Brooklyn man killed in Iraq
Matthew L. Brown - Chronicle Staff Writer
BROOKLYN — The latest round of violence in Iraq Thursday claimed the life of a Brooklyn resident who grew up in South Windham.
Eric Miner, 44, was the first civilian from Connecticut to be killed since the Iraq war began.
Two suicide bombers Thursday killed 10 civilians, including Miner, who was working for a private U.S. contractor. It was one of the bloodiest attacks inside Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, an attack claimed by America’s top enemy in Iraq.
This morning, a woman who identified herself as Miner’s sister said Miner, a father of three, had been in Iraq since the end of July, and had been in regular contact with family stateside.
"For the most part, he felt it was his duty to go over there," she said. Still distraught over Miner’s death, his sister spoke only briefly.
Miner worked for DynCorp, a subsidiary of California-based Computer Sciences Corp.
DynCorp specializes in telecommunications, computer network integration, healthcare and defense-related support in the areas of logistics, maintenance and infrastructure management.
Miner’s sister said he worked in telecommunications in the U.S., as well.
Andrew Carey III of Windham counted Miner as one of his closest friends.
"He was a wonderful man. A loving father and husband. I had a great deal of respect for him," a tearful Carey said this morning. Carey was with Miner’s family Thursday night.
That's your tribute to your cousin, a cut and paste news item? Don't you have any personal insights that honor his life?
Do you have any reflective conclusions from this event other than Islam is a scourge that needs to be exterminated from the face of the Earth?
How is that, in any way, honoring your cousin's death? Was he hired by Dyncorp to go to Iraq and wipe the scourge of Islam off the planet? He was there, ostensibly, to provide protection for the players who were building a new, democratic Muslim nation. Did he die for naught?
I am confounded by that thinking.