Marine pilot from Massachusetts killed in training accident in Africa

By Greg Sukiennik

BOSTON – Capt. Seth R. Michaud didn't back down from risk. He picked the Marine Corps over the Navy because he thought the Corps would provide more challenges.

Michaud, a 27-year-old helicopter pilot, died Sunday in an explosion that U.S. officials said was caused by bombs accidentally dropped from a B-52 bomber that landed near forces training in Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa.

Michaud, a native of Hudson, was a 1998 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and had recently been promoted to helicopter aircraft commander, his father, Francis P. Michaud, said Monday.

"The Marines were more challenging, and he thought it was a smaller, closer-knit group, a family," Francis Michaud said from his Hudson home, about 30 miles west of Boston. "That's what he wanted."

Francis Michaud said his son was deployed to Djibouti in April as part of a counterterrorism operation. "I think his biggest problem with going to Djibouti was leaving his family, but he felt it was part of his duty," he said.

Eight U.S. service members were wounded in the accident, and seven were transported to a hospital in Djibouti for treatment of more severe injuries. They were in stable condition Monday and were being transported to Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany.

"That others were injured is terrible in and of itself. Unfortunately Seth was one that didn't make it. We've struggled with that," Francis Michaud said of the incident. "It's bad enough when it's enemy fire. When it's friendly fire you just wonder why – why couldn't this have been avoided."

As many as nine misdirected bombs from the B-52 bomber fell near two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters that were parked adjacent to the range where the exercise was taking place, said Capt. Will Klumpp.

Around 50 troops were taking part in the two-day exercise at Godoria Bombing Range, along the northern coast of Djibouti, Klumpp said. The soldiers are training to eradicate terrorist activity in Kenya, Yemen, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia.

Michaud is survived by his wife, Karen Marie Michaud, and an 18-month-old son, Ian.

Associated Press Writer Andrew England in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report

Sgt. Justin W. Garvey was married last year to his high school sweetheart, who was literally the girl next door when he was growing up in Vermont. "He was proud to serve and was never afraid of going over to fight," Katie Garvey said. "He is, and always will be, my best friend, soul mate and now my guardian angel." Garvey, 23, from Townsend, Mass., died July 20 in an attack in Iraq. Garvey joined the Army National Guard in 1996, when he was a junior in high school, and signed up for regular basic training a year later. As a soldier in the 101st Airborne, Garvey was sent to Pakistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He also served in Afghanistan, and returned home on his 22nd birthday. A year later _ again, on his birthday _ he was sent to Iraq. "Any person that I know would be proud to call him their son," said his father, Greg Garvey.

TOWNSEND - Sgt. Justin Wrisley Garvey, 23, a talented athlete who left Townsend for a distinguished military career that ended in tragedy, died Sunday, July 20, during an ambush in Iraq. He was the husband of Kate Garner, his next-door neighbor during high school, and they celebrated their first wedding anniversary on June 1.

Sgt. Garvey, was a member of the Army's 101st Airborne Division, and will be honored with the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. He was killed during an attack by a rocket-propelled grenade near Tal Afar.

He was born in Plattsburgh, N.Y. on Feb. 28, 1980, a son of Gregg W. Garvey of Keystone Heights, Fla., and Angie (Perkett) Walsh of Townsend. He resided in Florida until 1991 when his family moved to Proctor, Vt. He graduated from Proctor High School in 1998, and was captain and a standout player on the school's varsity soccer team. He and his family moved to Townsend in 1998 after his graduation from high school.

Sgt. Garvey joined the National Guard while still a junior in high school to honor his stepfather, Ron Walsh, who served in the National Guard before he died in a motorcycle accident in 1994. Following graduation he enlisted in the Army.

He completed his basic training at Fort Benning, Ga. and then returned to Townsend, where he worked at Lorden Oil. In 1999, he decided to return to the Army full time and was stationed in Afghanistan before being sent to Iraq.

