i just got this email from a close friend of mine.....
Just thought I would pass this on to a few of you. For obvious reasons,
I'm not sharing this info with anyone in my family so do me a favor and
don't mention this to them if you happen to talk to my wife or mom.
Pray for the Hines family (I'm not going to give his first name or
rank). Last night he was KIA here in Baghdad. He was the second
soldier from my Task Force to be KIA since we got here in March. The
difference here is I did not know the other soldier whereas Hines, I
knew pretty well. In fact, he was the driver for humvee that the
platoon leader always rides in and this is the platoon I will probably
soon take over. I spend most of my time with them to get to know the
guys and I ride in the same humvee every time we go out on missions.
Obviously, he would have been my driver had this not occured. His
humvee was struck dead on in the windshield by an RPG (bazooka) and the
RPG penetrated the glass windshield and hit him directly in the face.
I'm sure you can
imagine the results. Fortunately, everyone else had just dismounted
from the humvee because it caught on fire after impact so no one else
was injured. Its weird, I was supposed to be with them but got called
away just before we left so I couldn't go on the mission. I always sit
right behind him, but I would have dismounted as well so it would not
have involved me. He was a newlywed whose wife is also in the Army here
in Baghdad and she has been notified. Anyway, I don't write this for
any sorrow or boy, that was close Jeff. That is irrelevant. But, he
was a great kid and I felt compelled to pass his name on. Maybe you can
pass this on to others and make them realize what some people sacrifice
for them to have the right to live how they choose. It's one thing to
hear a name on tv, but its a whole new ballgame when you spoke to the
guy a few hours before he died. So, all I ask is for each of you to
take a moment and think of this kid and his family. My favorite quote
is one by Teddy Roosevelt; I'll pass it on later if anyone is
interested. But the quote is known as "Daring Greatly" and this kid
embodied it to the core. Thanks and hopefully I won't be sending any
more of these out anytime soon.
JM
Just thought I would pass this on to a few of you. For obvious reasons,
I'm not sharing this info with anyone in my family so do me a favor and
don't mention this to them if you happen to talk to my wife or mom.
Pray for the Hines family (I'm not going to give his first name or
rank). Last night he was KIA here in Baghdad. He was the second
soldier from my Task Force to be KIA since we got here in March. The
difference here is I did not know the other soldier whereas Hines, I
knew pretty well. In fact, he was the driver for humvee that the
platoon leader always rides in and this is the platoon I will probably
soon take over. I spend most of my time with them to get to know the
guys and I ride in the same humvee every time we go out on missions.
Obviously, he would have been my driver had this not occured. His
humvee was struck dead on in the windshield by an RPG (bazooka) and the
RPG penetrated the glass windshield and hit him directly in the face.
I'm sure you can
imagine the results. Fortunately, everyone else had just dismounted
from the humvee because it caught on fire after impact so no one else
was injured. Its weird, I was supposed to be with them but got called
away just before we left so I couldn't go on the mission. I always sit
right behind him, but I would have dismounted as well so it would not
have involved me. He was a newlywed whose wife is also in the Army here
in Baghdad and she has been notified. Anyway, I don't write this for
any sorrow or boy, that was close Jeff. That is irrelevant. But, he
was a great kid and I felt compelled to pass his name on. Maybe you can
pass this on to others and make them realize what some people sacrifice
for them to have the right to live how they choose. It's one thing to
hear a name on tv, but its a whole new ballgame when you spoke to the
guy a few hours before he died. So, all I ask is for each of you to
take a moment and think of this kid and his family. My favorite quote
is one by Teddy Roosevelt; I'll pass it on later if anyone is
interested. But the quote is known as "Daring Greatly" and this kid
embodied it to the core. Thanks and hopefully I won't be sending any
more of these out anytime soon.
JM
