We gather here at DailyKos for many reasons, but one of the most important ones is to help better Democrats get into office.  

I'd like to bring to your attention one of those better Democrats, a candidate who I believe is well deserving of your support:

GARY PRITCHARD for CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE, 33rd District (Orange County)

Gary and his beautiful daughter, Charlotte

Please follow me to learn more about Gary:

In a horrible incident on July 13th, nine precious lives were lost when the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team out of Vicenza, Italy was attacked by enemy forces at their outpost in Wanat, Afghanistan.

moneysmith will honor four of these nine men in a beautiful diary tomorrow morning.  This evening, I bring you a tribute to the five other soldiers: Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tennessee, Cpl. Matthew B. Phillips, 27, of Jasper, Georgia, Cpl. Pruitt A. Rainey, 22, of Haw River, North Carolina, Cpl. Gunnar W. Zwilling, 20, of Florissant, Missouri, and Pfc. Sergio S. Abad, 21, of Morganfield, Kentucky.

Please join me and the IGTNT team tonight as we celebrate the lives of two Guam Guardsmen who lost their lives in Afghanistan on Thursday, July 10th: Sgt. Brian S. Leon Guerrero, 34, and Spc. Samson A. Mora, 28.

IGTNT logo credit to dear timroff.

Please join me tonight as the IGTNT team celebrates the lives of six of America's finest:

Specialist Thomas F. Duncan III, 21, of Rowlett, Texas who died in Iraq on June 9, tragically, from friendly fire during combat operations.

Staff Sargeant Tyler E. Pickett, 28, of Saratoga, Wyoming, who died June 8 in Kirkuk Province, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his unit was attacked by enemy forces using a suicide bomber and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Captain Eric Daniel Terhune, 34, of Lexington, Kentucky and Lance Cpl. Andrew Francis Whitacre, 21, of Bryant, Indiana.  Both Marines died June 19 while they were conducting combat operations in Farah Province, Afghanistan.  

Specialist Jason N. Cox, 21, of Elyria, Ohio, who died June 16 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds he suffered near Hillah when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device (IED).

And finally, let us Welcome Home Lieutenant Commander Ralph C. Bisz, U.S. Navy, of Miami Shores, Florida.  Lt. Cmdr. Bisz disappeared while in his Skyhawk over Vietnam on Aug. 4, 1967.  His remains have finally been returned to his family for closure and burial.

Tonight, it is my privilege to honor two fine Americans who lost their lives on June 18 as a result of wounds suffered from an enemy rocket attack in northern Paktika province, Afghanistan.

Please join me below to celebrate the lives of Navy Hospitalman Marc A. Retmier, 19, of Hemet, California, and Petty Officer First Class Ross L. Toles III, 37, of Davison, Michigan.

"It was like watching a dream but before I knew it the dream was over..."

Quote from Ara Tyler Deysie's MySpace page

Please join me and the IGTNT team as we mourn and honor 18-year-old Ara Tyler Deysie, of Parker, Arizona, who died May 9th, 2008 in Paktia Province, Afghanistan when his Army unit came under rocket-propelled grenade fire.

Please, friends, don't rec this little diary - its simply a request to please consider visiting today's IGTNT diaries while you're waiting for results to come in.  

greenies wrote a beautiful memorial for 21-year-old Jeffrey F. Nichols, who left a wife and a baby son behind.  Only 21, and life's possibilities, joys, and challenges were cut short by an IED.

We have a second IGTNT diary today, where first-time diarist FreedomRider wrote a heart-breaking tribute to his stepfather, L. John Berreyes, a Vietnam Veteran who committed suicide last month.

Please consider reading - and recommending - these heartfelt tributes.  If ever you need a reminder why we need Democrats in office, you'll find the reason there in those two diaries.

Peace and Blessings.

"It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was." ~ Anne Sexton

Seven young children lost their daddies this past Wednesday.  Please join me and the IGTNT team as we honor Staff Sgt. Jesse A. Ault and Spc. Jacob J. Fairbanks.  

Please help me give these children something wonderful to remember them by.

I cannot imagine the sorrow and horror of being in labor, joyously ready to give birth to a beautiful new life, when suddenly Army personnel arrive in your hospital room to inform you and your mother that your adored brother and son had been killed in Afghanistan.  

My heart simply broke for those two mothers, and for every mother who Gets The News Today.