While in the service, Sgt. Garvey earned many honors including, four Army Achievement Medals, the Expert Infantryman's Badge, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, and the National Defense Service Ribbon. He attended the Mortars Logistics Office School, where he was a distinguished honor graduate, and also attended a Primary Leadership Development Course and Air Assault School.

He enjoyed riding his dirt bike, hunting, snowmobiling, and four-wheeling.

Besides his parents, and his wife, who resides in Oak Grove, Ky., near her husband's home base of Fort Campbell, Sgt. Garvey is survived by a sister, Kristin Garvey; a brother, Adam Walsh, both of Townsend; his maternal grandmother, Dorothy Perkett, and his paternal grandmother, Lucille Garvey, both of Willsboro, N.Y.; his paternal great-grandparents, Alton and Marie Wrisley of Reber, N.Y.

He also leaves his mother-in-law, Susan Fucci and her husband David Boelke, of Proctor, Vt.; his father-in-law, Dean Garner and his wife Joan of Jackson, Tenn.; two sisters-in-law, Kristin Garner and Ellena Boelke; his wife's grandparents, Christine and Roger Rhodes of Luray, Tenn.; his wife's grandfather, Louis Fucci of Scotts Hill, Tenn.

He was also the grandson of the late Howard Perkett, Carl Garvey, Marilyn Fucci.

Published in Lowell Sun on July 26, 2003

Army Sgt. Justin Wrisley Garvey

November 8th, 2009

Birth: February 28, 1980 - Plattsburgh, New York

Sgt Garvey was assigned to 3rd Brigade, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He was patrolling a village when his vehicle was ambushed by RPGs. Justin lived in Florida until 1991 when his family moved to Proctor, Vermont. He joined the National Guard while still a junior in high school to honor his stepfather, Ron Walsh, who served in the National Guard before he died in a motorcycle accident in 1994. Justin graduated from Proctor High School in 1998, and was captain and a standout player on the school’s varsity soccer team. He enjoyed riding his dirt bike, hunting, snowmobiling, and four-wheeling.

He and his family moved to Townsend in 1998 after his graduation from high school. Following graduation he enlisted in the Army. As a soldier in the 101st Airborne, Jason served in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He was in Iraq when the statue of Sadam was torn down by the Iraqi people.

They were so glad the American soldiers were there that the only thing they could do to show their appreciation was to wash the soldiers’ hands in water, which was a rare commodity for them. He was considered one of the most squared-away and motivated soldiers; the more difficult the task, the more he liked it. While in the service, Jason earned many honors including, four Army Achievement Medals, the Expert Infantryman’s Badge, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, and the National Defense Service Ribbon. He attended the Mortars Logistics Office School, where he was a distinguished honor graduate, and also attended a Primary Leadership Development Course and Air Assault School. Along with the folded American flag, Garvey’s family was given his medals, including a posthumous Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman’s Badge. Justin is survived by his wife Kate, who was his next-door neighbor during high school. He had been planning to leave the Army and rejoin his wife in Kentucky.

Burial: Cedar Grove Cemetery, Fair Haven, Vermont

Staff Sgt. Joseph Camara



Hometown: New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.

Age: 40 years old

Died: September 1, 2003 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Unit: Army National Guard, 115th Military Police Company, Army National Guard, Cranston, R.I.

Incident: Killed when his vehicle was struck by a makeshift bomb south of Baghdad.

Staff Sgt. Joseph Camara was a quiet, funny man who had a calming effect on the people he encountered in his four years as a patrol officer. "Those are tough qualities to find," said Lt. Richard Spirlet, spokesman for the New Bedford, Mass., Police Department. Camara, 40, of New Bedford, died Sept. 1 when the Humvee he was in struck a land mine near Baghdad. He was a member of the Rhode Island National Guard. "He was an exceptional partner," said Officer Luis Sud-Martinez. "He had no qualms about going back and serving his duty in the military," Sud-Martinez said. "He had put his time in and was ready to retire but he went back and he had a job to do." Camara is survived by his wife, Ana, and children Matthew, Angela and Ashley.

