Senator Doug Mastriano Veteran Page, Harrisburg, PA (2026)

11/03/2026

Today we honor Sgt. 1st Class Ryan A. Gloyer of Greenville, PA who was KIA on November 3rd, 2016. We will never forget you, brother.

34, of Greenville, Pennsylvania; assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Carson, Colorado; died in Kunduz, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained while engaging enemy forces.

11/03/2026

Today we honor Army Pfc. Rayshawn S. Johnson who was KIA on this day in 2003. We will never forget you, brother.

The following is from https://thefallen.militarytimes.com/army-pfc.../256865

The military changed Pfc. Rayshawn Johnson, on the inside and on the outside.

“He used to dress like he was born on the street, but when he came back, he was in his uniform,” said his brother, Michael Johnson, 16. “He called once at the airport and he said the respect he got from people made him feel so good,” his foster mother, Deborah Wynter, recalled. “He said they were coming up to him and saying ‘God bless you,’ ‘Good luck,’ ‘We’re proud of you.’”

Johnson, 20, was killed when his vehicle hit a land mine in Tikrit on Nov. 3. He was based at Fort Hood.

Johnson attended high school in Brooklyn, N.Y., joined the Army in February and went to Iraq in June.

“I never thought it would be like this,” said Patty Johnson, his mother. “It makes me so proud that people love him. I always wanted him to be a good person at heart, and actually it came true for me.

Source: https://thefallen.militarytimes.com

11/02/2026

Today we honor Army Sgt. Ernest Bucklew of Enon Valley, PA. who was KIA on this day in 2003. We will never forget you, brother.

The following is from https://thefallen.militarytimes.com/army-sgt.../256844

Sgt. Ernest Bucklew’s uncle has no explanation for the soldier’s death in the crash of a helicopter in Iraq.

The 33-year-old soldier based at Fort Carson near Colorado Springs was on his way home for his mother’s funeral when he was killed.

“They say there’s a reason for everything, but I just can’t find a reason for this,” Bucklew’s uncle, Jack Smith of Point Marion, Pa., said.

The family had a longtime friend and attorney, William Braslawsce, read a prepared statement to the media about Bucklew.

Bucklew, who went by Ernie, was born July 28, 1970, in Pennsylvania to Donald and Mary Ellen Bucklew. He grew up in West Virginia and Pennsylvania and after high school joined the Army. He re-enlisted in 1999 with the goal of making the Army his career.

He was sent to Iraq in March with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, where he handled ordnance.

In his last e-mail to his uncle, Bucklew wrote: “This is a letter from hell.”

He leaves his wife, Barbara, and sons Joshua, 9; and Justin, 4.

Source: https://thefallen.militarytimes.com

11/01/2026

Today we honor Air Force Staff Sgt. David A. Wieger of North Huntingdon, PA who was KIA on November 1, 2007. We will never forget you, brother.

Air Force Staff Sgt. David A. Wieger

Died November 1, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom
28, of North Huntingdon, Pa.; Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Detachment 303, Travis Air Force Base, Calif.; died Nov. 1 near Balad Air Base, Iraq, of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Master Sgt. Thomas A. Crowell.
Airman from western Pa. killed in IED attack in Iraq

The Associated Press

NORTH HUNTINGDON, Pa. — A member of the Air Force from Westmoreland County died Thursday in Iraq after he was wounded in the explosion of an improvised device, the Defense Department said Friday.

Staff Sgt. David A. Wieger, 28, of North Huntingdon, was one of three Americans who died in the attack near Balad Air Base. Also killed were Air Force Master Sgt. Thomas A. Crowell, 36, of Neosho, Mo., and Nathan J. Schuldheiss, 27, an Air Force civilian from Newport, R.I.

Wieger was assigned to Detachment 303, Travis Air Force Base, Calif., Schuldheiss was assigned to Detachment 204, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., and Crowell was assigned to Detachment 301, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. All three were special agents to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

A 1997 graduate of Norwin High School, Wieger joined the Air Force about eight years ago, friends said. He left for Iraq last summer.

“He loved it,” a friend, Kevin Martin of Norvelt, said of Wieger’s service in Iraq. “He was having the time of his life.”

“He was really enjoying what he was doing,” Art Leddon told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “He saw himself as making a difference in Iraq.”

