Pfc. Michael Russell Creighton Weldon
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/local/5528718.htm Soldier killed in attack followed mom's path
Palm Bay resident was 'the strength of the household'
By Mike Schneider
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PALM BAY - Michael Russell Creighton-Weldon took after his mother when he decided to enlist in the U.S. Army last year. His mother, Sgt. Maj. Jean Weldon, had just recently retired after two decades in the service.
"He wanted to follow in his mother's footsteps," Jean Weldon said Monday from her home in Palm Bay, about 70 miles southeast of Orlando. "He chose infantry because he's a tough guy."
Creighton-Weldon, 20, was one of four members of the Army's 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division who were killed Saturday when a taxi drove up to an Army checkpoint north of the Iraqi city of Najaf and exploded after the driver waved for help.
It was the first suicide attack since the U.S.-led invasion began.
U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Palm Bay, who is not related to the family, offered his condolences.
"We owe him a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid," the congressman said.
Creighton-Weldon was a muscular 5 feet 10 inches tall and looked like the actor Nicolas Cage, his mother said.
"He was quite a looker," she said.
Creighton-Weldon became engaged before he went to Iraq in January, but his military duties kept him from marrying his fiancee, Kerri. Whenever he called Kerri from Iraq, she would drive over to the Weldon home carrying the cell phone so he could talk to his 15-year-old brother and mother, Jean Weldon said. Creighton-Weldon also had a 23-year-old sister.
"My son was the strength of the household," Jean Weldon said. "After I got divorced, Michael was the man of the house."
Loved his truck, video games
Creighton-Weldon loved PlayStation video games, especially "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City." Whenever he came home from Fort Stewart in Georgia, which was almost every weekend, he and his brother would hole themselves up in a bedroom to play.
He took special care of his truck.
"He would polish it all the time," Jean Weldon said. "He was fixing it up before they called him up."
That was in late January.
Neighbors in the Palm Bay subdivision where Creighton-Weldon once lived said his death brings the Iraqi war close to home.
"My hat's off to these young people who give up their lives for freedom," said neighbor Iris Haskins. "To hear about his death, I'm so saddened by it."
The family received its most recent letter last week. Creighton-Weldon wrote that soldiers were trying to "do the right thing" and that he was trying to be a good soldier.
"The last thing he wrote in the letter was, 'I love you, Mom,"' Jean Weldon said.
Army Pfc. Diego Fernando Rincon
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=War%20Colombia Colombian-Born U.S. Soldier Dies in Iraq
By CARLOS GONZALEZ
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BOGOTA, Colombia -- More than a decade ago, Diego Fernando Rincon's family fled Colombia's violence for life in the United States. Last weekend, Rincon became the first Colombian-born U.S. soldier to die in Iraq.
Rincon, 19, joined his new country's Army after graduating from high school, telling friends he wanted to avenge the Sept. 11 attacks and protect the United States.
A car bomb that blew up at a military checkpoint Saturday killed Rincon and three other American soldiers. The driver - said to be an Iraqi soldier - also died.
Luis Rincon, Rincon's uncle, said his nephew planned to visit Colombia - where car bombs are commonly used by rebels and drug traffickers - after the war in Iraq.
"He wanted to come to Colombia after the war to get to know the good parts of the country," Luis Rincon said from Mosquera, a town 10 miles west of Bogota.
Rincon's death was prominently reported in Colombian media. The Bogota tabloid Hoy carried a Page 1 headline: "Iraq: A kamikaze kills the first Colombian."
Rincon was born in Funza, a town on the outskirts of Bogota. He immigrated to Conyers, Ga., with his family in 1989.
In Conyers, yellow ribbons honoring the dead soldier adorned every mailbox in his neighborhood. His yellow Mustang was draped with American flags.
"My son Diego was a very brave man, and we are all very proud of him," said Rincon's father, George.
Army Pfc. Diego Fernando Rincon
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20030401&Category=API&ArtNo=304010860&Ref=AR&cachetime=5 Text of Slain Soldier's Last Letter Home
By The Associated Press
April 01, 2003
Hola Mother,
How are you doing? Good I hope. I'm doing OK I guess. I won't be able to write anymore starting the 28th of this month. We are moving out. We are already packed and ready to move to a tactical Alpha-Alpha (in Iraq). Once that happens, there will not be any mail sent out. We will only receive mail that is less than 12 ounces. At least that's what they said. I'm not sure where exactly we're going be at yet, but it is said to be a 20-hour drive in the Bradleys.
So I guess the time has finally come for us to see what we are made of, who will crack when the stress level rises and who will be calm all the way through it. Only time will tell. We are at the peak of our training and it's time to put it to the test.
I just want to tell everybody how much you all mean to me and how much I love you all. Mother, I love you so much! I'm not going to give up! I'm living my life one day at a time, sitting here picturing home with a small tear in my eyes, spending time with my brothers who will hold my life in their hands.
I try not to think of what may happen in the future, but I can't stand seeing it in my eyes. There's going to be murders, funerals and tears rolling down everybody's eyes. But the only thing I can say is, keep my head up and try to keep the faith and pray for better days. All this will pass. I believe God has a path for me. Whether I make it or not, it's all part of the plan. It can't be changed, only completed.
Mother will be the last word I'll say. Your face will be the last picture that goes through my eyes. I'm not trying to scare you, but it's reality. The time is here to see the plan laid out. And hopefully, I'll be at home in it. I don't know what I'm talking about or why I'm writing it down. Maybe I just want someone to know what goes through my head. It's probably good not keeping it all inside.
I just hope that you're proud of what I'm doing and have faith in my decisions. I will try hard and not give up. I just want to say sorry for anything I have ever done wrong. And I'm doing it all for you mom. I love you.
P.S. Very Important Document.
Your son,
Diego Rincon
