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Cpl. Scott Dimond, 39, died on Oct. 13 from injuries he sustained from an improvised explosive device.
WBZ

CONCORD, N.H. (WBZ) ― A New Hampshire National Guardsman has been killed while fighting the war in Iraq.

Cpl. Scott Dimond, 39, died on Oct. 13 from injuries he sustained from an improvised explosive device.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Scott's family during this time of deep sadness," said Maj. Gen. Kenneth Clark, the Adjutant General of the NH National Guard. "May they take some comfort in knowing that Scott was committed to serving others, both as a former police officer for the town of Franklin and a citizen-soldier. His sacrifice for our freedom will never be forgotten."

Dimond was with the C Company, 3rd of the 172nd Mountain Infantry Regiment. His unit was deployed in January.

Dimond was a police officer with the town of Franklin, N.H. from 1998 to 2006.

http://wbztv.com/local/newhampshire/soldier.killed.iraq.2.840472.html

 

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Memorial Fund Established For Family Of National Guardsman

Guardsman Killed By Explosive Device In Afghanistan

FRANKLIN, N.H. -- A memorial fund has been established for a New Hampshire National Guardsman killed Monday in Afghanistan.

Cpl. Scott Dimond, 39, of Franklin, died of injuries from an improvised explosive device that exploded as he was traveling in a military convoy. He leaves a wife and four children.

The memorial fund is at Northway Bank in Franklin.
Dimond was deployed in January as part of a New Hampshire Army Guard embedded tactical training team and was working as a mentor to the Afghan National Army and the country's police force.

Dimond was a Franklin police officer from 1988 until he joined the National Guard two years ago.

Previous Stories:

• October 15, 2008: National Guard Soldier From Franklin Killed In Afghanistan

http://www.wmur.com/news/17740813/detail.html

 

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Franklin Mourners Line Streets As Soldier's Body Returns

Town Gathers For Vigil For Fallen Soldier

Video: Vigil Held For Soldier Slain In Afghanistan

FRANKLIN, N.H. -- A New Hampshire community paused Monday to remember a soldier killed in combat as the body of National Guard Cpl. Scott Dimond was escorted to his hometown of Franklin.

Dimond was killed in action in Afghanistan one week ago.

Franklin residents lined the streets as the long, somber caravan made its way through town. Flags were at half-staff as the town mourned its first casualty of the war.
A row of Franklin police officers paid their respects. Dimond had an 18-year career with the Franklin Police Department, and his colleagues said he was well loved and respected by all who knew him.

Retired Police Chief Douglas Boyd helped Dimond rise from dispatcher to sergeant.

"His legacy is going to be he was the best of the best," Boyd said. "He was a wonderful family man, a great individual. Just an absolute tragedy, an absolute tragedy."

The vigil along the streets of Franklin was unplanned. Word of mouth brought groups of people from neighboring towns. New National Guard troops who trained with Dimond before he was deployed also joined in.

"We said, 'When you come back, we'll have a party waiting for you,'" said Pvt. Darren Dowers. "He's coming back and were pretty much having a party for him anyways."

Helen Bryson said she is close to the Dimond family and also has two sons in the military. One deploys in January, and her sons were on her mind as she watched Dimond's body return to Franklin.

"But that's what they want to do," Bryson said. "I'll support them."

The town of Franklin is offering its support to Dimond's wife, his four children and his parents, who had already buried one son, the victim of a drowning accident.

Calling hours will be held Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Franklin Middle School, 200 Sanborn St., in Franklin.

A funeral service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at Franklin Middle School. He will then be buried with full military honors in Franklin Cemetery in Franklin.

http://www.wmur.com/news/17765188/detail.html

 

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UK Journalist Captures Explosion That Killed NH Soldier

Video Captures Harrowing Moments Following Explosion

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- A British journalist was traveling with a group of National Guardsmen when a soldier from New Hampshire was killed in an explosion in Afghanistan one week ago.

Nick Meo, a reporter for the Telegraph, began filming after the armored vehicle he was in struck a mine that was apparently placed by the Taliban. Cpl. Scott Dimond, 39, of Franklin, N.H., was killed in the explosion.

A video posted on the Telegraph's site (embedded below) shows the confusion that followed the attack, as Meo tries to find a safe location to talk. Regular gunfire can be heard as Meo pans the camera to show soldiers firing into the night.
"Well, we've just been hit," Meo says at the beginning of the video. "The armored vehicle I was in was blown up. I don't know what happened to the gunner. I think he's dead."

The gunner was Dimond, who was manning the heavy machine gun and had his head poking out of the vehicle's hatch. At one point in the video, an officer can be heard calling in to report "one KIA," one person killed in action.

The video captures the confusion of the aftermath of the explosion as the soldiers try to determine whether they are under attack. In a story on the Telegraph Web site, Meo goes into greater detail and describes running for cover and injuries to two other soldiers.

When Meo returned to the Kandahar airfield, he learned that officials there believed he had been killed in the explosion.

On Monday, crowds lined streets in Franklin as Dimond's body was returned. He had an 18-year career with the Franklin Police Department, and his colleagues said he was well loved and respected by all who knew him.

Dimond leaves a wife and four children. Calling hours will be held Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Franklin Middle School, 200 Sanborn St., in Franklin.

A funeral service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at Franklin Middle School. He will then be buried with full military honors in Franklin Cemetery in Franklin.

• Telegraph TV journalist Nick Meo captures the moments following the apparent ambush that killed Cpl. Scott Dimond. Note: The images contained in this video are powerful and intense. Viewer discretion is advised.

• Video: http://www.wmur.com/news/17771380/detail.html

 

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Franklin Honors Fallen Soldier, Police Officer

Relatives Remember Soldier As Rambunctious Kid



Video: Relatives Remember Soldier As Rambunctious Kid

FRANKLIN, N.H. -- People packed the Franklin Middle School gym on Saturday to honor fallen Army National Guard Cpl. Scott Dimond.

The military presented his family with six awards that included The Bronze Star, The Purple Heart and the Combat Infantry Badge.

The father of four died in Afghanistan last week in a roadside bomb attack. He was 39 years old.
From a very young age, Dimond wanted to be in the military. His friends talked about the war games they played in the back yard and how he grew to be someone so many people in the state respected.

Relatives said Dimond started out as a rambunctious kid.

"I was proud of you when you first walked. Picture Scott in diapers, getting into everything, that was Scott," Dimond's father, Leland, said. "I was proud of you when you were big enough to wrestle in front of the TV watching wrestling."

He grew up to be a respected police officer for 18 years in Franklin, and, most recently, a proud military man who joined the National Guard and deployed to Afghanistan in January.

"Scott led by example. He always wanted to take that front truck, that front gun truck, because he felt these kids behind him, that they deserved what he had to go after and that it was his experience to bring them home safely," said Sgt. William Witcher, a childhood friend.

People lined the streets of Franklin to watch the funeral procession in a last chance, to say goodbye.

Dimond's death is the 34th New Hampshire casualty since the war on terror began in 2001.

Previous Stories:

• October 24, 2008: Community Mourns Fallen Soldier
• October 24, 2008: Flags Ordered To Half-Staff For Fallen Soldier
• October 21, 2008: UK Journalist Captures Explosion That Killed NH Soldier
• October 20, 2008: Franklin Mourners Line Streets As Soldier's Body Returns
• October 20, 2008: Fallen Soldier's Remains To Return Home To Franklin

http://www.wmur.com/news/17803364/detail.html