyes and said that Connie must be a wonderful friend and a person braver than her. It?s funny, most of us grunts types never spent much time thinking about ?notification of next of kin?.
Prayers out for John and his family, we all know John?s and I?d guess we still grieve for them.
Sid, you tell Phil to keep his butt down or we?ll all kick it for him.

STAY HEALTHY,
Andy

Sid
 

I am so sorry to see this. My prayers are offered up for the family left behind and his brothers still in Iraq. The world is a lesser place now.

Chilidog

"Greater love hath no man but that he lay down his life for his friends."

Sad. Awful sad. But speaks well of a man to be willing to stand up for others and what he believes in;especially these days when it's so easy to let others take the risk and pay the price of freedom. I stand in awe of such men.

:32::32::32::32::32::32::32::32::32::32::32::32:

Sid its taken me two days to respond to Jonnys death, as you know I too have a son that age the devistation reaked on the families is so great, I just pray this will all end soon and phillip can come home in one piece, i personally am behind the armed service 100% and wish I was in shape to releave some young man or women with young kids, I really had no clue what our parents went through two of my brothers were serving at the sametime as me so I know they were scared for us. Jonney Sir rest in the arms of god.

Sid

Like others it has taken time for me too. I know all to well that there is nothing anyone can say to relieve the pain, but I receive this from a friend after the death of a very close buddy of mine, and it helped some.

"Jesus said, I am the resurrection, and the life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."

SSG Johnnie Mason, RIP
Staff Sergeant Johnnie Mason was smiling when I met him, a few days after he had dodged death. He was part of an Army bomb squad team in Mahmudiyah, not far from Baghdad. An improvised explosive device, stuffed underneath a set of corpses, detonated just feet away from him in mid-July. Only his kevlar bomb suit -- and a quick duck behind a mound of dirt -- kept him alive.

If Mason was bothered by the experience, he didn't show it. "All I've got is a little short-term memory loss. There are four roads on post -- I keep getting lost," he laughed.

But he had enough wherewithall to get back to work, he promised his commanding officer. Mason eyes grew big, and he cracked a toothy grin, when he got the okay.

I shook my head in wonder at Mason's easy-going bravery then.

Now, I'm cradling my head in my hand, after getting this message from Sergeant Jon Ferraro, from the "Baghdad Bomb Squad."

On 19 December 2005 @ 23:30, my team leader SSG Johnnie V. Mason was killed in the line of duty in Al Mahmudiyah, Iraq. We were working on an IED in the median of a road, when a possible secondary IED was found in our safe area. SSG Johnnie Mason responded immediately to the secondary and took immediate actions on the device. He was trying to safe the device when it detonated...killing him instantly from the explosion (at exactly 23:30). He saved at least 4 soldiers that night who were within feet of the device. SSG Johnnie Mason is a fallen brother. A brother in arms. An EOD brother. A husband to his wife Brook and a father to his 2 step children: Ashley (18) and Adam (16). He will not be forgotten. His loss will not be in vain.

He was my team leader. He was my NCO. He was my best friend. He was my brother. I have never gotten so close to someone in such a short time. I first met Johnnie when I got to Ft.Campbell, KY back in January of this year. I found out he was going to be my team leader for Iraq back in March. Ever since then we have been inseparable and we've had a brothers bond.

We were Team 8 "Jokers". When we rolled out on an incident, everyone knew who we were. Johnnie was a joker. He's the guy that makes everyone laugh and smile. Everyone liked him or loved him. He was always in a good mood and made the best out of every situation. He was cool under pressure and was an amazing team leader. He taught me alot as a person, as an EOD [explosive ordnance disposal] tech...and soon to be husband. We had fun on every incident we ran. We ran safely, as fast as possible, and held high standards as a team. Everywhere we went on post, someone would say hey to Johnnie from the lowest ranking private to the Brigade Commander. Everyone knew him.

I ask that everyone take a moment of silence and pray for his family and friends during this horrible time. I ask God to keep them strong and safe during this time of Christmas. I ask that you forward this to all the EOD techs you know and the friends and loved ones of his.

Thank you and God bless,

SGT Jonathan M. Ferraro
717th Ordnance Company (EOD)

MOURNING A SON'He was a natural-born soldier,' says father of area GI who died in IraqBy CHRIS VAUGHNSTAR-TELEGRAM STAFF

WRITERRIO VISTA -- An American flag hanging in the back of the American Legion is ringed by Christmas lights. A pile of stuffed animals lies on the pool table, waiting to be donated to poor families.

A waist-high Christmas tree sits in the bar, noticeable enough, but out of the way of the regulars, who come by to drink a $2 longneck and to rehash old stories.

One of the regulars is Rodger Mason, a 58-year-old ex-Army and Navy man who reared a second-generation soldier.

Everyone in Rio Vista knows where to look for Mason if he's not at his home, in the Fisherman's Paradise subdivision.

