Posted on 12/06/2001 3:50:16 PM PST by Pokey78
THE three Green Beret soldiers killed by “friendly fire” outside Kandahar were military men to the core who died doing what they had always yearned to do, their families and friends said yesterday. The trio belonged to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. They had signed up to serve the Army from High School and none of their relatives who spoke yesterday betrayed any bitterness that their lives had been taken by a stray 2,000lb bomb dropped from an American B52 bomber called in to help them. The three were named by the the Pentagon as Master Sergeant Jefferson Davis, 39, of Watauga, Tennessee; Sergeant 1st Class Daniel Petithory, 32, of Cheshire, Massachusetts; and Staff Sergeant Brian Prosser, 28, of Fraizer Park, California. Jarudd Prosser, 22, said that his late older brother was an inspirational leader, captain of the high school football team and “an ideal model for a guy that you wanted representing our country”. Mr Prosser held back any misgivings at the circumstances in which he had lost the brother he idolised. “It’s a war. People get killed at war. It just happens one of the people we have over there was my brother,” he told The Washington Post. Brian Prosser Sr, Sergeant Prosser’s father, told the Los Angeles Times his son had died doing what he wanted to do. “He was a warrior. He was a brave man and he was willing to pay the price.” Sergeant Petithory was a “superhero kid” and Gulf War veteran who was looked up to by his peers, according to Carol Francesconi, a family friend. “He was a very nice all-American kid. He served in the Gulf War, got home safely, and went to Afghanistan because that’s what he was supposed to do.” Alfred Skrocki, Sergeant Petithory’s high-school guidance counsellor, said: “It seems like he wanted to be in the Army even before he came to school.” Michael Petithory said of his brother: “Everybody who knew him loved him.” He quoted General Patton as saying “Real Americans love the sting of battle”, adding that his brother was “born with it”. Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary, said that the inquiry into when the bomb had gone astray was continuing. He said: “These men were engaged in a noble and important cause, and their families have every right to be proud, as we all are, of their commitment and their sacrifice.” Rob Way, Chief Warrant Officer at Fort Campbell who had served with all three men, said that they would be missed by their “fellow brothers in arms”. He said that he had told them and their fellow Green Berets to “go out there and kick butt” before their departure for Afghanistan. He said that Sergeant Petithory’s nickname was Dano, after the comedian Dan Ackroyd, because of his sense of humour. “He always brought smiles to everyone’s faces,” he said. Sergeant Prosser, whose middle name was Cody, was unfailingly reliable. “We could always count on Cody to be there when we needed him.” He said that Sergeant Davis was a close personal friend and “the epitome of a quiet professional”. The family of Sergeant Davis, who leaves three children, were too distraught to speak. They issued a statement saying that he was a wonderful husband, father, son, brother, friend and soldier. It added: “His military expertise was his greatest accomplishment, second only to his family.”
Can we hope this attitude will be portrayed in the same vein with the media ?
I am proud of these relatives and friends, who keep faith with the lost servicemen by supporting their dedication and bravery. I am proud of the public stoicism in the face of great loss.
May God bless them all, and may He receive these noble servants into his kingdon, for they have served faithfully and well.
Sad, tragic, touching....all of this and more.
Damn the leftist press if they try to make a soap opera out of this. The thought of the leeches sticking their microphones into the relatives' faces.....aaarrrrgh!
My prayers for the heroes and their families.
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