Remembering Sgt. Michael Stokely, KIA 16 August 2009

I will write much more about this later this weekend (I'm going to try to get a video together & posted, if I can figure out how, and have some pics to post as well), but I wanted to get SOMETHING up here NOW.

On August 16, 2005, our little town of Loganville lost one of our own in the War on Terror, Sgt. Michael J. Stokely. Our family did not know Mike, or his friends, or his family...but his loss - and one so close to home -- hit us hard nonetheless. Over the intervening years, we've had the honor and priviledge of getting to know his family, and many of his friends.

Each year on the anniversary of his death, at the exact hour of his death, Mike's family, friends, and even those of us who never knew him, gather at his gravesite to remember and pay our respects. Tonight was that annual gathering. Two of his friends who served with him in Iraq were not there tonight. They are two of our family's adopted soldiers (and dear friends of ours) and are currently serving in Afghanistan. Their absence was felt, but I know they were with us in spirit, as we are with them.

I will write a more thorough post later, but I just wanted to get something up here now... Please, take a moment to reflect on what our freedom costs. Don't ever, ever take it for granted. Stop now to say a prayer for the families of the fallen, and for all our troops currently serving, wherever they may be. Have you thanked a Soldier or Veteran today? If not.. do. They deserve it.

More to come later, just didn't want to waste any time in getting something up here to honor Mike.

Love & prayers,
Mama Kat & Family.

Help Me Win a Harley, AND Honor a Fallen Hero!!!!

THIS POST WILL STAY UP TOP TILL 8/25/07.

SCROLL DOWN FOR NEW POSTS!

Yes, I'm "blegging" (blogging + begging = blegging)!!!!! Not so much for myself (though it would be nice if by some huge miracle I won the raffle I'm about to tell you about!), but to raise awareness and money for a very worthwhile cause that I have mentioned here before. I didn't know until a few days ago that I would "for sure" be able to participate.

On Saturday, August 25, I will be participating in the first annual Mike Stokely Foundation "Ride to Remember," a fundraising event seeking to raise the funds necessary to establish a scholarship at Georgia Military College in the name of Sgt. Mike Stokely, who was killed in Iraq on August 16, 2005. In addition to raising money for a very worthy cause, which is plenty of motivation in and of itself, they are having a raffle: for every cumulative $250 donated in my name, I get a free raffle ticket for a chance to win the grand prize at the end of the day - a Harley!!!!! :-) (and I reeeeaaaaallllllyyyyyy wanna win that Harley, haha, since I'm currently bike-less and trapped in my old, falling-apart car!! Momma Kat needs new wheels, y'all!) Seriously, though: Motorcycle raffle or not, this is still a great cause: honoring one of our local fallen heroes, investing in the youth of this state and in America!! As much as I want that Harley (did I mention, I really, really, really would LUV to win it?! as would all the others who will be there, haha), what I want EVEN MORE is for this ride to be a huge success, and for the Mike Stokely Scholarship to be firmly established forever at Georgia Military College. That, my friends, is the deepest motivation for my blegging. :-)

Checks & money orders can be made out to and sent to The Mike Stokely Foundation, Inc., 100 Fountainhead Way, Sharpsburg, GA, 30277. The Mike Stokely Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Make sure to include a note saying that you are sponsoring lill ole me, if you so choose!


Thanks for your time! For more info, visit: http://www.mikestokely.com/.

Momma Kat

1st ANNUAL RIDE TO REMEMBER

Saturday, August 25th, 2007

Law Enforcement Escorted Ride
(Cars and Motorcycles Welcome!)
Starting at First Baptist Church of Peachtree City (208 Willow Bend Road/behind City Hall), THE ROUTE WILL INCLUDE THE SGT MIKE STOKELY MEMORIAL HIGHWAY IN SHARPSBURG, GA Ending at Jackson-Pless National Guard Armory on Armory Road by Newnan High School/Newnan, GA
Family fun, games, entertainment, BBQ, door prizes, auction
and Grand Prize Raffle – a Harley Davidson XL883R Black Motorcycle!
For more motorcyle and raffle information, click here.
Pre-registration urged but can register onsite beginning at 8:00 a.m. We will Roll-off at 10:00 a.m. This is a ‘sponsor’ ride with a goal of a minimum of $25 per bike/car.
For each $250 in sponsorship donations – Free raffle ticket for the Grand Prize Additional Tickets for the Motorcycle Raffle - $50
LET US KNOW IF YOU ARE COMING SO WE CAN HAVE PLENTY OF FOOD!
One free meal ticket with each $25.00 sponsorship donation. Don’t want to ride? Come to the BBQ – plates available for $10.00 each. Children under 12 / hot dog plate - $5.00 each.
Make checks payable to “The Mike Stokely Foundation”
Proceeds will help establish a scholarship in Mike’s name at his college Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, GA - $25,000 challenge goal

WEDNESDAY'S HERO: SGT MIKE STOKELY, KIA 16 AUGUST 2005

Week's Soldier Was Suggested By Kat

Sgt. Michael J. Stokely
23 years old from Sharpsburg, Georgia
1st Battalion, 108th Armor Regiment, 48th Brigade Combat Team
August 16, 2005


