| IN THE NEWS!!!! |
| White Co. Local Dies in Iraq Much of White County is expected to pause from normal business on Friday and to line U.S. 129 to pay respects to the memory of Sgt. Jason Harkins as his funeral procession makes its way to Yonah View Memorial Gardens. The 25-year-old Harkins, a White County native, was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq on May 6. Funeral services are set for 2 p.m. on Friday, May 18 at Concord Baptist Church in Clermont with Barrett Funeral Home in charge. At around 2:45-3 p.m., the funeral procession is expected to travel up U.S. 129 through Cleveland before turning onto Hwy. 75 to go to Yonah View Memorial Gardens. Crowds are expected to line the highway and around the downtown square to pay respects to Harkins' memory and the family. The chamber of commerce has bought about 1,000 small American flags for the crowds to wave in his memory. The flags can be picked up at the chamber of commerce and the White County News. Businesses are also being asked to close from 2:45 p.m. until after the procession passes. Businesses, government buildings and schools throughout White County are asked to keep flags at half-staff until after the funeral. about the incident at presstime except that Harkins was in a vehicle patrolling a road between Baghdad and Baqouba when an improvised bomb detonated around 11 a.m. Baghdad time, or 4 a.m. in the eastern U.S. Harkins held the highest rank of the four soldiers killed who had been identified at presstime. Six servicemen were killed altogether, as well as a Russian photographer who was working for Newsweek. His aunt, Gail Nix of Cleveland, said the family is devastated. “He was so special,” said Nix through tears. “He was always making somebody laugh, and he was always there for you.” She said Harkins wanted to follow his father's footsteps into the Army since he was a little boy, stalking the yard with a toy rifle. “He looked up to his father,” said Nix. “He always wanted to be like his daddy.” Harkins' brother Matthew Harkins, a 17-year-old White County High School student, said his older brother was his hero, one with whom he enjoyed a unique bond. Family members said the brothers, while they picked on each other like most siblings, were also inseparable when they were both home. Harkins was a squad leader in the 3rd Infantry Division deployed to an area northeast of Baghdad. He was on his second deployment to Iraq, having served a year-long tour there in 2003-04. Between deployments, he married Jan. 28, 2006, and graduated from jump school in May 2006 before heading back to the Middle East in June 2006. He was scheduled to return in June, but his deployment was extended to October. Nix said Harkins was sensing the danger of their mission in recent days. A few weeks ago, he told family members that he had something to show their prayers were being heard: a bullet had hit his helmet, and while some of his comrades were injured in a shootout, somehow, he had survived. He had also entered a danger zone to pull one of his soldiers from trouble, heroism for which he was soon to receive a Bronze Star for valor, said Nix. Instead, Harkins' body is being shipped back to White County for burial. His widow, Gadsden, Ala.-native Emily Harkins, has been living near her husband's home base in Fort Lewis, Wash. Nix said a memorial service at Fort Lewis is tentatively scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 15. She said the Army plans to erect a memorial for all six soldiers who died at Arlington National Cemetery. After the family returns, funeral services for Harkins will be held at Concord Baptist Church in Clermont. Services will be handled by Barrett Funeral Home and burial will be at Memorial Gardens, said Nix. There are discussions about the entire town can pay honor to his memory the day of the funeral. Harkins is thought to be the first White County native to be killed in the Iraq War, but not the first casualty to have local connections. Lance Cpl. Holly Charette, the daughter of Raymond Charette of Cleveland, was killed in Iraq by an explosive that detonated inside of a nearby car in June 2005. The other soldiers killed along with Harkins on Sunday included: Spc. Joe Lewis, 28, of Tulsa, Okla., Spc. Anthony Bradshaw, 21, of El Paso and Pfc. Michael Purcell, 19, of Utah. The other soldiers had not been identified. Also killed was Russian photographer Dmitry Chebotayev, 27, who was working for Newsweek. Harkins was the son of Allen and Nancy Fritchey, who recently moved to White County's Tom Teague Road. He's also the son of Bobby and April Harkins, who live off Clara Bell Drive in White County. Along with his brother Matthew Harkins, 17, he is also survived by Daniel Harkins, 11, of Colorado Springs, Colo. |