Source: https://thefallen.militarytimes.com

11/01/2026

Today we honor Army Spc. Maurice J. Johnson of Levittown, PA. who was KIA on this day in 2003. We will never forget you, brother.

The following is from https://thefallen.militarytimes.com/army-spc.../256882

Johnson, a native of Levittown, Pa., entered the Army in July 2000 and arrived at Fort Campbell in April 2002 as a communications specialist.

His sister, Keisha Johnson, 25, in Levittown, said she’s doing all she can to keep the family together after dealing with her oldest brother’s death. The family plans to have his burial in Pennsylvania — possibly at a military cemetery. His body arrived late on Nov. 3 at Dover Air Force Base, Del.

“Everybody is OK. Our mom passed away two years ago, so it was just us left,” Keisha Johnson said, referring to herself and brothers Joshua, 19, and Abdul, 13. “Our family is close, but we’re not a big family.”

She called it a blessing that she received an e-mail from her oldest brother two days before he was killed.

“He said he’d send some pictures and couldn’t wait to get back home. He decided he wasn’t going to take his two weeks (R&R) and would wait to come home in March and April and be home with the family” Keisha Johnson said. “It was a little weird because I hadn’t heard from him for such a long time, and then I got the e-mail.”

After Spc. Johnson graduated from Harry S. Truman High School in 2000, where he was on the track team, he joined the military. His sister said he had hopes of making a career of the Army.

She said although her brother was quiet, he was never short on making others laugh.
“He was always trying to make jokes,” Keisha Johnson said, recalling the times he called her from Iraq pretending to be a bill collector or acting like an ex-boyfriend trying to stir up trouble. But Spc. Johnson was always even-tempered and gentle.
“You had to really make him upset about something before he got mad,” she said. “All of us had our own special bond with Maurice. He was close to all of us. I’m going to miss him dearly.”

Source: https://thefallen.militarytimes.com

10/31/2026

Today we honor Army Sgt. Daniel W. Wallace who was KIA on this day in 2008. We will never forget you, brother.

The following is from https://thefallen.militarytimes.com/army-sgt.../3804182

Sgt. Daniel Wallace, 27, was killed in action Friday in the West Paktika Province of Afghanistan, Kentucky Adjutant General Edward Tonini said.

Wallace, a gunner in a Mine-Resistant, Armor-Protected vehicle, was shot when he got out to handle a piece of equipment that had been knocked loose, Tonini said.

“Sgt. Daniel Wallace was a true patriot,” Tonini said at a news conference. “One who stood up and answered the call to serve his nation in a time of need.”

Wallace has been posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals, and has been promoted to the rank of sergeant. Wallace joined the National Guard in May 2006 and was on his first deployment.

Tonini said Wallace’s platoon was conducting a mission to find and remove improvised explosive devices when one of the vehicles got stuck. Wallace was shot and killed when he left the vehicle he was in to handle a piece of equipment that had been knocked loose, prompting a firefight that led to the deaths of up to 20 Taliban fighters, Tonini said.

“At the time, there were many villagers planting winter wheat in the fields, there were goat herders all around, children playing near the roadways,” Tonini said. “It was a typical example of what we expect to be a safe area — because typically we don’t see people when there are to be ambushes or any kind of instances like we had here at this point.”

Wallace’s brother, Spc. Alex Wallace, is a medic in the Kentucky Army National Guard’s 940th Military Police Company. Alex Wallace said he and his brother had decided to make the military their career.

“I am proud of my brother,” he said. “I’m going to keep carrying on. I know he wants me to serve my full time, which is what I’m going to do.”

His mother, Karen Wallace, said her son loved being in the military and was also very religious and helped his unit’s chaplain. A tearful Karen Wallace said her son had asked her to write to other soldiers who had not recently received letters of their own.

“Danny had a lot, a lot of sympathy for people,” she said. “Danny’s my fallen hero.”

Source: https://thefallen.militarytimes.com

10/30/2026

Today we honor Army Staff Sgt. Paul A. Sweeney of Lakeville, PA who was KIA on this day in 2003. We will never forget you, brother.

The following is from https://greenberetfoundation.org/memorial/paul-a-sweeney/

Staff Sgt. Paul A. Sweeney was a Special Forces communications sergeant assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, N.C.

