Posted on 08/29/2005 8:57:22 AM PDT by SmithL
"Shea told me, 'Look, if I die in the Army, do not cry,' " recalled Mahoney on Sunday. " 'Don't be sad,' he said. 'Just throw a big party in my honor and make sure everyone has a good time on me.' "
Shea, 22, was killed in action along with two other soldiers Thursday by a bomb explosion near the Iraqi-Syrian border city of Husaybah. Mahoney spent the weekend preparing to fulfill his promise.
"I've been talking to about 10 people every hour who just can't believe that he is really dead," said Mahoney who played on the football team with Shea for St. Vincent de Paul High School in Petaluma, where they both graduated in 2001. "Everybody loved Shea. He was the consummate good guy. I just got off the phone with people who have met him only once or twice, and they're crying."
Shea, born and raised in Sonoma, became a third-generation soldier after he enlisted in the Army in January 2003, according to Army Sgt. Fernando Gonzalez, who was sent to the Shea home to assist the family. Gonzalez stood outside the Shea family home Sunday afternoon as silhouettes of friends and relatives could be seen consoling one another through the house's windows. The Sheas' mailbox was adorned with black, yellow and American flag-patterned ribbons.
Friends of Shea weren't surprised when he joined the military. But some wondered about whether he could make the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Prayers for the Family.
Petaluma hero ping
Think about it. While many of his HS classmates probably graduated from some college this last spring with a meaningless education, Timothy had already served two tours of duty in A-Stan, successfully completed the toughest course the US Army has to offer, and was serving in a god forsaken hell hole on a third combat tour. Timothy Shea had experienced things that those who will drink to him can only imagine. RIP Soldier.
Rangers Lead The Way!
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