| Jason Harkins shown with his mom, Nancy Fritchey, and brother, Matthew Harkins. |
| Harkins remembered for faith, love of country By Will Davis White County News Jason Harkins liked to fish, loved Jesus and had a pet cat named Simba, according to family members and friends mourning the White County sergeant killed Sunday while serving his country in Iraq. His aunt, Gail Nix of Cleveland, said when he wasn't soldiering, Harkins could often be found scouting area waterways for trophy fish. She also noted with a laugh that the tall, big- shouldered infantryman shared with his wife, Emily, a beloved pet feline named Simba. But the most common thread in people's memories of Harkins is his unashamed faith in God. As a sergeant, Harkins was able to minister to the spiritual needs of many of the younger men in his unit who were making their first trip to the war zone, said Nix. When Harkins was home, he attended Concord Baptist Church in Clermont, where his mom and stepdad, Allen and Nancy Fritchey, are active members. The Rev. Alan Morris, pastor of Concord Baptist in Clermont, said the Fritcheys were uneasy about Harkins being an infantryman, but said he believed in the cause. Morris said Harkins and his wife were faithful attenders at their church in Washington state, and they were looking forward to returning home after the summer and starting a family. Nix added that Harkins had been good about calling home frequently to talk to his wife and family. Morris said Harkins also had a gift for writing, and wrote him twice to thank the church for gifts they had sent and to let them know what was going in Iraq. His emails were eloquent and descriptive, giving a taste of his life on the field, said Morris. He did not like to be called a hero, said Morris, but just wanted people to know he was an ordinary guy having to do an extraordinary job. He felt honored to be there and to serve his country, said Morris. Harkins' mother, Nancy Fritchey, said she wants God to get the glory for her son's life and character. Emily Harkins said the words of Psalm 144:1-2 well-described her late husband: “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war; My safe guard and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, My shield, in whom I trust, who subdues peoples under me.” She said her husband loved being a soldier. Asked what the community could do for the family, Nix said, “pray.” Concord Baptist is also collecting monies through its benevolence fund to offset the costs of the family's plane flight to Fort Lewis and due to loss of work during this time. For more information call the church office at 770-983-7272 (ext. 202). Before getting Sunday's terrible news, the Fritcheys had been preparing to re-open their business, Fritchey's Garden in Clarkesville, on Monday. But now, of course, all that is on hold. |
| Welcome home, soldier By Will Davis The Iraq War has birthed an army of Monday morning quarterbacks, most of them full-throated Bush-haters mumbling obsenities about the president and his stupid war while reading the New York Times on their foutons. But every now and then you meet someone who's actually gotten their boots dirty in the barren deserts of Mesopotamia while trying to establish a safehouse for peace in the heart of the violent Middle East. Such a man, Staff Sgt. Richard Sinyard of White County, walked into my office on Monday just days after returning from a year's duty in Iraq's al-Nasiriah province. When I meet such a man, I shake off my war fatigue to ask, what do you think about our much-derided four-year-old mission there, sir? Sinyard, 42, is no stranger to overseas missions in combat zones, having served in Panama and then in Gulf War I under the first President Bush. For Sinyard, this one was quite different though. Then, he was a bachelor, no strings, no attachments. This time, he left behind his new bride, Heather Alonso Sinyard of White County (“my best friend,” he calls her, choking back tears) and the three children they brought to their union. That made it much harder to be away, said Sinyard. But there were improvements, big ones, since his last trip to Iraq some 16 years ago. For instance, now soldiers enjoy e-mail, air conditioning, a bed and four hot meals a day. It was a big upgrade from his last trip, when he slept in a hole he dug in the desert while waiting to liberate Kuwait in 1990. Sinyard's unit was assigned to the relatively peaceful Al Nasiriyah province, where he helped keep supplies moving to the forward operating base, Camp Adder. Sinyard saw very little combat and in a year fired merely one flare, at an