IGTNT He Called Himself "RudeHero"

Rude Hero at MySpace

Sgt. Joan J. Duran's MySpace page is filled with Superman imagery and his Blurbs section is written with the optimism and joy of life everyone should have at age 24.

Duran, on his MySpace page stated:

"I don't have many friends so pardon me if i don't add you.  But the friends I do have are a trip."  

Sgt. Duran may not have thought he had many friends, but the memorial messages left on his page underscore the fact that he had true friends, friends and a young fiance who are devastated by this loss.

The Boston Globe states:

They called him Superman. He could outrun pit bulls on neighborhood streets and lift hundreds of pounds over his head. When his car flipped over three times on a highway, he pulled a shred of glass from his eye and calmly walked away. He even dressed the part, filling his closet with Superman T-shirts and sleeping under Man of Steel bedsheets.

His friend Remy Peña, whom Duran dubbed "Batman" said, "He was a hero. He always had passion for everything he did, whether it was tennis, carpentry, or cooking, he was always the best."

Duran planned to serve his four years in the service, become a college math teacher, buy a home and marry Andrea Silva of Woburn.

He had entered the military a few months after graduating from Boston Latin Academy and was known as a straight "A", outgoing student, juggling jobs at the New England Aquarium and Abercrombie & Fitch.

Duran also starred, and lettered, in both football and track while in high school.

Juan Valdez, a Marine who carpooled with Duran from their bases in North Carolina to Boston for holidays said, "He was the type of person that even if he had just met you, even if two days from now it was your birthday, he'd get you a card."

This was Duran's second tour of duty in Iraq and he was killed when a bomb exploded during as he was picking up supplies.

A young man whose friends are numerous, a young man who did not speak of his war experiences and who thought he didn't have many friends, but who valued and was valued by more friends and family than he would ever know.  

Sgt. Joan J. Duran, 23 years young, too soon taken, his casket will be emblazoned with the symbols of the two countries he considered his own, the Dominican Republic and the United States of America, a son, a friend, a Hero.

AFGHANISTAN CASUALTIES:

Pfc. Jordan Goode, 21

He Wanted To Take Off His Boots

WRAL News

Pfc. Jordan Goode, 21, of Kalamazoo MI was killed over the weekend in
Afghanistan after a roadside bomb exploded under the truck he was driving.  Goode was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, Ft. Bragg, NC.  

His mother, Sheri Goode said,

"He was a great kid and he loved his family.  He believed in what he was doing and he was doing the right thing."

Jordan Goode graduated from New City High School, Kalamazoo, MI in 2004.  He enlisted and began his army service shortly therafter and had been in Afghanistan since January.

Goode lived for the thrill of extreme skateboarding and snowboarding which naturally led to "Airborne!"

His family, had purchased a webcam for him in and spoke with him
often.  He and his mother had spoken on that webcam for 15 minutes last monday, she asked if he was ready to return home and he said:

He was so tired of being in his boots.

His mother also said her son was concerned after his unit in Afghanistan was recently moved to a new camp.  

"This past week, he said something to his wife that he might not come
back. That was something he had never said before," Sheri Goode said.

Funeral Services are pending, besides his wife, Aubrey and mother, Sheri, Pfc. Goode is survived by his father, Tony, and two brothers.

Pfc Goode was due to return to Kalamazoo on leave in October, 2007,

and was planning on taking his wife, Aubrey to Myrtle Beach, SC.

Pfc. William L. Edwards, 23
>Houston Chronicle

Army Pfc. William L. Edwards, 23, was one of five soldiers killed in an attack Saturday in which a sniper shot and killed one of them from a booby-trapped house just south of Baghdad. When others stormed the house, one of them stepped on a pressure-triggered bomb, killing him and three others and injuring four more.

Edwards was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, Ga. He had joined the Army in February 2006 and was deployed to Iraq in May 2007.

According to Edwards' commander, U.S. Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, it has become a common trick in the unstable southern sector of Baghdad to booby trap homes insurgents know will be searched by Americans.

Pvt. Alan J. Austin, 21
Click2 Houston

Died of Sunday of wounds received when his vehicle overturned while travelling in a convoy near Forward Operating Base, Sharana, Afghanistan.  The incident is under investigation and is characterized as a non-combat related accident.  

Pvt. Austin joined the Army in March 2006, he was a paratrooper whose decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Ribbon, and the NATO Medal and the Combat Action Badge.

Pvt. Austin's mother, Rhonda Austin and brother, Matthew McDaniel of
Houston, Texas, reside in Houston.

Special Thanks to Ms. Wings for her invaluable research assistance.

The Department of Defense News Releases here.

To support our military service members and veterans, please visit AnySoldier.com and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

About the IGTNT series:

IGTNT stands for "I Got the News Today."  The phrase most likely refers to the Beatles song, and it is meant to symbolize that terrible knock on the door that any number of families got today, bringing with it the news that a loved one has died. IGTNT is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind.

The IGTNTseries, which was begun by i dunno, is maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, silvercedes, MsWings, blue jersey mom, chacounne, Worried Dem, twilight falling, Wee Mama, sheddhead, moneysmith, greenies and me, labwitchy.