Staff Sgt. Joseph Camara was a quiet, funny man who had a calming effect on the people he encountered in his four years as a patrol officer.

“Those are tough qualities to find,” said Lt. Richard Spirlet, spokesman for the New Bedford Police Department in Massachusetts.

Camara, 40, of New Bedford, died Sept. 1 when the Humvee he was in struck a land mine near Baghdad. He was a member of the Rhode Island National Guard.

“He was an exceptional partner,” said Officer Luis Sud-Martinez. “He had no qualms about going back and serving his duty in the military,” Sud-Martinez said. “He had put his time in and was ready to retire but he went back and he had a job to do.”

Camara is survived by his wife, Ana, and children Matthew, Angela and Ashley.

— Associated Press

Charles Todd Caldwell & Joseph Camara

Friday, September 05 2003 @ 08:28 AM EDT Boston.Com - On Monday morning, in a convoy on the outskirts of Baghdad, Quincy native Sergeant Charles Todd Caldwell drove a Humvee on a routine patrol along one of the Army's major supply routes through Iraq. Next to him, Staff Sergeant Joseph Camara, the team's commander and a New Bedford police officer, kept the convoy on course while Specialist Edmund Aponte of Providence stood gripping a machine gun. The three Rhode Island National Guardsmen ran over a homemade mine, perhaps a coffee can or an old shell, and it exploded, instantly killing Caldwell and Camara and leaving Aponte with serious shrapnel wounds to the neck. They were the first combat casualties from the state's National Guard since World War II, officials said. ''He had a heart of gold,'' said Camara's sister Diane Xavier. Reached with other grieving relatives at the family's New Bedford home, she noted how he once charged into a burning building to save his neighbor's life. Caldwell's mother, Gladys Caldwell of Quincy, told WLVI-TV last night that the family is ''very sad and heartbroken. Of course, we've been crying all night.'' She urged mothers to seek a pullout of US troops from Iraq, saying, ''They need to get up in arms and call senators and say, `We want these guys home because they're getting killed off.' '' As of yesterday morning, 285 US soldiers had been killed in Iraq, 147 of them since the end of heavy fighting on May 1. ''This is a dark time for not only the Rhode Island National Guard, but the entire state,'' said Major General Reginald Centracchio, the state adjutant general and commander of the state's guardsmen, who yesterday released the men's names. ''We hoped this day would never come.'' Caldwell, 38, had moved his planned wedding up by several months and married an Attleboro woman named Margaret eight hours before being called to duty in Rhode Island. Caldwell, who family and friends called Todd, worked as a senior retirement services specialist for Putnam Investments in Norwood. A graduate of Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, he had studied history and always admired the military. He joined the National Guard five years ago, and with the others in the 115th Military Police Company, left for training in New York in February. His company arrived in Kuwait in April and soon after moved into Iraq. Last week, they learned they would return home in December, family members said. ''He was looking forward to coming home and raising a family,'' said his father, Charles E. Caldwell, adding his son loved playing soccer and building model airplanes as a boy. ''He was the type of guy who would do anything for you, jump into battle to protect you and always forgive you if you did something wrong. He had a very big heart.'' Married with three young children, Camara, 40, served 21 years in the Guard, including time in the Iraq region during the 1991 Gulf War. The oldest of seven children, he grew up in Fall River and graduated from New Bedford High School, where he was known for his sharp wit and playing hockey. In recent letters home, Camara told his family about his plans for when he returned. He wanted to take college courses and spend time with his children at Disney World. ''He felt he was doing something important in Iraq, and he wanted to help the people there,'' Xavier said. As for Aponte, a 35-year-old father of three, he was recovering yesterday at a field hospital in Iraq, National Guard officials said. Reached at their home in Providence, his wife, Maria Aponte, didn't want to talk long on the phone. She wanted to leave the line open for her husband, a member of the Guard for 14 years who works for Electric Boat in North Kingstown. ''He's conscious,'' she said. ''That's the most important thing right now.''