Please join me as we pay tribute to an adored brother and son, friend and father, Sargeant Gabriel Guzman, as well as extend our condolences to his grieving family.

Death makes angels of us all
& gives us wings
where we had shoulders

Jim Morrison
An American Prayer

Please join me and the IGTNT team tonight as we mourn and honor two of America's finest: Staff Sgt. Donald T. Tabb of Norcross, Georgia, and Sgt. Rafael Alicea Rivera of Bayamon, Puerto Rico.  

Today's IGTNT diary is a shared effort by joyful and gchaucer2.  Thank you so much for your loving contributions, gchaucer2!!

On January 22, a young man died in a New York apartment, alone and far from his native Australia.

A few days earlier, another young man died, also far from his Tunnel Hill, Georgia home.  He was not alone, though: he died protecting 25 of his Marine brethren by shooting an incoming suicide bomber, and dying alongside his attacker when the bombs detonated.

Both men were fathers of toddlers.  Both men were extremely talented in their respective fields, both were deeply respected and admired.  

Both deaths were horribly tragic.

Yet only one man's death was headlined by the mainstream Traditional Media.

Thank you for joining me today for the tribute that the American media fails to pay to our fallen American soldiers.

Please join me and the IGTNT team today as we mourn and remember two fallen American soldiers: Army Major Michael L. Green, 36, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and Sgt. James K. Healy, 25, of Hesperia, California.

Please join me as we mourn and honor two of America's finest: PFC Juctin R.P. McDaniel, who lost his life Monday just outside of Baghdad, and a respectful "welcome home" to Major Perry H. Jefferson, whose remains were finally identified following his plane's crash in Vietnam in 1969.

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.

~Mary Frye

Please join me today as we gather to honor and mourn the following four fallen soldiers: Spc. Jermaine D. Franklin, 22, of Arlington, TX; Staff Sgt. Patrick F. Kutschbach, 25, of McKees Rocks, PA; Sgt. Phillip A. Bocks, 28, of Troy, MI; and Sgt. Joseph M. Vanek, 22, of Elmhurst, IL.

But if I should die on some far, far away battlefield
Know I answered the call
For a grand principle of freedom to yield.
My fervent prayer is that death
May not have been in vain
Fighting for peace and right for the world to attain.

...

Tell me that I did not give my all for you in vain
That brothers and sisters do not look upon my sacrifice
With hateful,
Or even worse,
Uncaring disdain.

The Combat Soldier's Prayer
Gary Jacobsen (c) 1999
The entire prayer can be read here.  Thank you, Gary.

Please join me today as we honor and remember Spc. Frank L. Cady III, 20, of Sacramento, California; Sgt. 1st Class Justin S. Monschke, 28, of Krum, Texas; Pfc. Kenneth J. Iwasinski, 22, of West Springfield, Massachusetts; 1st Lt. Thomas M. Martin, 27, of Ward, Arkansas; and Spc. Jason B. Koutroubas, 21, of Dunnellon, Florida.

Infinite Life, I live and breathe in Thee.  I am Thy great adventure into individuality.  I, too, am love.  I, too, am life.  I, too, am peace.  I, too, am spirit.  I, too, am life abundant.  I am that which is.  I am undying substance.  I cannot die, for I am life.  I cannot be sick, for I am health. I cannot be unhappy, for I am joy.  I am.  Why should I fear?  I am; and still I am.  In the secret place of my heart all is peace and all is quiet. There are no storms here.  I am; and still I am.  ~Fenwicke L. Holmes

Please join me in a celebration of the lives of Pfc. Brandon T. Thorsen, 22, of Trenton, Florida; Sgt. John Mele, 25, of Union City, Tennessee; and Staff Sgt. Michael L. Townes, 29, of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sgt. Omar Mora and Staff Sgt. Yance T. Gray were two of the seven soldiers who authored a gutsy August 19th editorial in the New York Times, critical of America's "pursuit of incompatible policies to absurd ends without recognizing the incongruities."

On September 10th, 2007, Sgt. Mora and Sgt. Gray were killed with five other soldiers when the cargo truck they were riding in overturned in Baghdad.  

Noweasels posted a lovely tribute to those five other soldiers earlier today.  This is Part II: a celebration of the lives of Omar Mora and Yance Gray.

Please join the IGTNT team as we celebrate the lives and mourn the tragic loss of Spc. Travis M. Virgadamo, 19, of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Pvt. Justin T. Sanders, 22, of Watson, Louisiana.