Pfc. Jesse Givens
Posted on 05/05/2003 2:41:11 PM PDT by rface
The war in Iraq has hit home with a local family's loss of a son.
Jesse Givens, son of Dennis Givens of Jefferson City, drowned last week when his tank plunged into a canal in Fallujah, about 30 miles west of Baghdad.
Pfc. Jesse Givens, from Joplin, was a soldier in the Heavy Company, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. He was the driver of a 65-ton, four-man tank that fell into the river when the bank underneath it gave way.
A story by the Colorado Springs Gazette said Capt. Bren Workman, a spokesman for the regiment, reported Givens and the crew were responding to a fire set by Iraqis near some explosives when the accident happened.
Dennis Givens said his son left a pregnant wife and 5-year-old son when he went to fight for Iraq's freedom.
"I just want people to realize what this war is costing, and the price for freedom is always paid for by young men that are willing to leave their families and their pregnant wives and little kids," he said.
"I just want people to know that it's a sacrifice that's not free, whether we believe we're doing a lot over there or not."
With the loss of his son, Givens said Jesse's fears are a reality.
"He wasn't worried about going to war, he said he was the best driver of the best tank for the best division," he said. "He was just scared that his kids would grow up without a father."
Givens said when the river bank collapsed under the weight of the tank, the armored vehicle plunged nose first into the river. Givens was told the tank's gun was buried four feet in mud at the river bottom.
Workman said the other three crew members escaped. But Givens, the driver, was unable to get out because both escape hatches were blocked.
"Three weeks ago, this wouldn't have happened, because they were still in the combat mode and those Iraqis that keep setting the fires, they would have just shot them," Dennis Givens said.
"But now they're supposed to be peace keepers, and those guys now are probably in more danger because they can't fire on them until fired at."
Givens said his son was well-respected by his peers and that Jesse's sergeant will escort the body back to the U.S.
"His sergeant wanted us to know that Jesse never panicked, he was calm and cool and fought it as long as he could, and he just couldn't fight it anymore," he said.
"And he told us that he would receive a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star -- which right now doesn't mean a whole lot."
Givens said Jesse joined the Army two years ago after he was laid off from his job as a retail store manager in Joplin. He was stationed in Colorado Springs, where his family still resides.
"He was talking about how he didn't want to go, 'But I'm ready,'" Dennis Givens said.
Jesse Givens recently had been accepted for advanced officer training.
His father said, "And I told him, 'Jesse, if you've been accepted, go ahead and accept it and don't put it off, and that way you'll be home when the baby is born, and when you go (to Iraq), you can go as a lieutenant.'
"And he said, 'Dad, do you think I'd let my tank crew go over there without me? I'm not about to do that.'"
Dennis Givens added: "(Jesse) was really proud of what he was doing. He was proud of being in the Army. He was proud of his uniform.
"He had decided to make it a career -- I guess that decision's been made for him."
Givens is survived by his father, his mother and step-mother and four brothers. A memorial service for Jesse Givens will be held at Fort Carson Army Base later this week.
Ashland, Missouri
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