rb1651
07-22-10, 11:48 AM
I know this Marine and his family. He used to play with my kids when we lived in Polo. I'll be at his visitation on Saturday, and his funeral on Sunday.
2001 Polo graduate dies in Afghanistan
By Tony Carton
The Journal-Standard
Posted Jul 20, 2010 @ 08:01 PM
Polo, Ill. —
Yellow ribbons and American flags lined the streets of Polo on Tuesday after the town lost one of its own. Staff Sgt. Justus S. Bartelt, 27, died July 16 as a result of a hostile incident while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Bartelt, a 2001 graduate of Polo High School, was the son of Polo residents Jeannie Kyker and Steve Bartelt. He is the stepson of Kendall Kyker.
The funeral arrangements are pending, but will be held at Polo Family Funeral Home.
Bartelt joined the Marine Corps in June 2001, and was promoted to the rank of staff sergeant on Jan. 1. He was a platoon sergeant assigned to Regimental Combat Team 2, 1st Marine Division Forward, II Marine Expeditionary Force Forward at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
He deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from March to October, 2005, and again from August 2008 to March 2009. Bartelt deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in February.
His awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
As of July 16 at least 1,099 members of the U.S. military have died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according the Department of Defense.
Bartelt’s death added to a summer of escalating violence as Afghan and coalition forces stepped up patrols in the Taliban-dominated south of Afghanistan in a push to wrestle control of the insurgent stronghold. June was one of the deadliest months of the nearly 9-year-old war for international troops, with 103 killed, including 60 Americans. So far in July, 54 international troops have died, 39 of those were Americans.
J-S staff member Dave Manley and the Associated Press contributed to this story.
Copyright 2010 The Journal-Standard. Some rights reserved
Rest In Peace SSgt Bartelt. You will be missed by all who knew you. :cry:
2001 Polo graduate dies in Afghanistan
By Tony Carton
The Journal-Standard
Posted Jul 20, 2010 @ 08:01 PM
Polo, Ill. —
Yellow ribbons and American flags lined the streets of Polo on Tuesday after the town lost one of its own. Staff Sgt. Justus S. Bartelt, 27, died July 16 as a result of a hostile incident while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Bartelt, a 2001 graduate of Polo High School, was the son of Polo residents Jeannie Kyker and Steve Bartelt. He is the stepson of Kendall Kyker.
The funeral arrangements are pending, but will be held at Polo Family Funeral Home.
Bartelt joined the Marine Corps in June 2001, and was promoted to the rank of staff sergeant on Jan. 1. He was a platoon sergeant assigned to Regimental Combat Team 2, 1st Marine Division Forward, II Marine Expeditionary Force Forward at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
He deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from March to October, 2005, and again from August 2008 to March 2009. Bartelt deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in February.
His awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
As of July 16 at least 1,099 members of the U.S. military have died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according the Department of Defense.
Bartelt’s death added to a summer of escalating violence as Afghan and coalition forces stepped up patrols in the Taliban-dominated south of Afghanistan in a push to wrestle control of the insurgent stronghold. June was one of the deadliest months of the nearly 9-year-old war for international troops, with 103 killed, including 60 Americans. So far in July, 54 international troops have died, 39 of those were Americans.
J-S staff member Dave Manley and the Associated Press contributed to this story.
Copyright 2010 The Journal-Standard. Some rights reserved
Rest In Peace SSgt Bartelt. You will be missed by all who knew you. :cry: