2012
American Flags at Half-staff in Honor of Private First Class Dustin D. Gross
Kentucky’s Gov. Ordered Flags to Half-Staff in Honor of Local Soldier Who Lost His Life Private First Class Dustin D. Gross, 19, of Jefferson, Kentucky died on May 7th, in the Ghazni province of Afghanistan. Pfc. Dustin Gross died from injuries sustained from enemy forces attack on his unit with an improvised explosive device. Gross was a member of the 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg, N.C. He was subsequently awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the Army Good Conduct medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge. Dustin graduated high school in 2011 from Montgomery County High School in Mount Sterling. This past Saturday in Montgomery County friends and family met to honor Dustin. One after another, people stopped by the American Legion Post to pay their respects to Dustin and his family. “I figured there’d be a good turnout but I expected nothing like this,” said Jill Tipton, Dustin’s aunt. Steve Beshear, the Governor of Kentucky, has mandated that American flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff on Thursday, May 17th, 2012, in honor of Pfc. Gross who gave his life supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Funeral … 
