Trooper Kara M. Kelly-Borgognone
Nevada Highway Patrol
Nevada
End of Watch: Thursday, February 28, 2008

Biographical Info
Age: 33
Tour of Duty: 10 years
Badge Number: 727

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Automobile accident
Date of Incident: Monday, February 25, 2008
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available

Trooper Kara Kelly-Borgognone succumbed to injuries sustained four days earlier while responding to a call involving a possible bomb at a local gas station in Spanish Springs.

Her patrol car collided with another vehicle during the response. She was transported to a local hospital where she remained in grave condition in order to donate her organs.

Trooper Kelly-Borgognone had served with the Nevada Highway Patrol for 2 years and had previously served with the Nevada Division of Parole and Probation for 8 years. She is survived by her husband, two daughters, parents, and three siblings.

2 Marines killed, 1 wounded in Iraq bombing

The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE — Two Wisconsin Marines were killed and a third wounded in Iraq on Monday. All three belonged to Milwaukee-based Fox Company.

Staff Sgt. Cliff Turley, public affairs officer for the Marine Reserve unit, said a single roadside bomb killed 23-year-old Cpl. Richard Nelson of Kenosha and 29-year-old Lance Cpl. Dean Opicka, a Casco native and graduate of Carroll College in Waukesha. The Pentagon listed Opicka’s address as Waukesha.

Turley said the explosion also wounded 21-year-old Lance Cpl. David Doyle of Racine, but Doyle was expected to stay in Iraq and return to duty.

The deaths were the first during Fox Company’s second tour in Iraq. Five members were killed during a deployment in 2004-2005.

Nelson’s mother, Susan Nelson, said she was informed that her son was killed by an improvised bomb in Anbar province, and military officials offered no other details.

He was the second youngest of her seven children, she said. Survivors include five brothers and a sister.

He served in Iraq before but had gotten married a year ago Monday and wasn’t looking forward to going back for this tour, his mother said.

“He knew what was waiting for him there,” she said.

Nelson loved to hunt and fish and watch Green Bay Packer games, she said. He idolized Packers quarterback Brett Favre and even called home the day Favre retired last month.

“He told me, ‘Mom, tell me the news isn’t true. Tell me Brett Favre hasn’t retired.’ He wanted to hold onto the memories he left.”

He and his wife, Kristen, planned to start their own family when he got home, Susan Nelson said. He also planned to go to college and become an elementary school teacher.

“He just loved kids,” she said.

The last time they’d seen him in person was Christmas, when the whole family was together, she said. Her husband, Lennie, a Vietnam veteran, was taking the news of his son’s death “terrible,” she said.

But she wasn’t angry with President Bush, insisting Bush doesn’t want to see men die and the public doesn’t have all the information about what’s going on in Iraq.

“When you send a child off to war … things happen,” she said. “Nothing goes by God without him giving permission. I believe something good is going to come from it. I don’t know what that is yet, but my husband and I have faith. I’ll understand it someday, just not now.”

Opicka graduated from Luxemburg-Casco High School in 1997 and is the third graduate of the school to die in the Iraq war. He played quarterback for the football team and point guard for the basketball team.

At Carroll College, he played baseball and graduated in May 2002 with a double major in psychology and history, said college spokeswoman Claire Beglinger.

He later returned to Carroll, completing a teaching certification in spring of 2005, and taught in the Milwaukee area before being deployed to Iraq.

Steve Okoniewski, principal at Luxemburg-Casco, said he met with Opicka before his deployment and the two discussed the possibility of his teaching at his old high school.

“He got called up and knew he wouldn’t be back until August,” Okoniewski said. “I would have loved to have had him back. Then his dad told me that he wouldn’t be back until November.”

Eighty-eight members of the military from Wisconsin have died in the Iraq war.

Los Angeles Police Department, California    

 
End of Watch: Thursday, February 7, 2008
Age: 51
Tour of Duty: 27 years
Badge Number: 22885

Officer Randy Simmons was shot and killed as he and other members of the Los Angeles SWAT Team made entry into a home at approximately 12:30 am. The team had been deployed to the home after a suspect inside called 911 and claimed to have murdered three family members.

As the team entered, the suspect opened fire, striking Officer Simmons and a second officer. Both officers were immediately transported to Northridge Medical Center, where Officer Simmons succumbed to his wounds approximately 30 minutes later.

Officer Simmons had served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 27 years. He is survived by his wife, two children, parents, and three sisters.

 Information via the Officer Down Memorial Page http://www.odmp.org

Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Michael E. Koch

29,of State College, Pa.; assigned to East Coast-based SEAL team; ; died Feb. 4, from wounds sustained from small arms fire during combat operations in Iraq.

Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Nathan H. Hardy

29, of Durham, N.H.; assigned to East Coast-based SEAL team; died Feb. 4, from wounds sustained from small arms fire during combat operations in Iraq.

Same Mission.

Army Sgt. James E. Craig

26, of Hollywood, Calif.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; died Jan. 28 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his unit encountered an improvised explosive device during convoy operations. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Gary W. Jeffries, Spc. Evan A. Marshall, Pfc. Brandon A. Meyer and Pvt. Joshua A. R. Young.

Lance Corporal James D. Haynes

South Carolina Highway Patrol
South Carolina
End of Watch: Friday, February 1, 2008

Biographical Info

Age: 38
Tour of Duty: 11 years
Badge Number: T-564

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Automobile accident
Date of Incident: Friday, February 1, 2008
Weapon Used: Not available

Suspect Info:Not available

Lance Corporal James Haynes was killed in an automobile accident on Highway 33 while responding to another accident that had occurred on I-26 in Orangeburg County at approximately 3:30 am.

His vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree as he responded to the call.

Corporal Haynes had served with the South Carolina Highway Patrol for 11 years. He is survived by his wife and two young children.