Next Saturday, August 25, the town of Peachtree City, Ga. will be holding it's inaugural Ride To Remember for Sgt. Michael Stokely who lost his life two years ago tomorrow in Baghdad, Iraq when an IED detonated near his position. The patrol he was with had stopped and the NCO in charge had everyone take a rest while he walked back down the road with a Corporal to check out something suspicious. Sgt. Stokely refused to to rest, and instead took up a flanking position at the rear of his truck to watch their backs. Which, as a Cav Scout dismount, he saw as his job. The NCO and Corporal heard cracking noises and made their way to the sound when they were hit by an explosion. The NCO was seriously wounded but the Corporal made it through without a scratch. Sgt. Stokely, however, wasn't so lucky.

You can read more about Sgt. Michael Stokely here and here.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. To find out more about Wednesday Hero, you can go here.

1st Annual Mike Stokely RIDE TO REMEMBER

Inaugural

“RIDE TO REMEMBER"

SGT Michael James Stokely

US ArmyE Troop 108th Cavalry

48th BCT GEORGIA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD

KIA 8/16/05 - Yusufiyah, Iraq

Saturday, August 25th 2007

Law Enforcement Escorted Ride

Starting at First Baptist Church of Peachtree City (208 Willow Bend Road / behind City Hall)THE ROUTE WILL INCLUDE THE SGT MIKE STOKELY MEMORIAL HIGHWAY IN SHARPSBURG GA

Ending at Jackson-Pless National Guard Armory on Armory Road by Newnan High School / Newnan GA

Family fun, games, entertainment, BBQ, door prizes, auction and Grand Prize Raffle

Pre-registration urged but can register on-site beginning at 8:00 a.m. and we will Roll-off at 10:00 a.m.

This is a “sponsor” ride with a goal of a minimum of $25 per bike / car

For Each $250 in sponsorship donations – Free Raffle Ticket for the Grand Prize

Additional Tickets for the Motorcycle Raffle - $50

LET US KNOW IF YOU ARE COMING SO WE CAN HAVE PLENTY OF FOOD

One free meal ticket with each $25.00 sponsorship donation

Don’t want to Ride? Come to the BBQ - plates available for $10.00 eachChildren under 12 / hot dog plate - $5.00 each

Make checks payable to “The Mike Stokely Foundation”Proceeds will help establish a scholarship in Mike’s name at his collegeGeorgia Military College in Milledgeville, GA - $25,000 challenge goal

For more information contact: Robert Stokely at rrmwastokely@aol.com

WEBSITE should be up by July 1, 2007: http://www.mikestokely.com/

100 Fountainhead Way

Sharpsburg GA 30277

678-416-1387

The Mike Stokely Foundation, Inc. is a 501 (3) (c) charitable organization under Internal Revenue Service regulations and is registered and in good standing with the Georgia Secretary of State as a non-profit corporation

Thoughts on Father's Day from a Gold Star Father...

From Robert Stokely (have a few dozen tissues handy):

Since the moment of the news coming to my door of Mike's death 8/16/05 I have tried to put it in perspective of Romans 8:28, well, actually, let me say it more correctly: I have claimed the promise of Romans 8:28.

There is a song playing on country music radio and on Christian radio by country music star, Faith Hill. I can't even tell you the name of it (not unusual, I listen, but name of songs aren't important to me, just what the music and words say). But this one simple verse says it all, and I don't know if Faith Hill intended to do so, but I think it ties very well to the promise of Romans 8:28. "God is great, but sometimes life isn't so good..."

God is great, and even when life isn't so good, we need to go on and we need to remember who our creator is and that he is in control and he does have a plan even if man is not always doing the plan by God's will and design, God will remain in control and will bring good from that for his children. WOW, sounds like everything will be alright in the end, right? Well maybe not in our day and life, but in the end, it will.

Today, Saturday June 16 is the 22nd month since Mike died from the road side bomb near Yusufiyah in the Triangle of Death. Today is also 104 weeks since he sent me a perfectly timed Father's Day card from such a terrible place, and it arrived in the Saturday noon mail and warmed my heart. How could a son, with so much struggle before him, living in a place that was a Potato Factory where in what few hours they slept, they had to fight off rats; where their toilet consisted of a five gallon bucket, diesel fuel and a match; where the best meal of the day was the canned goods they received in care packages from home that made it through the dangerous roads to their Forward Operating Base; where they were subject to continual RPGs, sniper fire, mortars, and the ever lurking IEDs; where he witnessed death and destruction, with too many near misses in the few weeks before he died; where he missed his wife of just two months, and never mind the terrible heat and dust with constant sand storms - how could he have time to think of me and worry about sending me a card. That card is in a drawer I open every day and look at, for that card is a written testament of a son's love for his dad, and more than that, it is a testament that he would not let his circumstances take control.

