Thursday, December 15 2005 @ 07:59 AM EST
Contributed by: tomw
Views: 1,200
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 www.springfieldnewssun.com -- Charles Mitchell figured his brothers stationed in Iraq would be safe because they had each other.
“I worried more about Jimmy but figured he was OK because Tony was with him,” Charles Mitchell said.
But the Mitchell family, from McConnelsville in southeastern Ohio, found out Monday that Staff Sgt. Curtis “Tony” Mitchell, 28, had been killed while serving in the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
Charles Mitchell, who now lives in Springfield, said younger brother Jimmy Mitchell watched as an improvised explosive device detonated near Tony Mitchell’s M1A1 Abrams tank during combat operations in Baghdad. Charles Mitchell said he only knew that his brother was killed instantly.
Charles Mitchell talked to Jimmy Mitchell online Monday. Jimmy Mitchell is expected to come home for his brother’s funeral, which has yet to be set.
“I want to know the details but I’m not going to push it,” Charles Mitchell said.
Charles Mitchell, who is the eldest of eight children, said Tony Mitchell joined the Army about nine years ago because where they are from many people are coal miners, farmers or on welfare, which makes the military an attractive option.
Tony Mitchell married earlier this year and also leaves behind a son from a previous marriage and a step-son, his brother said.
He liked hunting and fishing, playing video games and anything to do with his son.
Tony Mitchell was one of the first into Baghdad at the start of the war and was part of the operation that killed Saddam Hussein’s wanted sons, Charles Mitchelll said.
When he came back to the states, Tony Mitchell requested the honor of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier rather than have dinner with the president, his brother added.
The family never talked about the possibility of one of the brothers dying, Charles Mitchell said, because they thought if they talked about it, it would happen.
Despite losing a brother, Charles Mitchell said he believes the military should stay the course “or else it’s just a life in vain.” |
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