Captain Derek Argel
Memorial Webpage
May 24, 2008 will be a fundraiser for the Warrior Foundation at the Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez, Ca from 11 am - 4 pm. Please e mail me for tickets ($12.50 BBQ). Also, if you'd like to volunteer shoot me a line.
Please support Debbie and Todd as they ride across the USA for the Warrior Foundation.
A picture of the Bronze Star Medal Derek was awarded at Friday June third 2005 ceremony.
“I’ve always tested
myself. I’d never really boxed and never really taken a punch. I wanted to see
what kind of character I have, something else to make me stronger.”
Derek Argel
Pictures of the Memorial Services
Pictures of Derek, Family, and Friends
Pictures of Social Gathering after the memorial
Here is the Trust Fund for Logan that Wendy and Her father have set up. Please write all checks to Logan W. Argel.
Logan W. Argel
Regions Bank
400 Racetrack Road
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547
The Derek Argel Memorial Fund is a scholarship in the name of Derek for a Cabrillo Boys Water Polo player. If you'd like to send donations for the scholarship fund, please send a check to:
Cabrillo Senior High School
Attn: Bob Lawrence
4350 Constellation Road
Lompoc, Ca 93436
To donate to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, please click on the link below. Proceeds will assist Logan and other children of fallen hero's the opportunity to go to college.
2/5/2006
Article about an Air Force Alumni in the Super Bowl. He speaks highly of Derek.
1/24/2006
Here is the latest Santa Barbara News Press Story about the Gold Star Parents visiting Iraq.
9/27/2005
BJ Lingle sent this article to me. We support our Troops!!!
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Sep2005/20050925_2844.html
9/6/2005
Dear Friends and Family,
I am finally writing to this beautiful tribute that Dave has created and maintained. My apologies for not posting sooner, but it has taken some time for me to face reality. Yesterday marked three months. As everyone knows, we have been very active with five memorials, our military family in Florida, Wendy and Logan. We returned one week ago from the service in Arlington and then to visit Wendy and Logan in Florida. The service in Arlington was beautiful. Full military honors were given, including three rider less horses for the three American Officers. It was a real honor to sit with the family of the Iraqi pilot, Capt. Ali Abass. Capt. Abass was a hero in his own right, having saved an American Colonel from the insurgents in an emergency landing. Security and protocol were tight, but it was a very impressive ceremony. My last trip to Arlington was a tour with Derek. I was taking classes at the Smithsonian and Derek flew in to tour D.C. and the surrounding area with me. He was so impressed with Arlington and the history of those American Heroes memorialized there. I found comfort in the fact that he too would be so honored.
We flew back to Wendy's and had a good visit with the family. Todd shipped 36 tri-tip overnight from Bruce's Prime Cuts for the squadron. He got a standing ovation! I, on the other hand flew in 14 lbs. of Lompoc Piquinto beans and worked all day on them. Everyone liked them, but I did not get a standing ovation!
When we left Florida, baby Logan had taken his first three steps. Like good grandparents, we left the day after. Wendy says he is all over the place now.
Much love to all that have written in. I have started my book which is called, "To Logan, from Dad and friends" The story of Derek Argel, an American Hero.
I have some letters. I would like to have more stories. If you have anything to contribute, please send letters to me at:
Debbie Argel Bastian
121 North "W" Street
Lompoc, Ca. 93436
Please include permission to publish all or part of your contribution.
God Bless our Troops!
Love to all,
Debbie
9/6/2005
To Derek's Brothers of the 23rd STS,
Heartfelt thanks to everyone at the squadron for their special tribute to Derek on August 21. In a quiet field, Derek's family of the 23rd, performed a final jump and tribute to Derek with a portion of his ashes. Each of these men shared a final tribute and prayer and jumped from 10,000 feet. The ceremony was beautiful and the sky was filled with quiet parachutes slowly making their way to the ground all around us and touching in silence. The jump was Derek's favorite, a HALO (High Altitude, Low Open). Derek was honored, and we were honored to be there.
Todd Bastian (Derek's step dad)
9/3/2005
If you would like me to post any letter on the internet in Derek's memory, I will do so. please e mail me with the letter and in the memo line, please put, "Letter for Website" and I will place it on the site. Also, if you have any pictures in jpeg format, I will also place them online.
