 Newsday -- DOVER, Del. -- A Delaware native who fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a career soldier has been killed in Iraq, the Department of Defense said Monday.
Army Sgt. 1st Class James "Shawn" Moudy, 37, a member of the 71st Calvary Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y., died Sunday when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations, the Pentagon said in a news release.
"He was on patrol and he was in a Humvee and one of IEDs _ the roadside bombs _ exploded, and he was killed instantly," his mother, Thelma Moudy, said in a telephone interview from her Newark home.
Moudy said Army officials visited the family's home Sunday afternoon to inform them of her only child's death, after the news was first broken to her daughter-in-law in New York.
"About five minutes after she called me, they arrived at my door," she said.
The Pentagon would not confirm Moudy's death Monday but reported that a U.S. soldier was killed Sunday in western Baghdad when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.
Thelma Moudy said she and her son, who leaves behind his wife, Myong Sun, and 13-year-old daughter, had exchanged e-mails late Saturday, just hours before he died.
"We were talking about getting his daughter some Christmas presents she wanted to have, ... and I let him know his Christmas boxes had been mailed," she recalled, the words catching in her throat. "He said things were heating up over there because of the elections, and that he probably wouldn't be on line e-mailing for a couple of days because he was busy."
"Then he said, 'Gotta go, Mom, gotta go out on patrol,"' she said.
Shawn Moudy joined the Army after graduating from Tatnall School in Wilmington, where he played football and was a goalkeeper for the school's first lacrosse squad, and attending Marion Military Institute in Alabama for a year.
"He had wanted to be solider ever since he was a child," his mother said, recalling how her young son, who had several uncles who served in the military, constantly drew pictures of soldiers.
After earning a nomination to the Coast Guard Academy, the young Moudy, an avid hunter and fisherman, opted instead for the Army and the life of a noncommissioned officer.
"He decided to enlist because he said the NCO did all the work in the Army," his mother said.
After serving three years at Fort Benning, Ga., as a drill instructor, Moudy transferred in September 2004 to Fort Drum. He was deployed in August to Iraq, where he trained Iraqi troops and joined in security patrols.
Moudy suffered a slight ankle wound from shrapnel about two weeks ago, but remained in good spirits and resolute in his belief that the U.S. should not leave Iraq until a free society had been established, his mother said.
"He had a sense of purpose and mission. He truly believed in what we were doing," she said. " ... He was never afraid. He was never worried. He knew what he was doing was right."
Moudy said she expects her son's body to be flown to Dover Air Force Base, home to the nation's largest military mortuary, within the next 10 days.
A funeral will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Newark, with burial at Ebenezer Methodist Church Cemetery. Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Homes will be in charge of arrangements.
[Editor Note]
Sgt. Moudy's canine was also killed in the blast. The dog was a soldier too, serving his country alongside his fellow soldiers. |