Pics of the Day: Please Don't Let Me Forget My Daddy's Face

M2RB: Bare Naked Ladies

This is where the children used to play
This is only half a world away from the attack
This is where my life changed in a day

And, it won't ever be changed back

Luke Wise spending time with his daddy, SFC Benjamin Wise

Luke's mum caught him spending time with his daddy, SFC Benjamin Wise, originally of Hope, Arkansas, who was killed in Afghanistan on 15 January 2012.  He was buried in the Albert G Horton Veteran’s Cemetery in Suffolk, Virginia...next to his 35-year-old brother, retired Navy Seal Jeremy West, who was killed in a terrorist attack on a CIA outpost in Afghanistan in December 2009 where he was working as a security contractor.  Their brother is Marine Corps Cpl. Matthew Wise, who is still on active duty from what I have been able to gather.

Ben and Jeremy Wise, both killed in Afghanistan in service of their country

From MagnoliaReporter.com: State Honours Second Son Of Hope Couple Killed In Afghan Conflict:

 

Arkansas flags were ordered flown at half-staff across the state through sunset on Thursday in memory of the son of a Hope couple.

Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Brian Wise, 34, of Little Rock, died Sunday in Landsthul Regional Medical Center in Germany. He became the second son of Dr. Jean and Mary Wise of Hope to die as the result of military action in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Wise received multiple gunshot wounds on Monday, January 9 when enemy forces attacked his Green Berets unit with small-arms fire in Balkh province. He died of complications at Landsthul as his parents were flying to Germany to join him.

Sgt. Wise was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. Sgt. Wise's wife, Traci, sons Luke and Ryan, and daughter Kailen live in Puyallup, Washington.

The sergeant graduated from Wise Side Christian High School in El Dorado in 1995. No funeral arrangements have been announced. Sgt. Wise has received posthumous awards of the Bronze Star medal, the Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal.

Dr. Wise is an ear, nose and throat specialist who has a clinic in Hope. Sgt. Wise is also survived by a sister, Mary Heather Skaleski, and a brother, Matthew "Beau" Jordan Wise. Matt Wise is a Marine Corps corporal based in Hawaii. Matthew Wise and his sister, Mary, were with Sgt. Wise when he died.

The Wise family issued a statement through the Department of Defense:

  

'The Wise family is sincerely touched by the concern and interest all have taken in Ben's life, his career and his sacrifice for our country. Ben was proud of the career he built in the Army. We would like to thank friends and his fellow soldiers for their sincere expressions of sympathy during this very difficult time. Your support is appreciated as we mourn the loss of Ben who was a loving husband, a devoted father, a caring son and a selfless soldier.'

 

Wise joined the Army in November 2000 and previously served a tour of duty in Iraq from 2003-2004. He volunteered for the Special Forces in 2005 and was a medical specialist. He served two tours of duty in Afghanistan.

The Wise's oldest son, Jeremy Wise, 35, a former U.S. Navy Seal team member, died in Afghanistan on Dec. 30, 2009. He was one of seven people killed when a suicide bomber attacked a meeting at Forward Operating Base Chapman, where Wise was working as a security contractor. The explosion also killed another security contractor and five of the Central Intelligence Agency's top operatives in Afghanistan.

Gov. Mike Beebe ordered state flags flown at half-staff on Tuesday to honor Sgt. Wise.

U.S. Rep. Mike Ross of Prescott issued a statement on Monday night regarding Sgt. Wise's death.

'Sergeant First Class Benjamin Wise was a true American hero -giving his life in service to our great country. His bravery, dedication and patriotism exemplified what it means to be an American soldier and I am eternally grateful for his selfless sacrifice. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, children, parents and the rest of his many family and friends during this very difficult time. We must never forget that our service members often put themselves in harm's way, and too many, like Sergeant First Class Benjamin Wise, die in service to our country. We must always thank all of our active duty service members and veterans for what they do and have done, and never forget those, like Sergeant First Class Benjamin Wise, who have died serving this country.'

  

 

From In Honour Of Benjamin Wise:

Ben was an Army Special Forces Medic assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. He was critically injured on January 9, 2012 during an attack by insurgents in the Balkh Province, Afghanistan.  He passed into eternity on January 15, 2012.

