A death in the family
It is with deep regret and sadness I have to tell you an AAFES associate has died serving our country in Iraq.
Mr. Darren Braswell, 36, was one of 12 Americans who died in an Army UH 60 helicopter mishap on Saturday in the north west of Iraq near Tal Afar near the Syrian border. The cause of the incident is under investigation; it is suspected to have been a result of bad weather in the area. No other details are available at this time.
Mr. Braswell was Warehouse Forman at the Atlanta Distribution Center and had volunteered to serve in Iraq.
Funeral arrangements are pending and will be announced as soon as they are finalized.
I ask all of you to join me in praying for Darren and his family. His sacrifice in the defense of our country is in keeping with the best traditions of the U.S. Armed Forces and the Exchange Service.
PAUL W. ESSEX
Major General, USAF
Commander
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Before I came to Speicher, I had to work for two months up in Tal Afar with four people to help open Tal Afar's first PX. The five of us lived, slept, ate, breathed, fought and laughed together. We would have played together also but we were not allowed days off since we did not have enough to cover. One of the men I worked with was Darren Braswell, 36 years old, unmarried, with one two year old son. He was from Atlanta, GA and loved being in Iraq.
He is the AAFES person who died in the helo crash. He just wrote to me two days ago, talking about container movement and asking how I am doing.
I kind of understand why Mom is worried, because I am going to be working for a turkish company. But so far, no insurgents have killed anyone turkish. Just the americans.
Mr. Darren Braswell, 36, was one of 12 Americans who died in an Army UH 60 helicopter mishap on Saturday in the north west of Iraq near Tal Afar near the Syrian border. The cause of the incident is under investigation; it is suspected to have been a result of bad weather in the area. No other details are available at this time.
Mr. Braswell was Warehouse Forman at the Atlanta Distribution Center and had volunteered to serve in Iraq.
Funeral arrangements are pending and will be announced as soon as they are finalized.
I ask all of you to join me in praying for Darren and his family. His sacrifice in the defense of our country is in keeping with the best traditions of the U.S. Armed Forces and the Exchange Service.
PAUL W. ESSEX
Major General, USAF
Commander
-------------------------------
Before I came to Speicher, I had to work for two months up in Tal Afar with four people to help open Tal Afar's first PX. The five of us lived, slept, ate, breathed, fought and laughed together. We would have played together also but we were not allowed days off since we did not have enough to cover. One of the men I worked with was Darren Braswell, 36 years old, unmarried, with one two year old son. He was from Atlanta, GA and loved being in Iraq.
He is the AAFES person who died in the helo crash. He just wrote to me two days ago, talking about container movement and asking how I am doing.
I kind of understand why Mom is worried, because I am going to be working for a turkish company. But so far, no insurgents have killed anyone turkish. Just the americans.