Today is also the day 104 weeks ago that Mike called from Iraq and it went to voice mail because of the signal strength in the area where I was at with my cell phone. I didn't erase it - don't ask why, just said "aw, I'll do that later and clicked past it." For the next 50 plus dayswhen I listened to it with other messages, I did the same thing - no reason why, just said, "aw, I'll erase it later." Then, in the days before Mike was killed, I heard that small still voice, the same voice say "save it." I did, and it is the only recording of Mike's voice that I have, and I can now hear him say,as he always did when leaving or hanging up "love you dad." Not a day goes by that I don't play that message, and because it is in a Verizon data bank somewhere in the world, only a *86 dial on my cell phone away, I guess they have me as a cell customer for life (although I do have it downloaded to CD and put away safely).

And, I will always have the memory of him making a second effort, as hard as it was to get a phone line out where he was at, to call me again that Saturday of Father's Day Weekend, and we connected and talked and then, when it was time for him to go, he said "love you dad."

God is great, but sometimes life isn't so good; but you know, life is always good, for we were given our life by a great God. Think a moment - what if God had not given us life to begin with? Is it not a great God who blesses us with life, even when it isn't so good? For me, the answer is without equivocation, for I remember on this Father's Day that I was given children named Mike, Wes and Abbey Stokely, only because God first gave me life. And on this 25th Father's Day for me, I will celebrate with the goodness and blessing of the memory of Mike, and the continued joy and on-going life experiences of Wes, now 19 and Abbey, now 15. There are trials to come, but even then, as now, God is great.

Romans 8:28 is a promise in which hope become reality, and we only need claim the promise. In claiming that promise though, we must accept that God is great even when life "isn't so good."

God Bless you and thank you for your friendship.


Robert Stokely
proudly remembering SGT Mike Stokely
KIA 16 Aug 05 near Yusufiyah in the Triangle of Death south of Baghdad
US Army E Troop 108 CAV 48 BCT GAARNG

From the Father of Sgt. Michael Stokely

Jan. 6, 2005, 0500, I pulled out of the driveway at my home in Sharpsburg GA, headed for Griffin GA, accompanied by my son, SPC Mike Stokely. I was driving him to the Armory where he would meet up with approximately 128 other E 108th CAV soldiers for a departure ceremony prior to borading buses bound for FT Stewart GA and five months of deployment train-up. The family followed later for the ceremony at 9:00. At 9:30, we had 30 minutes to visit with Mike and then watched as they formed up and then, my boy marched to board the bus at approximately 10:00 a.m.. A pang of fear struck me - would my boy come home again? Now it was real - the talk was over. I was just weeks from my 52nd birthday and I unashamedly wept in front of others and strained to see him through the bus windows, even as I watched the tail lights of the bus go out of sight. Perhaps, that was the beginnig of my train-up for the grief that was to come seven plus months later, as literally thousands would watch me and our family weep.

Yesterday, Jan. 5, 2007, I delivered two checks to deserving students who needed some help to go to college. Today, Jan. 6, 2007, just after 10:00 a.m., I made a small deposit into an account for the Mike Stokely Foundation Inc. Pocket change from my "change jar" and change thrown in a jar at the register by patrons of a resturant called Catfish Hollow where Mike worked part-time before deployment. $80 total, not that much, but with the other money donated to the Foundation, it will be a big help to others. This Foundation was started on our front porch within a few hours after the news of Mike's death came to our home. As I sat there on the porch, I looked at my wife Retta and asked her if she thought it would be "o.k." to form the Foundation and ask our friends and others to consider a donation in lieu of flowers. Of course, she was for it and we put the word out immediately and many people honored our request, including many strangers.

Since then, others have helped with fundraisers for the Mike Stokely Foundation Inc.. Family and friends remember Mike on his birthday and at Christmas with donations. Corporations who have heard of us have made donations and recently, a friend asked that donations be made to the Mike Stokely Foundation in lieu of sending flowers to her own mother's funeral. Every now and then, a check from a stranger comes, usually no explanation and no connection we can make as to how they came to send a donation.

Five scholarships were awarded last May and it was a very proud moment for this dad to watch a soon to be 14 year old young lady stand tall and speak at two different high school honors programs, where 900 or so were present each time, and talk about her brother and the Mike Stokely Foundation as she awarded the first two scholarships. At Christmas, a check was sent to a school that took it on their own to raise money for the Foundation - a school that was deemed an "at risk" school where most of the kids are well below poverty level. The check will help a program at this school that sends a book to students who might not otherwise even get a birthday present, much less money in the home to buy a book.

Recently, a separate fund drive has been started to endow a scholarship at Georgia Military College in Milledgeville GA in Mike's honor. Mike had completed one year of the two year program and was finalizing enrollment for the second year when he was called up and deployed. We have a great start - 10% of the $25,000 needed has been raised and plans for additional fundraisers are in the works. This project will not encroach on the other on-going projects outlined above, including the high school scholarships.

Today, as I left the bank, I thought of my boy...

What a difference two years can make.

Robert Stokely
proud dad SGT Mike Stokely
KIA IRAQ near Yusufiyah 16 Aug 05
US Army E Troop 108th CAV 48th BDE GAARN