The assignment in Afghanistan was part of Wise's fourth deployment overseas, and was in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Upon completion of Basic Combat Training, Advanced Individual Training and the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, Ga., in 2001, he was assigned to the 520th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis- McChord where he deployed to Iraq as a member of the Battalion Scout Platoon from 2003-2004. In 2005, Wise volunteered for the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course and was selected to continue training as medical sergeant in the Special Forces Qualification Course.

After graduating from the Special Forces Qualification Course in 2008, Wise was assigned to 3rd Bn, 1st SFG (A). During his time with the unit, he deployed once to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan.

Wise’s military education included the Warrior Leader’s Course, the Advanced Leader’s Course, the Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) Course, the Recon and Surveillance Leadership Course and the Basic Airborne Course.

Wise’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the NATO Medal, the Army Commendation Medal (3rd Award), the Army Good Conduct Medal (3rd award), the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal with three campaign stars, the Afghan Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon (2nd award), the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon with Numeral 2, the Army Service Ribbon, the Special Forces Tab, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge and the Parachutist Badge.

He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medal, according to the DOD.

A 1995 graduate of Wise Side Christian High School in El Dorado, Wise entered military service in 2000.

He was the son of Dr. Jean and Mary Wise, of Patmos, and is survived by his wife, Traci, and sons, Luke and Ryan, and daughter, Kailen.

Ben also has an older brother, Jeremy, who served honorably as a Navy SEAL, and was killed protecting an CIA outpost in Afghanistan, in 2009 as a civilian contractor. Ben’s younger brother Matthew “Beau” Wise is still active in the US Marine Corps.

We all salute them and their family for their service and sacrifice to the United States of America. We owe them a great debt of gratitude, and have established the Wise Family Benefit Fund as a token of our American appreciation and to facilitate supporting and encouraging them.

Please pray for the Wise family and honour them by never forgetting that…

'We sleep soundly in our beds at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would do us harm.'

 - Winston Churchill

 

Have you thanked a soldier and his/her family for their service today?

Have you ever gone out of your way to offer your profound thanks to those that have fought or are fighting for you (and disapproving of the endless military entanglements and engagements is NOT an excuse)?

Have you ever considered delivering a home-cooked meal to the frazzled mum holding down the home fort while her husband is on the other side of the world fighting members of a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, child-abusing, xenophobic, tribalistic, anti-Semitic, racial-supremacist, Christophobic, maniacal, homicidal, suicidal, totalitarian, death cult, whom we would welcome to the 21st century, if they ever decide to leave the 7th century?

Have you ever thought of being a Secret Santa to a military family?  (Do you have any idea how little we pay our military?)

Have you written a thank you and letter of condolence to the family of a fallen?

Have you donated even $1 to an education fund for the children of the fallen?

Have you ever considered becoming a Big Brother, Big Sister, CASA, tutor, or anything that would help a child, who family has been shattered by the loss of their soldier parent or sibling or even a child, whose parent or parents are incarcerated?

Have you hugged a child today?

Have you hugged and kissed your love and child today?

If you haven't, think of the Wise Family and Just Do It!

 

Please consider making a donation to the Wise Family.  You can learn more about the family and view additional photographs at The Wise Benefit Fund - In Honour Of Benjamin Wise.

One last thing, I think that this is the first time that I've ever asked anything of my readers.  As most of you know, this blog is a labour of love for me and I profit not from it.  For those that haven't realised this, look at the screen.  Are there ANY advertisements?  So, while I realise that this is a break in custom, I would ask that you please consider making a donation to the family of a fallen or one on active duty.  It doesn't have to be money, which I understand is tight in this time of Obamanomics.  

Let me be clear, I have never met the Wise family.  Axe from HotAir.com sent me the first photo last night and it deeply touched me; thus, I felt like I had to do something.  If you can do anything for them or another family, pray do.

- Sophie

Soldier, scholar, horseman, he,

As 'twere all life's epitome.

What made us dream that he could comb grey hair?

I had thought, seeing how bitter is that wind

 That shakes the shutter, to have brought to mind

All those that manhood tried, or childhood loved
Or boyish intellect approved,
With some appropriate commentary on each;

Until imagination brought
A fitter welcome; but a thought
Of that late death took all my heart for speech.

- William Butler Yeats

http://tinyurl.com/o72oatx