The Herald-Zeitung
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Victims had different reasons for enlisting
Associated Press
The Herald-Zeitung
Published November 07, 2009
The 13 people killed when an Army psychiatrist allegedly opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood included a pregnant woman who was preparing to return homeand a newlywed who served in Iraq.
Francheska Velez
Velez, 21, of Chicago, was pregnant and preparing to return home. A friend of Velez’s, Sasha Ramos, described her as a fun-loving person who wrote poetry and loved dancing.
Family members said Velez had recently returned from deployment in Iraq and had sought a lifelong career in the Army.
Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka
Nemelka, 19, of the Salt Lake City suburb of West Jordan, Utah, chose to join the Army instead of going on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, his uncle Christopher Nemelka said.
Aaron Nemelka, the youngest of four children, was scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan in January, his family said in a statement. Nemelka enlisted in the Army in October 2008, Utah National Guard Lt. Col. Lisa Olsen said.
Pfc. Michael Pearson
Pearson, 21, of the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, Ill., quit what he figured was a dead-end furniture company job to join the military about a year ago. Pearson’s mother, Sheryll Pearson, said the 2006 Bolingbrook High School graduate joined the military because he was eager to serve his country and broaden his horizons.
Sheryll Pearson said she hadn’t seen her son for a year because he had been training. She told the Chicago Tribune that when she last talked to him on the phone two days ago, they had discussed how he would come home for Christmas.
Spc. Jason Dean Hunt
Hunt, 22, of Frederick, Okla., went into the military after graduating from Tipton High School in 2005 and had gotten married just two months ago, his mother, Gale Hunt, said. He served 3 1/2 years in the Army, including a stint in Iraq.
He re-enlisted for six years after serving his initial two-year assignment, she said. Jason Hunt was previously stationed at Fort Stewart in Georgia.
Michael Grant Cahill
Cahill, a 62-year-old physician assistant, suffered a heart attack two weeks ago and returned to work at the base as a civilian employee after taking just one week off for recovery, said his daughter Keely Vanacker.
Cahill, of Cameron, Texas, helped treat soldiers returning from tours of duty or preparing for deployment. Often, Vanacker said, Cahill would walk young soldiers where they needed to go, just to make sure they got the right treatment.
Cahill, who was born in Spokane, Wash., worked as a civilian contractor at Fort Hood for about four years, after jobs in rural health clinics and at Veterans Affairs hospitals. He and his wife, Joleen, had been married 37 years.
Sgt. Amy Krueger
Krueger, 29, of Kiel, Wis., joined the Army after the 2001 terrorist attacks and had vowed to take on Osama bin Laden, her mother, Jeri Krueger said.
Amy Krueger arrived at Fort Hood on Tuesday and was scheduled to be sent to Afghanistan in December, the mother told the Herald Times Reporter of Manitowoc.
Jeri Krueger recalled telling her daughter that she could not take on bin Laden by herself.
“Watch me,” her daughter replied.
Pfc. Kham Xiong
Xiong, 23, of St. Paul, Minn., a 2004 graduate of Community of Peace Academy, enjoyed hunting and fishing.
Xiong’s 17-year-old brother, Robert, described Kham as “the family clown, just a real good outgoing guy.”
Juanita Warman
Warman, 55, was a military physician assistant with two daughters and six grandchildren.
Her sister, Margaret Yaggie of Roaring Branch in north-central Pennsylvania, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that her sister attended Pittsburgh Langley High School and put herself through school at the University of Pittsburgh. She said her sister spent most of her career in the military.
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