May 10, 2007 7:09 pm US/Eastern
2 Massachusetts Servicemen Killed In Iraq
(WBZ)
-
-
Marine Walter O'Haire
WBZ
-
-
Army Spc. Kyle A. Little
Telegram & Gazette
Two servicemen from Massachusetts -- a Rockland Marine and a West Boylston soldier -- have been killed in Iraq, family members said Thursday.
Army Spc. Kyle A. Little, 20, was killed by a roadside bomb Tuesday north of Baghdad during his second tour in Iraq, according to his father, Michael Little of North Berwick, Maine.
On Wednesday, the Marines notified the family of Walter O'Haire that he had been killed in Iraq, according to his brother, Matthew O'Haire.
O'Haire, 20, was shot Wednesday while on a foot patrol in Anbar province.
Last night, O'Haire's mother said she had tried to stop him from going. But she said he'd always had a mind of his own.
"I told him he couldn't do something, he's gonna' do it," Maureen O'Haire said Thursday night. "Unfortunately, he died a hero. He did what he wanted to do. He died a hero."
He had been in Iraq for just six weeks and was motivated to join the Marines after September 11.
"He wanted to get over there and protect this country," she said. "I think Wally thought he could fix it all."
"Bring the troops home," said O'Haire's uncle Jack Mansfield, a former Marine. "I don't care how they do it, I would like to see the people listened to and (our troops) brought home.
"Because if that would have happened," Mansfield continued, breaking into tears, "then maybe Wally would have come home normally, and not in a casket."
"I'm not happy my son's lost," Maureen O'Haire added. "When reality sets in and everybody's gone home, it'll be different. But for now, he was so proud of what he was doing.
"I want people to know, he wanted to do it."
O"Haire will be buried next Tuesday, on what would have been his 21st birthday.
Little was stationed at Fort Benning, Ga. His wife, Tiffany, is expecting a child in November.
"He was just so proud of being a soldier, and we were just proud of him.," his grandmother, Lucille Smith, said Thursday.
Little's family said he decided he wanted to be a soldier when he was 14, after September 11. He left high school after his junior year, got a GED and enlisted.
"He was all for it," said Dayna Hammond of West Boylston, who called Little her best friend. "He wanted to go. He really wanted to go and do something good for everybody."
His family and friends say Kyle Little loved baseball and had a Red Sox tattoo on his arm. At West Boylston Middle-High School, he was the starting second-baseman.
"He was a quality player," said West Boylston coach and athletic director Todd Smith, "a real team player, always gave everything he had.
"He was a kind of quiet, reserved kind of kid. He led by example on the team but he was a pleasure to coach."
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments