Afghanistan

WSBT has learned local Marine has been killed, this time from LaPorte County. Family members tell us 24-year-old Lance Corporal Joshua Birchfield died in Afghanistan. They're not saying how he died or exactly when. He graduated from Westville High School about 5 years ago. Friends tell us he joined the Marines about two years ago. We'll have more on this story tonight at 10 and 11.

A local Congresswoman is back in the U.S. after spending time in Afghanistan. Jackie Walorski joined several members of Congress on the trip that ended yesterday. She says she is deeply humbled to meet Hoosier men and women serving overseas. She thanked them for their work and delivered care packages and cooling neck wraps from the HUGS Project of Elkhart. This was Walorski's first visit to Afghanistan.

Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., spent the New Year's weekend in Afghanistan. Bayh spoke with soldiers from Indiana during his visit to Bagram Air Field. He also shared lunch with them. The soldiers are with the 38th Infantry Division and the Combined Joint Task Force. Bayh was among six U.S. senators who visited the region this weekend.

We have an update on one of the Dowagiac-based guardsmen injured by an IED in Afghanistan earlier this week. Read more about that incident here According to a family member, Sergeant David Jackson of Niles is "doing great" in his recovery from a concussion and dislocated shoulder. He will be in physical therapy for two weeks and then likely will return to duty. The guard unit is scheduled to return home to Michigan in September.

UPDATE:  SOUTH BEND - Today 50 local reserve Marines are coming home. They've spent the last 7 months fighting in Afghanistan. The Marines are with Engineering Company B based in South Bend. They were deployed last May and spent several weeks training at Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Base 29 in California before being shipped to Afghanistan. Marines in Company B are from across northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan. Several local police officers will escort the buses of Marines from Ligionier to South Bend.  They are expected back in town around noon today.

The Indiana National Guard says four soldiers with an Indiana-based National Guard unit died in Afghanistan when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb. Indiana Adjutant General Martin Umbarger said Saturday the four members of the Valparaiso-based 713th Engineer Company were clearing roadside bombs along a supply route in southern Afghanistan Thursday morning when their vehicle struck one of the bombs. The casualties include Specialist Brian Leonhardt of Merrillville, Specialist Robert J. Tauteris Jr. of Hamlet, Specialist Christopher Patterson of Aurora, Illinois, and Staff Sgt. Jonathan Metzger of Indianapolis.  The unit and families are all trying to cope in the aftermath of the deaths of these men. . Outside of the Indiana National Guard Armory in Valparaiso on Saturday the flag flew at half-staff as the news started to sink in. "It's been a real tough day,” said Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Steve Hines.

Around 50 Marines from South Bend's Company B will leave Thursday for Camp Lejeune, North Carolina for training. They are expected to arrive in Afghanistan late this summer. The group is expected to provide security for convoys, bases, fuel and water stations and checkpoints.

HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) - A northwestern Indiana soldier who was among four Indiana National Guardsmen killed in a bombing in Afghanistan has been laid to rest. The Times of Munster reports (http://bit.ly/yqxEC6 ) that the main floor of First Baptist Church's auditorium in Hammond was at near capacity during Wednesday's funeral for 21-year-old Sgt. Brian Leonhardt of Merrillville. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels attended the service and was one of the speakers. He told mourners that "Indiana is proud" of Leonhardt, who was buried after the services at Memory Lane Memorial Park in Schererville.

NILES -- A Niles man has been killed in Afghanistan. Navy Corpsman Benjamin Rast, 23, died while on patrol in Afghanistan Wednesday morning. So far, the Navy has not released the cause of his death. Navy officials say they have to wait 24 hours after the family is notified before they share information of that matter. But his father says he was told that his son was killed by an explosion from a hellfire rocket while on patrolling. That is a weapon that is typically fired from American helicopters.

