NcDeuce
09-16-2003, 02:19 PM
Green Berets killed in Iraq
By CHANTAL ESCOTO
The Leaf-Chronicle
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Bennett
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/news/stories/20030916/localnews/266358-96363.jpg
Morehead
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/news/stories/20030916/localnews/266358-96362.jpg
Two 5th Special Forces Group soldiers were killed Friday in Ar Ramdi, Iraq, from injuries received when their unit conducted an enemy raid.
Master Sgt. Kevin N. Morehead, 33, of Little Rock, Ark., and Sgt. 1st Class William M. Bennett, 35, of Seymour, in East Tennessee, were assigned to 3rd Battalion of 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Campbell.
Spokesman for Special Operations Command Walt Sokalski said the initial notification of the soldiers' death and those wounded during the raid did not mention the unit because of the particular mission of 5th Group. The official release from the Department of Defense was sent Monday.
"There's not that many of us over there, and if we give the unit then the families would get worried before we were able to notify them so they don't have to watch it on the news," he said.
Frank Wisniewski with the Chapter 38 Special Forces Association said the mood among 5th Group at Fort Campbell is a little somber with the news of two lost soldiers. But the focus remains on the mission "because you don't want to lose anyone else," he said. "They're mostly concentrated on helping the families."
In Little Rock, Morehead's family was still waiting for more details about the master sergeant's death.
Morehead died late Thursday or early Friday morning, his father, Jim Morehead said. Kevin Morehead's widow, Theresa, lives in Adams. They have no children.
"My son used to come home and say that the president was a patriot," his father said, sitting on the front porch of the family's Benton, Ark., home. "Now I can say my son is a patriot too."
Morehead was scheduled to return from Iraq in two weeks. He would have turned 34 Sunday.
"If he could have just held out two more weeks," his aunt Ruth Hamilton said through tears standing in the doorway of the family home. "It's just so bad. He was just the most wonderful and talented. He's going to be missed by all of us so much."
The Moreheads cherish a picture taken in March 2002 of the soldier shaking hands with a shirt-sleeved President Bush at Fort Bragg, N.C. -- and were passing out copies of the photo to visiting mourners Friday.
Jim Morehead said his son was proud to tell the story of having lunch with Bush at Fort Bragg -- 5th Group's headquarters -- after giving the president a field demonstration.
The soldier told his father that the president got up from the table, "and he came back and stuck his head over the table and said 'Get ready for some more because we're going to kick their ass,'" Jim Morehead said.
Morehead's unit already returned from the Middle East, but the soldier chose to remain behind to help with orientation for their replacements.
Kevin Morehead graduated from Little Rock Central High School and briefly attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville before joining the Army. He was called to Afghanistan in October 2001 and stayed until February 2002 before he was sent to Iraq this past January.
The family mourned at their Benton home Friday morning as friends and relatives brought plates of food that crowded the dining room table. The driveway is decorated with yellow ribbons, American flags and a sign reading, "Our son has your back."
The family considered Morehead to be on the front line in the war against terror, they said.
His father said Morehead was active in his church and enjoyed hunting and fishing. Professionally, Morehead was a qualified ranger and sniper and skilled medic. The soldier had traveled to parts of Africa, Pakistan and Yemen with the special forces, earned a Bronze Star for valor -- and recovered from malaria.
"He loved the military, he loved what he was doing, he was well trained," Jim Morehead said.
Bennett, a special forces medical sergeant, entered the Army in December 1986 and completed Bridge Crewmember training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. His first assignment in the Army was to the 11th Engineer Battalion, Fort Belvoir, Va.
He completed Army diver training in 1989 at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center at Panama City, Fla., then was assigned to the 7th Engineer Detachment, Fort Kobbe, Panama, where he participated in combat actions during Operation Just Cause.
After deploying to Saudi Arabia in 1991 to participate in Operation Desert Storm, Bennett volunteered for Special Forces training in 1992. In 1994, he graduated from the Special Forces Medical Sergeants Course at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Bennett went on to study Arabic at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, N.C.
He was assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group in July of 1995, where he participated in numerous overseas deployments to include combat operations in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
He is survived by his wife, Allison; his son, Seth; and his parents, Leonard and Kathleen Bennett.
