Gary Stouffer, Lawrence Boivin, Joshua Michael, William Lubbers - soldiers killed by a train

Angels of God, pray for Gary,
Lawrence, Joshua and William.
Pray that they are in Heaven. 

Four U.S. Army veterans died on November 15, 2012, in Midland, Texas. 

They were attending a parade in support of wounded veterans. They were on a float inching across a railroad track when the crossing gates began to lower and a freight train that seemed to come out of nowhere was suddenly bearing down on them, its horn blaring. Within moments the train crashed into the parade float killing these 4 men and injuring 16 others. The train was moving at 62 mph at the time of the crash, short of the 70 mph speed limit. 

There must have been a "parade permit" granted by the City to this group. Did the City not question that this parade, with numerous flatbed floats, would be travelling over a railroad track with frequent trains on it? Did the parade organizers not take into consideration that the parade would cross over railway tracks? 

We have attended many parades in our lifetimes and have never seen one that crossed over railroad tracks or over a bridge, for that matter. Parades are meant for unobstructed main drags and not for routes that have obstacles or impediments. 

Deceased are:

Lawrence Boivin

Army Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Boivin, age 47, retired from the Army after 24 years of active duty service. Deployed to Iraq several times, as well as Monrovia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan. 

He is the recipient of numerous medals of commendation. He was heavily injured from an I.E.D. and shrapnel while on duty in Iraq. 

Lawrence is survived by many loving friends and relatives including his wife Angela; his two step-daughters and his grandson, Nate, who he greatly loved. 

Thank you for serving, Lawrence.

Let us pray that Lawrence Boivin is in heaven. Let us pray that he is at peace and is with God. Amen.

Army Sgt. Maj. William Lubbers, age 43, served 24 years in the Army, 21 of which were with special forces. William served 4 tours of duty in Afghanistan and a one year tour in Pakistan. 

William Lubbers

He was injured by a gunshot wound to his arm that shattered the bone. 

William Lubbers earned the Special Forces and Ranger Tabs, Master and Freefall Parachutist Badges and was awarded three Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart and other awards.

William is survived by many loving friends and relatives including his wife, Tiffanie; and their children Zachary, age 18 and Sydnie, age 11.

Thank you for serving, William. 

Let us pray that William Lubbers is in heaven. Let us pray that he is at peace and is with God. Amen.

Army Sgt. Joshua Michael, age 34, medically retired from the U.S. Army after nearly 10 years of service.

Joshua Michael

He was a Paramedic before the Army and enlisted because of the tragedy of 9/11. 

He served 2 tours of duty in Iraq. While his wife was undergoing cancer treatments back home, Joshua was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device on three separate occasions. 

Joshua is survived by many loving friends and relatives including his wife, Daylynn; and his children Ryan and Maci. 

Thank you for serving, Joshua. 

Let us pray that Joshua Michael is in heaven. Let us pray that he is at peace and is with God. Amen.

Army Sgt. Maj. Gary Stouffer, age 37, served as an active duty Chief Warrant Officer 3 in the U.S. Marine Corps until his death.

He joined the Marines during college and served 17 years, including deployments to Albania, Kosovo, Afghanistan and twice in Iraq.

Gary Stouffer

He was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device and suffered numerous traumas from this incident. 

His awards include two combat action ribbons, multiple personal commendation medals, campaign medals from Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and numerous unit awards. Approval for a Purple Heart is pending.

Gary is survived by many loving friends and relatives including his wife, Catherine Kennedy; and their children, Shannon, age 16 and Shane, age 12.

Thank you for serving, Gary. 

Let us pray that Gary Stouffer is in heaven. Let us pray that he is at peace and is with God. Amen.

God help the men who are wounded in War and who are then killed by misadventure.  Amen. 

God have mercy on the loving survivors of these men, who will miss them forever. Amen. 

God help us all.  Amen.