UPDATE Sept 28: DOD has released the names of the Fort Drum soldiers killed Sept 26.
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained near Ar Rustimayah, Iraq, on Sept. 26 when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during combat operations. Both soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 314th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 78th Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.
Killed were:
Master Sgt. Tulsa T. Tuliau, 33, of Watertown, N.Y.
Sgt. 1st Class Casey E. Howe, 32, of Philadelphia, N.Y.
SFC Howe was our neighbor.
In the beginning of the war in Iraq I cried for the lives lost and the families left behind. It wasn’t long after the first several deaths that hit the news I stopped crying for them. There was nothing I could do, and it just tore me apart, so I didn’t really watch the news anymore. My husband was in Korea at the time, and things looked like they were heating up over there. I had him to worry about. Well, yesterday one of those deaths in Iraq hit much closer to home. A family that lives in the building next to ours has forever lost their husband and father. My heart is breaking for them, and all I can do is cry every time I think of them. This brave soldier, I can not give his name since it hasn’t even been released to the press, has left behind a caring wife, and 2 beautiful little girls. I don’t know if he joined the military all those years ago knowing/hoping he would fight a war, or if he joined simply to make a better life for his family someday. I don’t know if he believed in this war, or if he was only following the orders handed down to him. What I do know is that there is a mother who has to tell her 5 and 10 year old little girls that daddy won’t be coming home ever again. And that there is a family forever torn apart who will pick up the pieces, and somehow carry on.
Thank You For Your Service Dear Soldier. May God Bless You in Heaven and Your Family Here on Earth.
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Kathy, I will certainly remember them in my prayers. If there is anything they need that I can help with, let me know. 
That's really bad... I don't know what to say... The kids with their dad... 
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