Capt. David Seth Mitchell USMC-Rest in Peace

Marine Capt. David Seth Mitchell
       

Died October 26, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

                       ... remembered as `the favourite of heaven.”...today I sensed that Capt. Mitchell wanted me to include those who died along side him.
                  Remembering the praiseworthy dead is among the obligations of the living.

"God keeps His eye on those that are dead and buried the same as He does on those that are alive and walking. When the time comes the dead are raised, He won't need any directions..."

~Joseph Mitchell, ‘Mr. Hunter’s Grave’

…Born in the black aurora of disaster,
Can look a common soldier in the face:
I find a comrade where I sought a master :
For daily, while the stinking crocodiles
Glide from the mangroves on the swampy shore,
He shares my awning on the dhow, he smiles,
And tells me that he lived it all before.
Through fire and shipwreck, pestilence and loss,
Led by the ignis fatuus of duty
To a dog’s death — yet of his sorrows king —
He shouldered high his voluntary Cross,
Wrestled his hardships into forms of beauty,
And taught his gorgon destinies to sing. ~Roy Campbell, Luis de Camões

A relic…from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer:

"Deliver us, we beseech thee, in our several callings, from the service of mammon, that we may do the work which thou givest us to do, in truth, in beauty, and in righteousness, with singleness of heart as thy servants, and to the benefit of our fellow men."

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There are no ‘little’ acts of compassion.  That day even the blazing, burnt copper aspens quaked in mourning, moaning in the bitter heavings of the cold winter wind.

Capt. David S. Mitchell, may you rest in peace.

Capt. David 'Seth Mitchell 30, of Loveland, Ohio; assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Oct. 26 at FOB Dwyer, Afghanistan, after a collision between a UH-1 and an AH-1 helicopter in Helmand province. Also killed were Cpl. Gregory M.W. Fleury, Capt. Eric A. Jones and Capt. Kyle R. Van De Giesen.

                  May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

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Loveland Marine killed in Afghanistan

By Jennifer Baker, Barrett J. Brunsman and Carrie Whitaker

Cincinnati Enquirer via Gannett News Service

LOVELAND – David “Seth” Mitchell was known as “Mr. Personality” when he was president of the senior Class of 1997 at Loveland High School.

Even then the student council member, varsity football player and track runner dreamed of serving in the United States military, friends said Tuesday night at a prayer vigil held in his honor.

“I remember he didn’t want to take anyone’s life,” said friend and former teammate Nick Jackson. “He was thinking about this as a sophomore — he was so thoughtful but he felt such a duty to serve.”

Assistant Athletic Director Kevin Taylor said everybody got along with Mitchell.

“I don’t know that he had an enemy,” Taylor said.

But he did: terrorism.

Mitchell, a Cobra helicopter pilot for the Marine Corps, died Monday trying to defeat it in Afghanistan. He was 30.

Two Marine helicopters — a UH-1 and an AH-1 Cobra — collided in flight before sunrise over southern Afghanistan while supporting combat operations, the military disclosed Tuesday. He was one of four Marines killed. Two others were wounded.

His classmates at Loveland High School, teachers, friends and strangers gathered Tuesday night in the school lobby where Mitchell spent his high school years. Later, they moved outside to light candles in his memory.

The shock and loss was evident. Tears fell freely as friends held one another. His classmates, some now young parents, clutched their babies.

About a dozen gathered their courage to stand in front of television cameras and share their memories of Mitchell.

“Seth was my neighbor and he was also a friend,” said Chandra Johnson. “I always felt like when I had conversations with him – I always felt like what I was saying was important. When he talked to you he really wanted to know what you wanted to say.”

Erica Miller gladly helped organize the Class of 1997’s 10-year reunion when Mitchell’s responsibilities kept him too busy to plan it, she said. But he was sure to attend.

“At our class reunion, he was the first one on the dance floor and the last one to leave,” Miller said.

Mitchell grew up in Miami Township, but his family now lives in North Carolina. They could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. He has one sibling, friends said. He is the first Loveland High graduate to die in Afghanistan.

Teachers said Mitchell was the kind of student impossible to forget.

“He sat in the row by the window, third seat back,” said social studies teacher Jeff Geiger, who had Mitchell in his global issues class. “He was always prepared, always did his work. He was the type of kid every teacher wanted in the classroom. We knew he would be successful because he worked hard and was ready to go every day.”

