Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
USA Today
August 24, 2007
Pg. 11
By Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — Nathan Hubbard came from a family of soldiers that had already lost one son to the war. Rickey Bell was due to fly home in less than a month. Michael Hook couldn't wait to get back to the states — his fiancée is pregnant.
They were among 14 U.S. soldiers aboard a Black Hawk helicopter when it crashed Wednesday in northern Iraq. The military said it appeared the aircraft was lost due to mechanical problems. There were no survivors.
The 14 came from across the country: California, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington. Some were based in Hawaii; others in Washington state.
The military did not immediately release their names, but others offered glimpses into some of their lives.
The death of Army Spc. Hubbard, 21, is the second tragedy for his family, which lost another son in Iraq three years ago, The Fresno Bee reported.
The Hubbards, of Clovis, Calif., lost Nathan's older brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Hubbard, to a roadside bomb in downtown Ramadi in 2004. A third brother, Jason, will be returning home from Iraq to be with his family, Clovis police spokeswoman Janet Stoll-Lee said.
Garrett Ian McLead, 23, was a surfer from Rockport, Texas, who was on his second tour in the Middle East, said Rockport Police Chief Tim Jayroe, a family friend.
"Garrett was a fun-loving kid who grew up to be a really dedicated young man," Jayroe said.
Bell, 21, was due to come home to Caruthersville, Mo., on leave Sept. 13, his aunt, Glenda Overbey, said.
"I knew him when he was a little boy," said J.J. Bullington, his former middle school principal. "I taught him swimming."
Another victim, Josh Harmon, 20, of Mentor-on-the-Lake, Ohio, about 25 miles northeast of Cleveland, was a combat medic in the Army, said Tim Serazin, a lieutenant at the nearby Willoughby Hills Fire Department, where Harmon's father, Richard, serves as chief. The family has a tradition of public service, he said. "He was very proud of his father, and his father was very proud of him," Serazin said.
Hook, 25, of Altoona, Pa., had been in Iraq for almost a year on his first tour, said his father, Larry Hook, who lives north of Atlantic City.
"He died doing what he wanted to do," Larry Hook told the Altoona Mirror in Thursday's editions. "But it's been pretty devastating."
Another Missouri victim was Jessy Pollard, a 2003 high school graduate from Springfield. "He was fighting for our American freedoms that we enjoy," Pollard's stepfather, Alan Dewitt, told the Springfield, Mo., News-Leader.
August 24, 2007
Pg. 11
By Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — Nathan Hubbard came from a family of soldiers that had already lost one son to the war. Rickey Bell was due to fly home in less than a month. Michael Hook couldn't wait to get back to the states — his fiancée is pregnant.
They were among 14 U.S. soldiers aboard a Black Hawk helicopter when it crashed Wednesday in northern Iraq. The military said it appeared the aircraft was lost due to mechanical problems. There were no survivors.
The 14 came from across the country: California, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington. Some were based in Hawaii; others in Washington state.
The military did not immediately release their names, but others offered glimpses into some of their lives.
The death of Army Spc. Hubbard, 21, is the second tragedy for his family, which lost another son in Iraq three years ago, The Fresno Bee reported.
The Hubbards, of Clovis, Calif., lost Nathan's older brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Hubbard, to a roadside bomb in downtown Ramadi in 2004. A third brother, Jason, will be returning home from Iraq to be with his family, Clovis police spokeswoman Janet Stoll-Lee said.
Garrett Ian McLead, 23, was a surfer from Rockport, Texas, who was on his second tour in the Middle East, said Rockport Police Chief Tim Jayroe, a family friend.
"Garrett was a fun-loving kid who grew up to be a really dedicated young man," Jayroe said.
Bell, 21, was due to come home to Caruthersville, Mo., on leave Sept. 13, his aunt, Glenda Overbey, said.
"I knew him when he was a little boy," said J.J. Bullington, his former middle school principal. "I taught him swimming."
Another victim, Josh Harmon, 20, of Mentor-on-the-Lake, Ohio, about 25 miles northeast of Cleveland, was a combat medic in the Army, said Tim Serazin, a lieutenant at the nearby Willoughby Hills Fire Department, where Harmon's father, Richard, serves as chief. The family has a tradition of public service, he said. "He was very proud of his father, and his father was very proud of him," Serazin said.
Hook, 25, of Altoona, Pa., had been in Iraq for almost a year on his first tour, said his father, Larry Hook, who lives north of Atlantic City.
"He died doing what he wanted to do," Larry Hook told the Altoona Mirror in Thursday's editions. "But it's been pretty devastating."
Another Missouri victim was Jessy Pollard, a 2003 high school graduate from Springfield. "He was fighting for our American freedoms that we enjoy," Pollard's stepfather, Alan Dewitt, told the Springfield, Mo., News-Leader.