Loss

This week, after an already tough week and while I am still NY, we found out that Rob lost a dear lifelong friend in Afghanistan. Please keep the family and friends in your prayers at this time. If you read the article below, you will know that Rob entered the Marines in 1987 and Scott did not as the article points out to an old football injury. Rob, Scott's brother Lee (Luke ias his mother called him) and Scott played high school football in Franklin, NH and were inseperable. Scott never gave up his dream of defending his country and we thank him for the ultimate sacrifice he gave defending our freedom.

FRANKLIN – A former city police officer and father of four was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan Monday while serving with a New Hampshire National Guard unit whose mission was to train Afghani troops.
Cpl. Scott Dimond, 39, of Franklin, died as a result of injuries sustained from an improvised explosive device, according to Maj. Gen. Kenneth Clark, adjutant general of the New Hampshire National Guard.

DIMOND
Clark said Dimond was traveling in a military convoy that came under enemy attack near Lashkar Gah, the capital of the Helmand province.
This had been Dimond's first overseas deployment, said his mother, Marie Gnerre, who works as a restorative aide at the New Hampshire Veterans Home in Tilton.
Dimond had retired as a police officer two years ago.
"He just wanted to protect his country. He wanted to keep his family and everyone safe. He felt it was his duty to his country,"said a hushed, grieving Gnerre. "Scott was the most gentle person. He had a big heart. He was a wonderful person; he was a wonderful son."
Dimond has four children. Two teenagers are from a previous marriage and attend Franklin High School, Gnerre said. He and his wife, Jen, have 4- and 7-year-old daughters.
The little ones don't understand, but the teenagers are having a difficult time, Gnerre said.
"They don't have their daddy anymore,"Gnerre said. "These kids adored their father. He never even yelled at them."
Clark said Dimond's family can take some comfort knowing he was committed to serving others, both as a former police officer and citizen solder.
"His sacrifice for our freedom will never be forgotten,"he said.
Dimond, a soldier with C Company, 3rd of the 172nd Mountain Infantry Regiment, was deployed in January. He served as part of a New Hampshire Army Guard embedded tactical training team, working as mentors to the Afghan National Army and the country's police force.
Dimond was one of four children; his older brother, Luke, died in a drowning accident in 1987, Gnerre said.
Initially, he had planned to enter the Marine Corps in 1987, the year he graduated from high school. But his mother said the Marines wouldn't take him because of a football injury, so he took a job with Franklin police.
He started as a dispatcher, then moved up to special officer, then full-time officer. He retired in 2006, and was taking pre-med courses, his mother said.
He planned to earn a nursing degree and work alongside his mother caring for aged and injured veterans.
"He was a great guy who did a great job as a police officer and was a wonderful family man. This is an absolute tragedy,'' said former Franklin Police Chief Doug Boyd, who hired Dimond in 1988 and saw him mature as a police officer for the next 13 1/2 years.
"I can't say enough about him. I wish I had had five more just like him,'' said Boyd. "He was really close to his family and this is a tough situation for them.''
Fire Chief Scott Clarenbach recalled Dimond as being a dedicated police officer who enjoyed police work and got along well with his colleagues and members of other city departments.
"It's a really sad thing for the whole city,'' said Clarenbach.
Gov. John Lynch said his thoughts are with Dimond's family.
"He served his state and his nation with dignity, courage and honor,"Lynch said in a written statement. "He was a hero who sacrificed protecting all of us. On behalf of the citizens of New Hampshire, our deepest sympathies go out to the entire Dimond family."