Mitchell graduated from Virginia Tech, joined the Marine Corps in 2001 and was stationed at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, said Marine spokeswoman Cpl. Jessica Aranda.

A member of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, he was assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

During his time in the Marines, he received 10 medals and commendations, including the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

A former Marine himself, Geiger said he was especially proud of Mitchell, who helped him stay in touch with Loveland High graduates after they joined the military.

“Seth being a Marine, I have kind of a special place in my heart for him,” Geiger said. “Seth was always willing to help out in any way that he could.

“We won’t let him be forgotten,” Geiger said. “He gives us his life. His sacrifice is why we are able to do what we do on a daily basis. Without men like Seth, who knows where we would be?”

Other teachers at Loveland jumped at the chance Tuesday to honor Mitchell’s memory with accolades.

Julie Powers, who teaches math and spent four years working with Mitchell as an adviser to student council, said Mitchell planned on being a pilot from a young age.

“I don’t know exactly what turned him onto that as a young boy,” Powers said, “but before he reached grade nine, one thing was on his radar screen, no pun intended.”

She said he exemplified the strong leadership demonstrated by the 180-member Class of 1997.

“He was someone who put 110 percent into everything he did, and he did everything,” Powers said.

Powers broke down in tears, then mentioned her son, a fourth-grade student.

“If my son would grow up to be even half the man Seth grew up to be, I will consider myself a success as a parent,” Powers said as she cried. “He was just an amazing kid.”

Mitchell was the second member of the military from Clermont County to die in Afghanistan.

Army Spc. Gregory James Missman, 36, of Union Township, an Amelia High School graduate, was killed by insurgents in July. Six residents have died in Iraq. Two other members of the military killed in Iraq had parents who lived in the county.

“I’m sure we will do something to honor one of Clermont County’s finest,” said County Commissioner Bob Proud, founder of the Whole in My Heart support group for the families and friends of those serving in Afghanistan or Iraq. “The first thing I’m going to try to do is contact his parents to express condolences on behalf of a grateful Clermont County. We will never forget his service or sacrifice.”

Mary Makley Wolff, chairwoman of the Miami Township Board of Trustees, said she would work with local and county officials to “try to reach out to the family and to the community to honor the memory of such a hero.”

The other Marines killed in the collision were Cpl. Gregory M.W. Fleury, 23, of Anchorage, Alaska; Capt. Eric A. Jones, 29, of Westchester, N.Y.; and Capt. Kyle R. Van De Giesen, 29, of North Attleboro, Mass.

Separately Monday, a U.S. military helicopter crashed while returning from the scene of a firefight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western Afghanistan, killing 10 Americans, including three DEA agents.

The two crashes made it the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Afghanistan in more than four years.

“[Seth] believed every bit in his service for our country … he knew it was his calling,” said friend Marci Weable. “We’re blessed to have had him be a part of our lives.”

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The Associated Press contributed.

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/dsmitchell.htm

Capt. David S. Mitchell

United States Marine Corps

KIA 26 Oct 2009, Afghanistan

My Note: 
I never knew Capt. Mitchell in this life.  Our paths crossed strangely on line as I was just beginning a long painful mourning.  It is ironic that I am a retired Chemistry and Physics teacher and taught many 'honor' students.  He certainly had 'honor'--"semper fidelis".  His name and picture and story helped me to begin writing, blogging and creating again.  He let me know ahead of time through a chance perusal through one of my journals last weekend that his day was coming up.  It is hoped that in Heaven we may meet and understand why...  
                                                         "Thanks, Seth. I salute you, Marine!"

For years I’ve loved Canada geese for their beauty, endurance, and spirit of aspiration. They used to stop at our lake in Connecticut during their fall migration, and we’d feed them bread scraps from the dock. Once or twice I felt their sharp, precise bills pluck the food straight from my hands; my fingers tingled long afterwards from that quick, electric touch of wildness. Years later, after moving to Minnesota, I would wave as they passed overhead, honking encouragement in great ragged chevrons heading north. Later I would meet them paddling in the Boundary Waters, sleek and unruffled. They seemed to embody a pristine freedom along with a courage and perseverance honed by epic journeys.  -John Tallmadge, http://www.humansandnature.org/blog/wild-goose-chase