David Riley
9/2/2005
Here is a continuation of the 8/31/2005 discussion thread. As we all know, Derek is a hero. It is nice to hear people we don't even know agree with us!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1465558/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1473247/posts
8/31/2005
Check out the website below. It is about getting Derek's name off all of the, "Arlington West" Anti-War Protests. See Post # 87
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1471900/posts
8/19/2005
Here is the transcript from Debbie Argel Bastain's interview with CNN News.
8/13/2005
Here is another website dedicated to Derek.
Carol LaRue's Arlington Cemetery Website
8/12/2005
Here is the article from the Air Force Website on the Arlington national Cemetery service.
L.A. Times and N.Y. Times Article
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Picture of Wendy, Logan, Todd, and Debbie at the Arlington Ceremony. the wife of the Iraqi soldier that died in the crash is awarded with a Iraqi flag. (Photo taken from the Air Force Website.)
8/10/2005
Here is an article about the funeral service at the Arlington National Cemetery. Derek will be buried along with others involved with the crash.
8/4/2005
I have finally scanned Derek's 6th grade Memorial Day essay. You'll have to click on each picture to get each page.
If the page is too small to see, click away from the picture then hover the cursor over the picture. A small, orange box may pop up in the lower right hand side of the page. Click on that box and the picture will enlarge.
Until I figure out how to change these pictures into a word format, this is all I can do.
David Riley
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8/3/2005
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6/29/2005
Memorial pictures will be up soon. If you have any pictures of the memorial or social afterwards, please e mail them to me. Thank you to everyone who have sent pictures in.
David Riley
6/27/2005
Santa Barbara News Press story on Memorial Service.
6/27/2005
Lompoc Record story on Memorial Service.
6/27/2005
A great story from MSNBC's Dan Abrams about a few of the wonderful servicemen that came to Derek's Funeral
6/18/2005
You can listen to the story about Derek at www.californiareport.org. The story is located under the title, "Two More Soldiers Die in Iraq." It is located under the June 12th 2005 section.
6/11/2005
Jamie Estes sent this to me about the plane formation that flew over Derek's Memorial. It is very interesting. Check it out at:
http://www.aiipowmia.com/histories/histformation.html
6/10/2005
What a beautiful service! The speakers were phenomenal, F-16 flyover was breathtaking, and the Honor Guard brought tears to our eyes. We will remember Derek as a hero. We will miss you brother. See you soon.
6/6/2005
Check it out... The New York Times has a memorial page and "guest book" for Derek...
http://www.legacy.com/nytimes/Soldiers.asp?Page=FSStory&PersonID=14093933
6/6/2005
GAAS:219:05
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 06/03/2005
Gov. Schwarzenegger Issues Statement on Death of Lompoc Air Force Captain Derek
Argel
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today released the following:
statement
regarding the death of Air Force Capt. Derek Argel, of Lompoc:
"Maria and I extend our heartfelt sympathy to Capt. Argel's family. Derek
deserves our eternal gratitude for his patriotic service and ultimate sacrifice
so that we can continue to live in safety in the land of liberty and justice for
all."
Argel, 28, died May 30 in Diyala, Iraq, in the crash of an Iraqi air force
aircraft during a training mission. He was assigned to the 23rd Special Tactics
Squadron, Hurlburt Field, FL.
In honor of Argel, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff.
6/6/2005
Story in the Santa Barbara News Press
Lowered
flags honor Lompoc commando
SACRAMENTO Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered the state Capitol flags flown at half-staff in
honor of a former Lompoc resident, Capt. Derek Argel, who was killed with four
others Monday in Iraq. He also was awarded a Bronze Star posthumously Friday.
Capt. Argel, 28,
died in the crash of an Iraqi Air Force plane during a training mission near
Diyala, Iraq. Capt. Argel was a Cabrillo High School and Air Force Academy
graduate. He was assigned to the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron out of Hurlburt
Field, Fla.
The governor and
his wife sent their condolences to the Air Force commando's family, which
includes his wife, Wendy, and a 10-month-old son.
A memorial
service for Capt. Argel was held Friday in Florida. A memorial in Lompoc has
been scheduled for 11 a.m. June 10 at the Lompoc Cemetery.
Nora K. Wallace
6/4/2005
I spoke this morning with Debbie. I did not attend the memorial service at Hurlburt yesterday, but for those who did attend it meant the world to Wendy and Debbie—both the volume of people and the depth of their love were unbelievable. The most memorable parts for Debbie were the stories from all who knew Derek. We sent out an email previously from Ana-Maria Ortega and Jenn Reed who are taking the lead on consolidating stories and photos of Derek into a memory book – one for Wendy and Logan, and one for Debbie. Again their address to send in your stories/photos is 4741 Amhurst Circle, Destin, FL 32541.
