Army Spc. Michael L. Stansbery

Died July 30, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

---

21, of Mount Juliet, Tenn.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died July 30 near Kandahar, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Sgt. Kyle B. Stout.

---

101st announces deaths of Campbell soldiers

The (Clarksville Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle

Fort Campbell announced Aug. 3 the deaths of two 101st Airborne Division soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

* Sgt. Kyle B. Stout, 25, of Texarkana, Texas, died July 30 when an improvised explosive device exploded near a security checkpoint in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, according to a Fort Campbell news release.

Stout was a cannon crewmember (artilleryman) assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. He entered the Army in July 2006 and arrived at Fort Campbell in November 2006.

Stout’s awards and decorations include Army Commendation Medal; Army Achievement Medal; Army Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; Air Assault Badge; Driver and Mechanic Badge — Wheeled Vehicle and Weapons Qualification: M4, expert.

Stout is survived by his parents, Billy M. and Robin C. Stout of Wake Village, Texas, according to the release.

* Spc. Michael L. Stansbery Jr., 21, of Mount Juliet, Tenn., died July 30 when his dismounted patrol encountered an improvised explosive device in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

Stansbery was a cannon crewmember (artilleryman) assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. He entered the Army in September 2007 and arrived at Fort Campbell in April 2010, the release said.

Stanbery’s awards and decorations include Army Commendation Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; and Weapons Qualification: M4, expert.

Stansbery is survived by his parents, Michael L. Stansbery Sr., and Tammy Stansbery of Mount Juliet.

Memorial ceremonies for both soldiers will be held in Afghanistan.

---

Family says serving in Army was Stansbery’s dream

By Deborah Highland

The (Nashville) Tennessean

The Army honored Spc. Michael L. Stansbery of Mount Juliet at his Aug. 8 funeral for giving his life while living out his childhood dream of being an American soldier.

Stansbery’s parents, Michael and Tammy Stansbery, accepted the Bronze Star and Purple Heart on his behalf during their son’s funeral in the dimly lit gymnasium of his alma mater, Wilson Central High School. The Army presented his younger sister, Michelle, with his dog tags.

Stansbery, 21, was killed July 30 when his patrol hit an improvised explosive device in the Kandahar province in Afghanistan.

Stansbery was a cannon crew member with the 101st Airborne. This was his second overseas deployment since joining the Army in August 2007.

Hundreds of mourners filed into the school’s gymnasium where friends, family members, former teachers, coaches and fellow military personnel, retired and active duty, shared stories about Stansbery’s life and bid him a final farewell.

“This is the journey he chose to set out on,” said Kay Gray, who officiated the service with the Rev. Lee Stevenson.

Stansbery wanted to be a soldier as early as the first grade, when he wrote about it as part of a school project that his mother saved. In it he wrote that he wanted to fight for people who couldn’t fight for themselves.

Stansbery followed in the bootsteps of his father, Michael Stansbery Sr., a combat veteran and former Marine, and his grandfather, a World War II veteran.

“The most important thing to Michael was his relationship with his family; loved his mom and dad dearly, loved his little sister more than anything in the world,” family friend John Jankowich said a few days before the funeral.

On a recent visit back home, Stansbery returned to see the veterans wall near his high school. The wall is a large rock painted with an American flag and the names of all of the high school’s alumni serving in the military.

“Before he went to Afghanistan, he really wanted his name painted on that rock,” Jankowich said.

Stansbery enlisted in the Army immediately after graduation. During 2008-09 he was deployed to Iraq. He returned to the United States for about a year until his most recent assignment to Afghanistan started in June.

“Michael wasn’t afraid of dying,” Gray said.

One week before his death, Stansbery sent a letter to his mother asking her not to worry about him.

“I wish for you a peaceful sleep,” he said in the letter.

Selflessness was commonplace for Stansbery, who once asked his family to send him a coffee pot, coffee and a bean grinder. Stansbery never drank coffee, but he wanted it for his fellow soldiers who missed that comfort of home.

Some of the soldier’s former teachers and coaches fought back tears when they talked about Stansbery, while others cried openly as they recalled their memories of the young man. Michelle Stansbery, a junior at Mount Juliet High, told mourners she was proud to be his sister and that he was her hero.

Jankowich said Michael Stansbery “knew all the risks inherent with what he did for a living. That was his dream. That is what he wanted to do. He never wavered from that.”

Stansbery’s remains will be cremated and interred will full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.

---

Local quilters craft items in honor of Stansbery

By Deborah Highland

The (Nashville) Tennessean

MOUNT JULIET, Tenn. — Local quilters presented the family of fallen Army Spc. Michael L. Stansbery Jr. with two quilts in mid-October during a Mount Juliet City Commission meeting.

Just before official city business began, city leaders asked for the lights to be dimmed. On the large television screen inside the council chambers, a video presentation played photos of Stansbery’s Mount Juliet funeral procession set to music.

Many people wiped tears from their eyes as the video came to a close minutes before quilter Marita Wolf presented Stansbery’s parents, Michael and Tammy Stansbery, with a quilt made in the soldier’s honor as part of the national Home of the Brave quilt project.

Quilters from the Mount Juliet Senior Citizens Center gave another quilt to Stansbery’s younger sister, Michelle. That quilt had squares signed by Wilson County soldiers or a family member of a Wilson County soldier.

“It’s just a gentle reminder” of what soldiers give to other Americans, Wolf said as she handed the quilt to Michael Stansbery Sr.

Stansbery Jr., 21, was killed July 30 when his patrol hit an improvised explosive device in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Stansbery was a cannon crew member with the 101st Airborne. This was his second overseas deployment since joining the Army in August 2007.

Stansbery’s parents accepted the Bronze Star and Purple Heart on his behalf during their son’s August funeral at Wilson Central High School.

“Thank you,” Stansbery Sr. said as he accepted the quilt last week. “We’re very humbled. We’re just so proud.”

Mayor Linda Elam stepped down from behind the commission bench to hug every member of the Stansbery family.

“You’re not alone,” Elam told the family. “This city is behind you, beside you and with you.”