He was killed Oct. 30, 2003 when his unit was ambushed while on patrol north of Musa, Qalax in Afghanistan.

Sweeney was a native of Lakeville, Pa., and joined the Army in July 1991.

In September 2000, he attended the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course and went on to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course, completing the Special Forces Communications Sergeant’s Course in 2001.

Before joining Special Forces, Sweeney was assigned as a Bradley fighting vehicle crewmember at Fort Lewis, Wash., camps Casey and Humphreys in the Republic of Korea and Fort Hood, Texas.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Parachutist Badge and the Special Forces tab. Sweeney was a graduate of the Primary Leadership Development and Basic Noncommissioned Officer courses and the Basic Airborne Course. He also earned the Special Forces Tab and the Parachutist Badge.

Sweeney is survived by his wife, Kristen, and two sons, Ryan and
Sweeney was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

Source: https://greenberetfoundation.org

10/29/2026

Today, we honor Army Maj. Jeffrey R. Calero who was KIA on this day in 2007. We will never forget you, brother.

The following is from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22568617/jeffrey-r-calero

Maj. Jeffrey R. Calero, 34, earned his commission as an infantry officer after graduating from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. in 1995. He served six years on active duty before joining the U.S. Army National Guard. He was fatally wounded when he encountered an IED in the course of conducting a dismounted route clearance of a "choke point" during a combat reconnaissance patrol and resupply convoy. He was a Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alpha detachment commander assigned to, ODA-2132, Company C, 1st Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne) out of Springfield, Mass.

Source: https://www.findagrave.com/

Sean. His father, Thomas Sweeney, lives in Kissimmee, Fla., and his mother, Janet Bowen, resides in Lakeville, Pa.

10/29/2026

Oct 29 - Today we honor Army Staff Sgt. Travis W. Nixon of Saint John, Washington who was KIA on this day in 2005.
We will never forget you, brother.

Army Staff Sgt. Travis W. Nixon died October 29, 2005 Serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
24, of Saint John, Wash.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died from injuries sustained Oct. 29 when his patrol was attacked by enemy forces using small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades north of Lwara, Afghanistan.

* * * * *

Paratrooper dies after Afghan firefight
Associated Press

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A 24-year-old paratrooper died from injuries he received when his patrol was fired on in Afghanistan, the 82nd Airborne Division said Wednesday.
Staff Sgt. Travis W. Nixon, 24, of Parsons, Wash., died after he was evacuated to Forward Operating Base Salerno following the Saturday attack. He was a squad leader in B Company, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in the 82nd.
Nixon was on a joint Afghan-U.S. patrol north of Lwara near the Pakistan border with eastern Afghanistan. A memorial service was held for him Tuesday in Afghanistan.
“He died while checking to ensure his soldiers were OK. He was our brother and will be remembered forever,” said Capt. Brandon Teague, his company commander
Source: www.thefallen.militarytimes.com

10/28/2026

Today we honor Army Staff Sgt. Kyu H. Chay who was KIA on this day in 2006. We will never forget you, brother.

The following is from https://www.chayfoundation.org/about

Staff Sergeant Kyu Hyuk Chay was born on January 31, 1972. He was killed in action in Afghanistan on October 28, 2006 when his Humvee ran over an IED. As much as he is missed by his family and friends (and believe me, he leaves behind a huge that will never be filled) we would like to celebrate the life he lived and the impact he’s had on so many people.

As the saying goes, he marched to the beat of his own drum. He blazed his own path. But he did so with kindness and generosity. I’ve never met anyone that had a bad word to say about him. I remember when he was moving out of one house near Fort Bragg and into another. And I asked him if he wanted help, even though I was in New York. He said don’t worry about it. That there were about ten guys coming with four trucks to help him with the move. I wasn’t really surprised that so many people came out to help. A few months before, when I visited him, I met someone that he befriended. And he told me how surprised he was when my brother offered to help him move. And they only recently met. But that’s who he was.

This webpage was set up as a tribute to the values and philosophy he lived by. Family – he was a dedicated husband and father. Community service – he was always willing to help a fellow neighbor. Patriotism – he put his law career on hold because he wanted to serve his country first. Although he was taken too soon, his message and sacrifice won’t be forgotten.

Sources: https://thefallen.militarytimes.com/ and https://www.chayfoundation.org

Senator Doug Mastriano Veteran Page

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