automobile that started coming too close to their vehicle. It's hardly the stuff of a “quagmire,” or “hopeless effort,” as critics like to call it. Sinyard, whose 5-foot-6 frame and disarming smile make him seem a teddy bear in fatigues, also found time to distribute shoes to kids and to work on irrigation projects to try to build relationships of trust with native Iraqis. One local teacher who spoke good English told Sinyard she hoped the Americans would stick around. “It (the effort) was working in our area,” said Sinyard. “They seemed very accepting of us.” But Sinyard, a self-described news junkie, said what he was seeing every day in Iraq was quite different from what was being reported by news outlets back home. Sinyard said after reading all the depressing and critical reports about the war on the Internet, he figured he'd be a paraiah when he got back home. “With all the negative stuff, I kind of expected it to be like when my dad came back from Veitnam,” said Sinyard, recalling the hostility his father encountered from other Americans upon his return from that unpopular war. But Sinyard said the opposite has been true. ”Everybody's been so positive, very welcoming and supportive,” said Sinyard. Someone even decorated his wife's car before she went to pick him up at Fort Stewart outside Savannah. “The only negative stuff has been in the news. What world are they living in?” What world indeed. While the public hasn't turned against the troops yet, it appears much of the U.S. media and most members of one political party have. They are so inflamed with hate for Bush that they have allied themselves with America's enemies in Iraq. They amplify every car bomb, relish the mounting number of GIs killed, discount every American success and seem eager to join our enemies in listing our real and imagined sins, from the Abu Graibh prison photos to false allegations of abuse at Guantanamo Bay. Somewhere in eternity, Benedict Arnold is demanding an apology. And Sinyard noted that while the troops may be doing their jobs on the ground, the media and politicans are eroding the public will at home. The Democratic senate leader, Harry Reid, recently proclaimed, to our enemies' delight, that we have lost in Iraq. Saddam Hussein once again couldn't be reached for comment. Having spent 12 months in Iraq, Sinyard has no delusions that the mission is easy or fun. “It was the most unpleasant 15 months of my life,” said Sinyard of the training and then deployment. But as much as he doesn't want to go back, he says he would if necessary to finish the job. He said if the American people stay supportive, the troops can deliver the kind of strength that will earn the respect of the Iraqis and stabilize the country. That's what the surge being led by the new general in Iraq, David Petraeus, is all about. In the Middle East, where malevolent dictatorships flourish, people fear and obey strength more than anything else, said Sinyard. Whoever shows the most strength, whether it's the U.S., or al-Qaeda and the Iran-backed terrorists, will likely have won a decisive battle in World War III. Now will somebody please tell that to our fellow Americans who, and I say this with more sadness than contempt, seem to be cheering for the other side? |
| Macon Marine killed in Iraq A 21-year-old Marine from Macon was killed during combat in the Anbar province of Iraq on Monday, according to a statement released by the military Wednesday. Marine Lance Cpl. Jeffrey D. Walker of Macon died in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said 2nd Lt. Richard Ulsh, public affairs officer for the 2nd Marine Logistics Group, stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Ulsh said Walker joined the Marines on Sept. 1, 2004, and received training as a logistics vehicle systems operator. Assigned to combat logistics, Walker was deployed to Iraq earlier this year, Ulsh said. Ulsh said he couldn't release information about how Walker died and he didn't know when his body would be transported back to the United States. Walker received the Iraq Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Sea Service Ribbon prior to his death, Ulsh said. Although Walker was stationed at Camp Lejeune, Ulsh said his home of record was in Macon. Mother of soldier salutes those who serve their country To the editor: At the age of 16 my son, Johnathon, came to tell me he wanted to join the military. And, of course, as a worried and over- protective mother, I said, “No, you're not.” Time passed and he wrote a poem about being a soldier. I still said, “No, you're not.” When he turned 19 there was nothing I could do to stop him from enlisting in the Navy. I submit this poem as a