When the buttoned-up, somber-looking soldiers drove into town Tuesday, they were told Mason would be at the legion hall.

"When they walked through the door, I knew what was coming," Mason said. "I was praying like hell they weren't for me, but I knew it."

Staff Sgt. Johnnie V. Mason, 32, Rodger's only son, was killed Monday afternoon by an improvised explosive device in Mahmudiyah, Iraq, just south of Baghdad.

"It was a sergeant first class and a major" who delivered the news, Rodger Mason said.

Johnnie Mason was at least the 37th service member from the Dallas-Fort Worth region to die in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001.

On Wednesday, Rodger Mason sat on a stool in the eerily quiet American Legion, rubbing his head as he thought, slowly nursing a Bud, a box of Kleenex near him.

"Since he shipped out, I was anxious every day," he said. "No more."

Born in Germany on Nov. 24, 1973, Johnnie Mason was an "Army brat." When his father left the service in the mid-1980s the family moved to Rio Vista, a town of about 700 in south Johnson County.

Johnnie Mason graduated from Rio Vista High School in 1992 and entered the Army that fall. He became a door gunner and maintenance chief on Black Hawk helicopters.

But he wanted to pursue one of the Army's most challenging and rigorous careers -- explosive-ordnance disposal, which requires a yearlong training program with a high "washout" rate.

"He was really proud he finished that school," his father said.
Rodger Mason said that his son often traveled with the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign in 2004, checking hotels and ballrooms for explosives and that his son went with President Bush's entourage to Crawford.

Most recently, he served in the 717th Ordnance Company, 184th Ordnance Battalion at Fort Campbell, Ky.

He deployed to Iraq in June, his father said, a few weeks after a weeklong visit to Rio Vista and the American Legion hall.

He quickly became a favorite, teasing everyone, telling jokes and complaining that the tiny bar didn't even have pistachios for the customers.

"He made a real impression," said Linda Williams, a member of the Legion's auxiliary. "He was absolutely wonderful."

In July, a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution joined Mason on several extraordinarily risky missions in Iraq.

Having just survived the explosion of a tricky explosive device as he worked to disable it, Mason teased a junior soldier.

"No IED is going to kill me," he was quoted as saying. "Your driving, dude -- that's what's going to kill me."

The reporter wrote that "it is widely believed that insurgents have placed a bounty on American explosives experts, who are frequently targeted by insurgents using guns, mortars and secondary IEDs."

Mason was quoted as saying, "The IEDs are becoming more potent all the time."

Rodger Mason said the Army told him that his son disarmed a roadside bomb Monday. The soldiers, including a rifle team that secured the area, began walking back to their vehicles when someone spotted a plastic bag.

"Johnnie went over to investigate," his father said. "He told the others to get back. Evidently, the bomb was remote-controlled."

Through Fort Campbell, Johnnie Mason's wife, Brook, released a statement in which she extolled her husband's quirky sense of humor and dedication to his fellow soldiers and his family.

He had two teen-age stepchildren.

"He was right where he wanted to be -- disarming explosives with his soldiers, protecting the lives of others," the statement says.

Rodger Mason and his wife, Georgia, are leaving soon to fly to Fort Campbell for a memorial service at 2 p.m. Friday.

The American Legion hall in Rio Vista is having one at the same time.

Later, Johnnie Mason will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, which, before leaving for Iraq, he chose as his resting place.

"He was more or less raised to be military," Rodger Mason said. "He loved the Army. He was a natural-born soldier."

"He was right where he wanted to be -- disarming explosives with his soldiers."

EOD techs are the biggest life savers in this war.

They are a special breed.

Joy

...
 

...

...Ten-Hut,...

...Hand Salute,...



...Tu,...

..."May He Rest In Peace",...

...AMEN,...

...

HARK! FROM THE TOMBS A DOLEFUL SOUND
 

Words: Isaac Watts, Hymns and Spir?it?u?al Songs, 1707. This hymn was sung at the fun?er?al of Amer?i?can Pres?i?dent George Washing?ton
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/f/hfttados.htm

Hark! from the tombs a doleful sound;
My ears, attend the cry;
?Ye living men, come view the ground
Where you must shortly lie.

?Princes, this clay must be your bed,
In spite of all your towers;
The tall, the wise, the rev?rend head
Must lie as low as ours!?

Great God! is this our certain doom?
And are we still secure?
Still walking downward to our tomb,
And yet prepare no more?

Grant us the powers of quick?ning grace,
To fit our souls to fly,
Then, when we drop this dying flesh,
We?ll rise above the sky.

"Rest in Peace Soldier,Amen:a: and God bless."

Sid, what a feeling you have covered me with. If there's anyway that I can speak with Johnny's family please offer them my heart felt sympathies.
Father God, hold Johnny in your arms and love him. He did the best he could to honor and protect Your creations here among us and now You have called him to You.
Thank you Father for finally bringing him to Your peace.