Wednesday, 08/17/05

By Gary Burton
Times editor

A local soldier serving with M Co., 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment of the Tennessee National Guard, was one of three guardsman killed by hostile fire Sunday in Iraq.

Sgt. Gary L. Reese, 22, of Ashland City, was killed in northern Iraq after the Humvee he was riding in came under attack by a rocket-propelled grenade.

Also killed in the attack were Staff Sgt. Asbury Hawn III, 35, of Lebanon, Tenn., and Sgt. Shannon Taylor, 30, of Smithville, Tenn.

Spc. James K. Downs, 20, of Kingston Springs, was critically injured in the attack and remains in a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.

All four were assigned to Troop E, 2/278 Regimental Combat Team which has been in Iraq since November.

Reese’s parents said military officials knocked on their door about 7 a.m. Sunday to deliver the news of their son’s death.

"My wife opened the door and screamed my name," said his father, Gary Reese. "I came running to the door and we both knew what had happened."

The soldier’s mother, Cathy Reese, said her son had returned home for two weeks during the Fourth of July holiday and was proud of the work his unit was doing in Iraq. She said he was confident they were doing the right thing for the Iraqi people by helping them begin a new government.

"He loved kids," she said. "And he had a magnetic personality. He sent us a lot of pictures with him and a bunch of kids that he spent time with."

Tennessee Congressman Jim Cooper said the state had lost an unselfish soldier when Reese died in Iraq.

"My prayers are with the Reese family during this difficult time," Cooper said. "We have lost a courageous Tennessean who gave his life for the freedom of others."

Reese is the 59th Cheatham County resident to be killed in a combat zone.

The last Cheatham County soldier to die in battle was Spc. Dale Brown of Ashland City.

According to national military records, Brown was killed in a hostile attack May 17, 1969, while serving with the 198th Light Infantry Brigade in Quang Ngai, Vietnam.

Downs' father, Joe, said his son had many broken bones and was burned over 60 percent of his body from the blast.

Joe said his son was inside the Humvee weapon turret when the grenade exploded inside the vehicle and doctors felt it was the factor that saved his life.

Downs graduated Harpeth High School where he was known as "Kevin," and played football during his time there.

"The army has done a wonderful job keeping us informed about Kevin," Joe said. "We are supposed to find out this week if they are sending him to a burn center in San Antonio, Texas. They are working out an arrangement to fly us over to see him wherever he goes."

Representative Phillip Johnson said the attack on local troops was heartbreaking and has brought the war home to Cheatham County.

"Twenty-two is such a young age to die," Johnson said. "My heart goes out to all those families. The war in Iraq is a tough situation that has now been brought into our backyards."

Sgt. Gary Reese, far right, stands in formation after M Co., 278th ACR, traveled to Camp Shelby, Miss., last year to train before deploying to Iraq in November. Reese and two other soldiers were killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack Sunday. - TIMES FILE PHOTO

Story Copyright to Ashland City Times