dedication to him and to all the ladies and gentlemen who have served or will serve in the military. Johnathon, we love you and are so very proud of you. Thanks from a loving mother. Deanna Fuller -Cleveland Soldier My job's not like your job. No matter how hard your job is, I wake up in the morning With only a picture of my kids. I haven't seen my family For going on one year, But I do my job everyday So they will not have to fear. I cannot tell you the last time I had a full night's rest, Because it's kinda hard to sleep Holding a gun and wearing a vest. I don't whine about the hours Or gripe about the pay. I thank God I'm able to do my job, Because in my line of work My friends get “laid off” everyday. I don't hate my boss As you so often do, Because the only boss I work for Is the great Red, White and Blue. |
| War comes home By Michelle Gunnin The war came home this week. One of our own, Jason Harkins, was struck down by a roadside bomb in Iraq. And with that strike, the heart of every mother wretched within her chest. It is our nightmare, to bury a child. There are no words, only unutterable groans and tears as mother's hearts unite in this horror. The news is especially cruel the week of Mother's Day. The fact that he died a hero's death is little consolation when standing beside your son's grave. God must've cried like this as he watched his son die at the hands of men. I am convinced that his heart broke that dark day, just as our hearts are broken today for Jason's family. Violence isn't new to our world. It has been here since the dawn of time when man chose to follow his own selfish desires. Cain and Abel were the first to learn of its power, and we have been killing each other ever sinceŠas God weeps. History shows us that this is much bigger than a war in Iraq. It is bigger than our current politics, though the devil would have you think otherwise. This is a war for our souls. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:12-13. This verse is clear, we are not fighting men and as long as we think that our war is against men, we will loose. It is not an accident that our country is so divided about this warŠthat is the master plan of the devil. Divide and conquer. It is only when we unite on our faces in prayer that the battle will be won. If you need proof that this war is a spiritual battle just ask Jason's mom, Nancy Fritchey. Nancy is a woman of prayer. She knows the power of God on her knees. Last week she helped lead a prayer service for the National Day of Prayer. She cried out to God for our nation. She poured out a mother's heart before the throne for our soldiers and there was power in her prayers. Today she weeps for her own. Do you think it is coincidence that her son was killed? On the day of prayer, the spiritual battle heated up. She struck a blow to the forces of darkness and they did not like it. The retaliation was swift; the message unmistakable, ‘if you pray people you love will die.' Isn't it just like the enemy of our souls, to threaten us with our greatest fearŠthe fear of losing a child? He would like nothing more than to grieve us into not praying. He would like us to fight each other, argue politics, and hate one another. After all, he comes to steal, kill and destroy. Our spiritual vision is distorted when we are in emotional pain, then we fall for his tactics and enter into his plan. His strategy has not changed for generations. This week a family is broken in our own community. The violence half a world away reached out and grabbed us to remind us that our children are not safe. More than ever, our prayers are needed. We weep with the family on this Mother's Day as they await their son's homecoming. We cry out to God on their behalf. We hold them up in prayer when they need God's strength. We do not give up the spiritual battle for our children or our country. We will fightŠon our knees. |
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| January 7, 2008- This is Iran's Revolutionary Guard from this week, playing around in a "MOST SERIOUS" way with our military. This is raw Video and audio recordings of U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf, and a voice speaking in heavily-accented English can be heard threatening that the American vessels were going to explode, military officials said.The Pentagon has released video footage of the confrontation between US and Iranian boats in the Gulf. (AFP - Five Iranian speedboats harassed three US navy ships as they transited the strategic Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, radioing a threat to blow them up, a Pentagon official said Monday....) |
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