6/4/2005
Article about Friday's Memorial Service in Florida.
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050603/APN/506031181
6/3/2005
Newest Santa Barbara News Press Article.
6/3/2005
A website Honoring the fallen soldiers. Derek's picture is on the right. he has a beard!!!
http://www.militarycity.com/valor/888287.html
6/3/2005
Northwest Florida Daily Newspaper Article on Derek.
6/2/2005
there will be a memorial service for the four Killed in Iraq at Hurlburt Field AFB Tomorrow June 3rd at 1500 (3:00 PM) in the hanger across from the commissary.
6/2/2005
A wonderful articles about Derek can be found at the following websites:
http://www.airforcesports.com/
http://www.af.mil/news/airman/0203/tactic.html
http://www.defendamerica.mil/fallen/oif/oif-af.html
http://www.airforcesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3000&ATCLID=121890
6/2/2005
Lompoc record articles about Derek can be found at the following URL's:
http://www.lompocrecord.com/articles/2005/06/02/news/news12.txt
http://lompocrecord.com/articles/2005/06/02/news/news06.txt
http://lompocrecord.com/articles/2005/06/02/sports/sports09.txt
6/2/2005
For those wanting to send something to Debbie
Debbie Argel Bastian
121 North W St.
Lompoc, CA 93436
6/2/2005
Charlotte Hufschmidt would like to compile a collection of letters from Derek’s friends/family for Logan….”Letter’s to Logan”, written directly to Logan so that one day he can read about the stories and anecdotes about his father. If you have a story, or even a simple paragraph you would like to contribute, please send the e mail to cmhufschmidt@yahoo.com with, "Letters to Logan" in the Memo Line so that she may send your letter to Logan.
6/2/2005
Here is the story written by Nora Wallace from the Santa Barbara News Press about Derek's Death. This story was sent via e mail and has no pictures.
Story on Derek From SB News Press
below is the link for the story from the Santa Maria Times written by Mark Baylis.
6/2/2005
As of today, Derek’s body is due to arrive at Dover AFB on Friday 3 June. TENTATIVELY.
Debbie and Wendy are planning a service (with military honors) at:
11:00 at the Evergreen Cemetery in Lompoc, Ca on Friday June 10th.
We will update this information when it is set in stone.
6/1/2005
Below is a link identifying those killed in the plane crash. This information was released today around 12:00 EST.
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2005/nr20050601-3461.html
News stories about Derek's Tragic Death are at the links below.
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123010634
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2005/20050531_1421.html
6/1/2005
If you would like me to post any letter on the internet in Derek's memory, I will do so. please e mail me with the letter and in the memo line, please put, "Letter for Website" and I will place it on the site. Also, if you have any pictures in jpeg format, I will also place them online.
David RIley
6/1/2005
Jenn Reed and Ana-Maria Ortega are putting together a scrapbook for Wendy and Lindsey. We are soliciting stories, pictures, and whatever anyone has from Derek and Jeremy's classmates, graduates, former teammates, coaches, instructors, and STS teammates.
If anyone would like to contribute stories or pictures, you can send them to me via E-mail:
AnaMaria.Ortega@hurlburt.af.mil, or mail them to:
Jennifer Reed or
Ana-Maria Ortega
4741 Amhurst Circle
Destin, FL 32541
If you have any questions I will be back in the office Friday morning.
Feel free to pass info on.
Ana-Maria Ortega
6/1/2005
Joel Jory has announced that the Most Valuable Swimmer / Water polo Player award at Cabrillo Senior High School will be renamed to the Derek Argel Most Valuable Player Award. This news was broken at the Cabrillo Swim Banquet On Wednesday June 1st, 2005.
5/30/2005
Our Aquatic family has lost one of our members. Capt. Derek Argel Class of 1995 has passed away fighting for our freedom in the War against Terror. Derek leaves behind his beloved wife, Wendy Argel and his newborn child Logan Argel. We will truly miss you Derek. You will always be a part of the Cabrillo Family.
Memorial services will be announced at a later date.
If you have any questions about Derek Argel and and his passing, please send us an e mail.
Webpage maintained by David Riley
