Soldier from LaGrange killed in Iraq

Family members say an Army sergeant from LaGrange has been killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, a week after his first wedding anniversary.

Relatives told the LaGrange Daily News that 21-year-old Sergeant Corey Spates, 21, died Sunday morning in the Diyala province.

His wife and parents were notified by the Army on Sunday evening.

The family said they were told there were multiple casualties in the blast, but that the Army would not release details until the next of kin of all victims had been notified.

Spates, who attended Troup High School, had left for his second deployment in November. He and his wife celebrated their first anniversary last week.

(The Associated Press)

Norcross native killed in Afghanistan

A Fort Rucker, Ala., soldier from Norcross, Ga., was killed in action in Afghanistan, military officials said Wednesday.

Staff Sgt. Donald T. Tabb, 29, was killed around 2 p.m. Tuesday, according to a statement from Fort Rucker. Tabb died after his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in Sangin, Afghanistan, the U.S. Department of Defense said in a news release.

Tabb was serving with the 6th Military Police Detachment, 13th Aviation Regiment. He was a dog handler serving in Afghanistan with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force.

He is survived by his mother, Gloria Smith of Lawrenceville, Ga., the Fort Rucker statement said.

Tabb's death remains under investigation.

(The Associated Press)

Cemetery Metal Thefts

Police may have caught the man who's been stealing from cemeteries all over Middle Georgia. James Murphy was arrested after he admitted taking over one hundred vases from a Baldwin County cemetery. Police have recovered some of the pieces. Murphy says he planned on selling the items for scrap.

Over the last two weeks hundreds of bronze plaques and vases have been stolen from cemeteries in five Middle Georgia counties. One small cemetery in Macon lost fifty plaques, used to mark the graves of soldiers. The plaques are valued at 37-thousand dollars. Another cemetery lost nearly three-hundred vases.

George Meadows is with the Bibb county Sheriff's office. He says all types of recyclable metals are being stolen right now, but this is the worst he's seen.

"To stoop to this point of vandalizing grave sites. Stealing from war veteran's is about as low as you can get."

In the last few months police all across the nation and in Canada have reported a rash of metal thefts in cemeteries. Much of the metal is shipped overseas, where a boom in construction has fueled a rise in prices.

Ft. Benning unit deploying to Iraq, Kuwait

Nearly 70 soldiers from Fort Benning will deploy to Iraq this week. The deployment comes after four soldiers from the base were killed in fighting in Baghdad over the weekend.

Base Public Affairs Office spokesperson Elsie Jackson told GPB News the maintenance battalion soldiers would provide support and logistics for combat units in Iraq and Kuwait. Family members will see the troops off at the base's Lawson Army Airfield on Wednesday.

The Defense Department announced Tuesday that Iraqi insurgents killed three Ft. Benning troops in a roadside bombing and shooting attack on Saturday. A forth soldier was hit and killed from small-arms fire on Sunday. Both attacks took place in the Baghdad area.

21 troops from the base have been killed in the conflict this year.

Cedartown soldier's body returns for burial

The 102nd Georgia solider to die in Iraq returned home for the final time on Thursday evening.

Staff Sergeant Shannon Weaver was supposed to return to the U. S. for an extended leave in July. Last night, he returned a month early, in a flag draped casket.


A crowd of flag-waving citizens stood on the tarmac at Russell airport in Rome as the plane bearing Weaver's body landed. A motorcycle and police procession escorted the hearse 30 miles to Cedartown.


Weaver died on May 21 when roadside bombs exploded near his vehicle in southern Baghdad. The explosion also killed Sergeant Brian Ardron of Acworth.

Terry Vaughn, Weaver's mother-in-law, said he wanted the soldiers under him to take leave before he did.

If he would have come home before that, this might not have happened. But it did. And I believe that things happen for a reason. But I, I, I don't know what that reason would be at this time, other than serving his country, and he gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Weaver will be buried in a small country churchyard with full military honors on Sunday.

Ft. Benning unit returns from Kuwait

The Army reports that about 70 soldiers of the 233rd Heavy Equipment Transport platoon are set to return from Kuwait at 2:30 a.m. on Friday, May 4.

The soldiers shipped out in September 2006. This was the unit’s fifth deployment since 2002.

The 233rd provides ground transport services, the army's Public Affairs Office says.