News from March 22, 2007 issue

Local News
The Crittenden Press (4 pages) PDF
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Local soldiers injured in Iraq
Two local National Guardsmen were seriously injured in Iraq early this week when the military vehicle they were riding in ran over a roadside bomb.
Family members said they received word Monday that Sgt. Jonathan McMackin, 25, of Marion had suffered a broken bone and puncture wound to his leg during the explosion.
Another local soldier, Spc. Chase Matthews, 23, of Dycusburg suffered greater injuries. His condition had been stablized Tuesday night at a hospital in Germany. He had been airlifted there following his injuries in Iraq.
Matthews’ aunt, Barbara Etheridge of Dycusburg, said her nephew suffered extensive injuries to his legs and his left arm. Her brother Rudy Matthews is the injured soldier’s father. She said he learned of his son’s condition Tuesday night.
Etheridge said that her nephew lost his left leg above the knee and his right leg above the ankle. He also has a fractured arm.
“Chase is a tough kid and he’s going to be all right,” she said between tears. “Chase is alive and he will have his family to come home to.”
A third soldier, apparently not from Kentucky, was also hurt, but his name and injuries were not immediately known.
The Kentucky National Guard, through its public affairs department, said it could not comment on the status of the soldiers nor discuss details of the mission the men were on, where they were or when the incident occurred. Family members said the men were injured Monday.
Kevin McMackin, father of the injured sergeant, said a woman from the Department of Defense called him at home Monday afternoon and explained the situation.
“She didn’t have a whole lot of information, but told me she would stay in touch and keep us informed,” Kevin McMackin said, a coal miner who went home work early the next day hoping to learn more, but hadn’t received any new news as of Tuesday.
The father was told that his son had suffered shrapnel wounds to the leg and that he was taken to a hospital in Iraq then transferred to Germany.
“Jonathan talked to his wife on the phone and told her not to worry,” McMackin said about his son, who was married only a couple of days before leaving for Iraq.
McMackin and Matthews both deployed with Company B, 2nd Batallion, 123rd Armor, which is headquartered at the Marion National Guard Armory. They left Marion just before Christmas 2005 and spent a few weeks training in Mississippi before going overseas in early 2006. The men were supposed to have completed their mission this month, but recent orders had extended their stay until later in the summer, family members said.
Lt. Barkley Hughes, commander of the Marion Guard’s rear detachment while the unit is deployed, said Tuesday night that any details regarding Bravo Company soldiers would have to come from the Kentucky National Guard’s public affairs division.
Lt. Hughes did not deploy with Bravo Company because he was serving in Afghanistan when the unit got its marching orders.
He did say that Bravo Company was attached to a brigade headquartered in Minnesota.
According to family members, the two were in a Humvee and on patrol with at least one, perhaps two other soldiers, when they ran over an IED (improvised explosive device).
Some of McMackin’s friends said they were told by family members that he had helped save two others from the vehicle after the initial explosion.
Matthews graduated from Crittenden County High School in 2002. McMackin had joined the National Guard between his junior and senior years at Crittenden High. He is coming up on his ninth year in the Guard, his father said.
The American Red Cross had been trying to arrange for Matthews to come home this week to be with his mother, Starla, who is in a hospital in San Antonio, Texas awaiting surgery for a brain aneurysm. His half brother, also in the military, had already been given leave, according to family members.
The Department of Defense offered to fly Matthews’ brother to Germany to be with the injured guardsman, but his aunt said Matthews is expected to be back in the states at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington later this week, perhaps by Friday. For that reason, she didn’t think anyone would be going to Germany.
McMackin’s wife, the former Megan Markham, now lives in Paducah where she is a nurse. McMackin’s mother, the former Estie Thomas of Marion, also lives in Paducah.
McMackin has two young siblings who have recently joined the military, too. His sister, Lynise, has joined the Air Force and is in basic training. His brother, Garrett, is a junior in high school and will go to basic training this summer, just like his older brother did.
Some of Matthews’ former schoolmates say he is a quiet, polite fellow who was nicknamed, “Dawg” by his buddies.
Kyle Cosby went through school with Matthews. The two attended Frances Elementary together before the small country school closed in the mid 1990s. Cosby reads meters for the Crittenden-Livingston Water District. On his route a couple of months ago, Cosby bumped into Matthews, who was at home on leave.
“That was the first time I’d talked to him in a long time. He said he was ready to get home.”
Cosby also said he’d talked to Rudy Matthews, the soldier’s father, at the Dycusburg store over lunch not long ago.
“He was worried sick about his boy being over there,” Cosby said. “I bet he is taking this really hard.”
Matthews is Rudy’s only child. Matthews’ aunt confirmed that the father was terribly troubled by the news that reached Dycusburg Tuesday.
Crittenden County Judge-Executive Fred Brown, himself a veteran of the Vietnam era, said the grim news made it to the courthouse Tuesday. He said we should all remember the injured men and not forget that we have about a dozen other soldiers over there in harm’s way.
“This is bad, bad, bad,” Brown said. “It brings the reality of this war home to a community where we sometimes forget about it because of all the things going on in our lives.
“I am so proud of these young men and all of the others over there fighting for our freedoms and the veterans who have served. They don’t get the appreciation they deserve,” the judge added.
When Marion’s Bravo Company deployed a year ago last winter, it included 40 soliders from this armory. The unit, although a tank company, has been retrained to handle other duties due to the changing climate of this war. Dave Altom, spokesman for the Kentucky National Guard, said Bravo Company’s mission is as a security force for other coalition troops. Daily activities might include route security along highways, at traffic control points or roving patrols.
The war in Iraq has been going on for four years and President George Bush has been ramping up participation the last couple of months trying to quell the violence that has virtually turned into a civil war between religous factions in Iraq.
Rev. Lucy Tedrick, a local minister, author and veterans advocate, said these are the first two serious casualties this community has suffered since the Vietnam War when at least six soldiers from Crittenden County lost their lives and others were injured.
“The adage that came out of World War II was that ‘War is hell.’ Only those who have actually been in the battles, and those who have lost loved ones in them truly know the truth of that statement,” Tedrick said.
“My heart aches over every American and every innocent person that has died or been injured in all wars,” Tedrick added. “Now that the suffering has once again touched our own neighbors, our grief is compounded for Chase Matthews and Jonathan McMackin and their families. As Crittenden Countians, let us rally around these brave men and their families and help in any way that is needed.”
The local guard unit has been deployed twice in the past six years. It was sent to Germany after the 9-11 attacks. Some guardsmen, including McMackin, had also been deployed to the Gulf Coast to help rebuild Louisiana after a hurricane. The current troop deployment is the local unit’s fifth in history. It was called up during World War II and the Burlin Crisis.
Other local guardsmen deployed for the current mission include Sgt. Sean Pace, SSgt. Brandon Wilson, Spc. Mark Wilson, Spc. Jim Young, Spc. Kyle Craig and Spc. Josh Jackson. A few other local men and women are also involved in the war, including three lieutenant colonels from Marion. They are Lt. Col. John Watson, Lt. Col. Bill McDaniel and Lt. Col. Scott Campbell.