De Oppresso Liber
By CHANTAL ESCOTO
The Leaf-Chronicle
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bennett
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/news/stories/20030916/localnews/266358-96363.jpg
Morehead
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/news/stories/20030916/localnews/266358-96362.jpg
Two 5th Special Forces Group soldiers were killed Friday in Ar Ramdi, Iraq, from injuries received when their unit conducted an enemy raid.
Master Sgt. Kevin N. Morehead, 33, of Little Rock, Ark., and Sgt. 1st Class William M. Bennett, 35, of Seymour, in East Tennessee, were assigned to 3rd Battalion of 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Campbell.
Spokesman for Special Operations Command Walt Sokalski said the initial notification of the soldiers' death and those wounded during the raid did not mention the unit because of the particular mission of 5th Group. The official release from the Department of Defense was sent Monday.
"There's not that many of us over there, and if we give the unit then the families would get worried before we were able to notify them so they don't have to watch it on the news," he said.
Frank Wisniewski with the Chapter 38 Special Forces Association said the mood among 5th Group at Fort Campbell is a little somber with the news of two lost soldiers. But the focus remains on the mission "because you don't want to lose anyone else," he said. "They're mostly concentrated on helping the families."
In Little Rock, Morehead's family was still waiting for more details about the master sergeant's death.
Morehead died late Thursday or early Friday morning, his father, Jim Morehead said. Kevin Morehead's widow, Theresa, lives in Adams. They have no children.
"My son used to come home and say that the president was a patriot," his father said, sitting on the front porch of the family's Benton, Ark., home. "Now I can say my son is a patriot too."
Morehead was scheduled to return from Iraq in two weeks. He would have turned 34 Sunday.
"If he could have just held out two more weeks," his aunt Ruth Hamilton said through tears standing in the doorway of the family home. "It's just so bad. He was just the most wonderful and talented. He's going to be missed by all of us so much."
The Moreheads cherish a picture taken in March 2002 of the soldier shaking hands with a shirt-sleeved President Bush at Fort Bragg, N.C. -- and were passing out copies of the photo to visiting mourners Friday.
Jim Morehead said his son was proud to tell the story of having lunch with Bush at Fort Bragg -- 5th Group's headquarters -- after giving the president a field demonstration.
The soldier told his father that the president got up from the table, "and he came back and stuck his head over the table and said 'Get ready for some more because we're going to kick their ass,'" Jim Morehead said.
Morehead's unit already returned from the Middle East, but the soldier chose to remain behind to help with orientation for their replacements.
Kevin Morehead graduated from Little Rock Central High School and briefly attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville before joining the Army. He was called to Afghanistan in October 2001 and stayed until February 2002 before he was sent to Iraq this past January.
The family mourned at their Benton home Friday morning as friends and relatives brought plates of food that crowded the dining room table. The driveway is decorated with yellow ribbons, American flags and a sign reading, "Our son has your back."
The family considered Morehead to be on the front line in the war against terror, they said.
His father said Morehead was active in his church and enjoyed hunting and fishing. Professionally, Morehead was a qualified ranger and sniper and skilled medic. The soldier had traveled to parts of Africa, Pakistan and Yemen with the special forces, earned a Bronze Star for valor -- and recovered from malaria.
"He loved the military, he loved what he was doing, he was well trained," Jim Morehead said.
Bennett, a special forces medical sergeant, entered the Army in December 1986 and completed Bridge Crewmember training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. His first assignment in the Army was to the 11th Engineer Battalion, Fort Belvoir, Va.
He completed Army diver training in 1989 at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center at Panama City, Fla., then was assigned to the 7th Engineer Detachment, Fort Kobbe, Panama, where he participated in combat actions during Operation Just Cause.
After deploying to Saudi Arabia in 1991 to participate in Operation Desert Storm, Bennett volunteered for Special Forces training in 1992. In 1994, he graduated from the Special Forces Medical Sergeants Course at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Bennett went on to study Arabic at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, N.C.
He was assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group in July of 1995, where he participated in numerous overseas deployments to include combat operations in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
He is survived by his wife, Allison; his son, Seth; and his parents, Leonard and Kathleen Bennett.
De Oppresso Liber