On Monday, Senator Joe Donnelly released the following statement to honor the Hoosier soldiers who have given the ultimate sacrifice to their country while protecting the freedoms of our nation.  “This Memorial Day, I join all Americans as we celebrate the lives of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice while fighting for the many freedoms we enjoy in our great nation. Our Armed Forces are filled with brave men and women from across the country, but today I especially honor those from our great state of Indiana.

WSBT has learned Captain Reid Nishizuka - a 2005 Notre Dame graduate - was one of four airmen who died in a plane crash near Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan Saturday. The 30 year old is from Hawaii. KGMB, the CBS affiliate there, reports the crash is under investigation, but there was no enemy activity in the area at the time. The University's Facebook page says it's prayers are with his family. More here: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/22101653/kailua-airman-one-of-four-killed-in-afghanistan-plane-crash

A local Congresswoman is back in the U.S. after spending time in Afghanistan. Jackie Walorski joined several members of Congress on the trip that ended yesterday. She says she is deeply humbled to meet Hoosier men and women serving overseas. She thanked them for their work and delivered care packages and cooling neck wraps from the HUGS Project of Elkhart. This was Walorski's first visit to Afghanistan.

UPDATE:  SOUTH BEND - Today 50 local reserve Marines are coming home. They've spent the last 7 months fighting in Afghanistan. The Marines are with Engineering Company B based in South Bend. They were deployed last May and spent several weeks training at Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Base 29 in California before being shipped to Afghanistan. Marines in Company B are from across northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan. Several local police officers will escort the buses of Marines from Ligionier to South Bend.  They are expected back in town around noon today.

COLOMA, Mich. - One Berrien County third grader got the surprise of his lifetime Friday.   His dad, a soldier in the U.S. National Guard, returned home from Afghanistan. Staff Sergeant Mike Hoffman just finished his third tour overseas with the U.S. National Guard.  His two children have been away from dad for over a year, but that changed on Friday.   The family finally got to see each other again when Mike showed up at Coloma Elementary where he surprised his eight-year-old son and was reunited with his high school daughter.

GULFPORT , Miss. - There are many moments in life as children grow, where parents couldn't be more proud. One such moment happened Sept. 14 here, as South Bend resident, Michael Hallahan, pinned the anchors of a U.S. Navy chief petty officer on his son, Justin. “I told my son that I am very proud of him,” said the elder Hallahan. He said he also told him that he was very happy that his son followed in his footsteps by joining the Navy.     Now, Chief Equipment Operator Hallahan, a 2002 Adams High School graduate, has taken a monumental step into one of the oldest fraternities of which very few will ever be a part.

We have an update on one of the Dowagiac-based guardsmen injured by an IED in Afghanistan earlier this week. Read more about that incident here According to a family member, Sergeant David Jackson of Niles is "doing great" in his recovery from a concussion and dislocated shoulder. He will be in physical therapy for two weeks and then likely will return to duty. The guard unit is scheduled to return home to Michigan in September.

DALLAS (AP) - The family of an Army officer serving in Afghanistan said Sunday his wife saw a bullet hole in the closet behind him after he collapsed during a Skype video chat. Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark's brother-in-law Bradley Taber-Thomas released a statement saying Clark's wife, Susan Orellana-Clark, was talking to her husband when he suddenly collapsed. Orellana-Clark saw a bullet hole in a closet behind him. The statement says the Skype link remained open for two hours Monday as family and friends in the U.S. and Afghanistan tried to get Clark help.

Around 50 Marines from South Bend's Company B will leave Thursday for Camp Lejeune, North Carolina for training. They are expected to arrive in Afghanistan late this summer. The group is expected to provide security for convoys, bases, fuel and water stations and checkpoints.

VALPARAISO -- Valparaiso University held a memorial service for a student who was killed in Afghanistan after taking a leave from his coursework to serve his country in the Indiana National Guard. 20-year-old Specialist Christopher Patterson along with three other guardsmen died January 6th, in Kandahar province when their vehicle was hit by an IED.  Patterson, a sophomore Music Education major at Valparaiso University, volunteered to go to Afghanistan with the 713th Engineer Company based in Valparaiso.