Joseph W Riley - OurWarHeroes.org - Tribute sites by Q Madp

Joseph W Riley

Grove City, Ohio

November 24, 2014

Age

Military

Rank

Unit/Location

Army

Spc

1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division

Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Killed in Kabul, Afghanistan, when the enemy attacked their vehicle with a vehicle borne improvised explosive device.

From NBC 4 nbc4i.com 11/25/14:

Central Ohio Soldier Killed In Afghanistan
Posted: Nov 25, 2014 7:45 AM PST Updated: Nov 25, 2014 1:11 PM PST
By: Rick Reitzel
By: Denise Yost, Multimedia Content Manager

GROVE CITY, Ohio - A Central Ohio Army Sniper was killed in Afghanistan Monday morning.

Army Specialist Joseph "Joey" Riley, 27, of Grove City, was killed, and three other soldiers were injured during the incident.

A NATO spokesman told the Associated Press Tuesday that Riley and another soldier were killed after a bicycle-borne bomb was detonated near their convoy early Monday morning.

Riley graduated from Grove City High School in 2005. He was also a seasonal employee for the City of Grove City. He worked in the service department for several years. Riley had been in the Army for 2 and 1/2 years and was qualified as a sniper. He graduated from Capital University with a degree in criminal justice.

Riley's body will arrive Wednesday at Dover Air Force Base, where his family escort him to Rickenbacker Air Base this weekend.

Details on the memorial service and visitation for Riley have not yet been set. Riley's father, Rodney, said the family asks that anyone who wants to pay their respects to come to one of the services.

"This has been a struggle," he said. "The community support we have received have been phenomenal."

The Riley family released the following statement Tuesday afternoon:

"We are so heartbroken by this news. We are proud of our son and the sacrifice he made. He loved the Army and felt strongly that freedom is worth the fight. He loved Grove City and we have already felt comforted by the love and support of this community, our many friends and our beloved church family. We ask for time and space with our family now as we grieve, but please know that we will see him again because he trusted Christ to usher him into eternity."

Southwestern City Schools Superintendent Dr. Bill Wise released the following statement regarding Riley's death:

"Our deepest and most heartfelt sympathies go out to the family and friends of U.S. Army Sniper Joey Riley. He gave his life protecting the freedom we all hold so dear. We will forever be grateful for his service to our country."

From The Chicago Tribune chicagotribune.com 11/24/14:

2 U.S. soldiers killed in bombing in Afghanistan capital
By Tribune wire report

Two U.S. soldiers were killed when their vehicle was hit by a bomb in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday, officials and sources said.
lRelated Suicide bomb blast kills 40 during volleyball match in Afghanistan

Nation & World
Suicide bomb blast kills 40 during volleyball match in Afghanistan

See all related
8

"It was a magnetic bomb," said Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi. "It was either attached to the vehicle belonging to the foreigners or it was planted and detonated remotely."

The Taliban insurgents, ousted from power by a U.S.-led coalition in 2001, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The ISAF international military coalition in Afghanistan gave no details of the attack but said in a statement two of its service members were killed in the area on Monday.

A Western security source told Reuters the victims were American. Another source said at least three civilians were also killed.

The bombing comes a day after a suicide bomber walked into a crowd at a volleyball match and detonated his explosives vest, killing 45.

Mukhles Afghan, spokesman for the governor of Paktika province, said at least 50 more were wounded in the attack in Yahya Khel district, where residents had gathered to watch a tournament final.

He said most of the casualties were civilians.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack.

Casualties were high because the crowd was so dense, since people had come from nearby districts to cheer on their team. No other details were immediately available because of the remoteness of the location.

The Taliban and other jihadist militants have unleashed waves of suicide attacks in Afghanistan this year as foreign forces pull out after 13 years of war.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach condemned the "cowardly" attack.

"It is an attack on sport itself and on the positive values it can bring to help build strong communities and foster peace and reconciliation around the world," he said in a statement.

The Taliban banned public sports events as un-Islamic during their five-year rule before the 2001 U.S.-led intervention that toppled them from power after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on U.S. cities.

Paktika province has an active Afghan Taliban insurgent presence and lies along the porous border with Pakistan's North Waziristan region, used as a base by both the Haqqani militant network and the Pakistani branch of the Taliban.

The Pakistani army for months has been waging an offensive against militants in North Waziristan, driving refugees and militant fighters across the border into Afghanistan.

This year has been one of the bloodiest for Afghan civilians, according to the United Nations, which recorded nearly 5,000 deaths and injuries of civilians in the first half of the year.

Reuters
Copyright © 2014, Chicago Tribune