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Marine: 'I think I'm truly scared'(KILLED no REPORTER FILM ON THIS)
Star-Telegram ^ | Nov. 19, 2004 | Chris Vaughn

Posted on 11/19/2004 8:23:25 PM PST by Dubya

Gary Qualls had put the letter from Louis down and tried to busy himself.

It had been hard to read the letter from his son, and he couldn't reply, not right then.

There's a lot going on here, Louis wrote. The next month will be some of the most serious combat the war has yet to see. Well, I'm right in the middle of it. I think I'm truly scared.

Dad, I need your prayers and your advice more than ever.

It was Tuesday, and Gary Qualls had returned to his house in Temple after a long weekend of hunting with an old Army friend. The trip had been a temporary distraction from worrying about his 20-year-old son, a Marine lance corporal from a reserve unit in Grand Prairie.

But distractions were always temporary. Reminders of Louis were everywhere - on CNN, on the front porch where his 1979 Harley-Davidson was parked, in the photos of Louis wearing his Temple High football uniform.

I know you've always been there for me. I just can't wait to come home. I want you to know that whatever happens in the next weeks, I have always looked up to you and I always will.

I love you and look forward to seeing you soon.

Your son,

Louis.

Louis joined the Marines after graduating from Temple High in 2001. It was hardly a surprise. He was all-boy, learning to shoot a rifle at a tender age, competing in martial arts, riding his Harley with his dad.

In high school, he wore the Air Force blue uniform of the Junior ROTC, carried the flag in the JROTC color guard, played linebacker for the Wildcats, ran track and made good grades too.

"He had a good pair of hands and he was quick on his feet," his dad said. "He played defense very well."

He was a squared-away kid in high school, quiet and attentive, according to his JROTC instructor, retired Lt. Col. Sid Thurston.

Mostly, he wanted to be like his dad. Gary had served in the Army and the National Guard for years and raised two sons almost entirely by himself.

"He had the vision that he wanted to serve in the military," Thurston said. "He looked up to his dad as an influence in his life."

In July, Louis got orders to mobilize with 85 Marines from Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marines. They said their goodbyes to family and friends on a hot morning outside the reserve center in Grand Prairie, then boarded buses.

"As soon as the mission came up, his hand came up," said Lt. Col. Roger Garay, the battalion's inspector. "His heart was in it."

Gary proudly told Louis' commander that day, "Sir, you give that boy half a chance and he'll give you everything he's got."

Those in Louis' unit were sent to Iraq to drive the heavy trucks for the infantry, but they did a lot more. In letters and e-mails, Louis told his father of house-to-house searches and how humbling they were.

"He told me, 'I thought I had a few problems when I left here,' " Gary said. "These people were so poor, they had dirt floors and a sheet hanging in the corner with a can for a toilet.

"He realized how lucky he truly was. He gained a lot more respect for life."

With less than three months of a seven-month tour behind him, Louis sent his dad an e-mail recently in which he said, cryptically, that he would be tied up for three or four weeks and wouldn't be in contact for a while.

"I knew where he was," his dad said. "Fallujah."

That was why the letter that came on Tuesday meant so much, a surprise card that Louis had picked up in a store on post, the kind with heartfelt words about sons and fathers.

About an hour after Gary read the letter inside the card came a knock on the door. Louis' younger brother, David, answered it. He came into the kitchen, where Gary had the refrigerator open.

"Dad, there's three Marines on our front porch and they want to talk to you," he said.

Gary knew why they were there. Fallujah.

"All I could do was stand at my door and say, 'No, not my baby.' "

There was a long silence as he remembered.

"Then I let them in."

Texans in Iraq

• Marine Lance Cpl. Louis Qualls, 20, of Temple died Tuesday as a result of enemy action in Fallujah, the Defense Department announced Thursday.

• Qualls was assigned to the Marine Corps Reserve's Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marines, in Grand Prairie.

• Qualls was at least the 110th Texan to die in the war in Iraq. Chris Vaughn, (817) 390-7547 cvaughn@star-telegram.com

© 2004 Star-Telegram and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.dfw.com


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: fallen; iraq; letters; marines; thelastfullmeasure; usmc
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QUALLS FAMILY VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Marine Lance Cpl. Louis Qualls of Temple joined the Marines
after graduating from high school.

1 posted on 11/19/2004 8:23:25 PM PST by Dubya
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To: All

(Gary) QUALLS

2 posted on 11/19/2004 8:25:39 PM PST by Dubya (Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,but by me)
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To: Dubya

God bless and keep Louis.


3 posted on 11/19/2004 8:26:14 PM PST by lancer (If you are not with us, you are against us!)
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To: Dubya

4 posted on 11/19/2004 8:29:44 PM PST by My Favorite Headache (I Watch TV, What Do You Want From Me?)
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To: Dubya

Prayers for his family. My heart is heavy for them.


5 posted on 11/19/2004 8:29:47 PM PST by Ciexyz (I use the term Blue Cities, not Blue States. PA is red except for Philly, Pgh & Erie.)
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To: Dubya

Prayers up.


6 posted on 11/19/2004 8:30:56 PM PST by IllumiNaughtyByNature (I got a fever, and the only perscription is MORE COWBELLS!)
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To: Dubya

God Bless You Sir.


Semper Fidelis


7 posted on 11/19/2004 8:31:53 PM PST by bubman
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To: Dubya

God bless this fine young man, this fine Marine.

May God bring peace which passeth all understanding to his family.


8 posted on 11/19/2004 8:32:32 PM PST by clee1 (Islam is a deadly plague; liberalism is the AIDS virus that prevents us from defending ourselves.)
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To: Dubya

God love you and your Family Gary, I know he loves Louis.
A Father like you


9 posted on 11/19/2004 8:33:40 PM PST by 26lemoncharlie (Defending America)
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To: Dubya

God bless.


10 posted on 11/19/2004 8:33:41 PM PST by Johnnyboy2000 (Give it all up tommorrow to live in world without crime, and go back tothe circuit riding motocross)
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To: Dubya

May God be with this family. I thank them for making the ultimate sacrifice to keep our nation safe and free.

May God give eternal rest to Louis Qualls, who laid down his life for Freedom's sake.


11 posted on 11/19/2004 8:34:04 PM PST by Palladin (Proud to be a FReeper!)
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To: bubman

Thank you and may God bless you, Qualls family.


12 posted on 11/19/2004 8:36:21 PM PST by dubyagee (Just ranting to myself...pay no mind.)
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To: Palladin

God bless this young brave man.


13 posted on 11/19/2004 8:36:45 PM PST by mv2
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To: Dubya

As Mike Reagan said. It is easy to hate liberals after a while and the same goes for reporters and their elitist attitudes.


14 posted on 11/19/2004 8:39:20 PM PST by OKIEDOC (LL THE)
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To: Dubya

Dammit. I hate this. That such good men are killed by such parasites.


15 posted on 11/19/2004 8:39:58 PM PST by Ramius (Time? What time do you think we have?)
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To: Dubya

The strength it takes to deal with this is truly unfathomable. God, it's tough. God Bless the Qualls family.

It maybe is a character defect that I have, but every time I hear news like this I get mad at God. I wonder why Michael Moore and Kevin Sites and others are still alive.


16 posted on 11/19/2004 8:43:30 PM PST by faithincowboys
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To: Dubya

God bless this young Marine and his family.


17 posted on 11/19/2004 8:44:05 PM PST by jonsie
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To: Dubya

Another fine Marine guarding Heaven's Scenes....
Prayers for the family that they will find peace knowing that their son fought for something that many Americans take for granted...Freedom...

Semper Fi


18 posted on 11/19/2004 8:46:19 PM PST by celtic gal
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To: Ramius

Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. The republic stands strong. God bless the heroes that keep us free.


19 posted on 11/19/2004 8:46:36 PM PST by farlander
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To: faithincowboys
It maybe is a character defect that I have, but every time I hear news like this I get mad at God.

Death here is different from His point of view. From His point of view there is no loss.

20 posted on 11/19/2004 8:47:11 PM PST by Ramius (Time? What time do you think we have?)
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