I think CNN finally got it
If you've been wondering what the purpose of the conflict in Iraq happens to be, I think CNN managed to nail it pretty solidly:
CLOVIS, California (CNN) -- Jeff Hubbard fought back tears as he talked about his boy -- a "great, great young man" who was killed last week in Iraq in a helicopter crash. It's the second time he's had to bury a son killed in the Iraq war.
This time, it was made even more tragic. His third son, also a soldier in Iraq, was immediately on scene of last week's helicopter crash and watched as soldiers carried the remains of his brother, 21-year-old Army Cpl. Nathan Hubbard, from the crash site.
Nathan's flag-draped coffin arrived in Fresno earlier this week. Six members of the U.S. Army Honor Guard carefully carried the casket to a hangar where the Hubbards waited. Nathan was just 30 days away from coming home from the war when he was killed.
Jeff Hubbard spoke to reporters from his home in Clovis, California, on Thursday, struggling to find words to describe how much his youngest son meant to him and his family.
"I want everybody to remember and celebrate Nate in their own way, the way they want," he said. "We want him honored, remembered and celebrated -- he was a great, great young man. Wonderful young man."
The Hubbards will bury Nathan Friday.
Tragically, the Hubbards have gone through this anguish before.
In 2004 their son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Hubbard, was on patrol in Iraq with his best friend and fellow Marine, Jeremiah Baro -- also from Clovis -- when a roadside bomb exploded, killing both.
Jeff Hubbard says there's no way for a parent to prepare for the agony a second time.
"They're each absolutely individual terrible instances that you deal with the best you can as you go forward," he said.
Six months after Jared was killed, Nathan and Jason Hubbard decided to enlist and serve together -- to honor their brother's memory and to follow in his footsteps.
On August 22 after returning from a scouting mission south of Kirkuk, Iraq, the Blackhawk helicopter carrying Nathan and 13 other soldiers crashed.
Jason, who served in the same Army platoon, was in a separate helicopter when his brother went down and was ordered to secure the crash site.
When he and his men reached the downed Blackhawk, Jason says he realized it was his brother's unit.
"We also had to remove as many of the men as we could out of that helicopter," Jason remembered. "And I couldn't participate in that. I knew my -- I knew Nathan was in there. I tried several times to kind of gather myself, but I just -- I couldn't."
Jason says as the men carried bodies out of the wreckage, he spotted his younger brother. "At one point they did carry Nathan by me. And that's when the reality, the complete reality, and complete understanding of the situation came to me and I began dealing with it."
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Under the Department of Defense sole survivor policy, Jason says he was told he will not be allowed to return to war. His wife and young son will join him at his base in Hawaii.
Nathan will be eulogized at St. Anthony of Padua, the same church where Jared's funeral was held. And Nathan will be laid to rest at Clovis Cemetery, beside his brother Jared.
I think that pretty much covers it.
CLOVIS, California (CNN) -- Jeff Hubbard fought back tears as he talked about his boy -- a "great, great young man" who was killed last week in Iraq in a helicopter crash. It's the second time he's had to bury a son killed in the Iraq war.
This time, it was made even more tragic. His third son, also a soldier in Iraq, was immediately on scene of last week's helicopter crash and watched as soldiers carried the remains of his brother, 21-year-old Army Cpl. Nathan Hubbard, from the crash site.
Nathan's flag-draped coffin arrived in Fresno earlier this week. Six members of the U.S. Army Honor Guard carefully carried the casket to a hangar where the Hubbards waited. Nathan was just 30 days away from coming home from the war when he was killed.
Jeff Hubbard spoke to reporters from his home in Clovis, California, on Thursday, struggling to find words to describe how much his youngest son meant to him and his family.
"I want everybody to remember and celebrate Nate in their own way, the way they want," he said. "We want him honored, remembered and celebrated -- he was a great, great young man. Wonderful young man."
The Hubbards will bury Nathan Friday.
Tragically, the Hubbards have gone through this anguish before.
In 2004 their son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Hubbard, was on patrol in Iraq with his best friend and fellow Marine, Jeremiah Baro -- also from Clovis -- when a roadside bomb exploded, killing both.
Jeff Hubbard says there's no way for a parent to prepare for the agony a second time.
"They're each absolutely individual terrible instances that you deal with the best you can as you go forward," he said.
Six months after Jared was killed, Nathan and Jason Hubbard decided to enlist and serve together -- to honor their brother's memory and to follow in his footsteps.
On August 22 after returning from a scouting mission south of Kirkuk, Iraq, the Blackhawk helicopter carrying Nathan and 13 other soldiers crashed.
Jason, who served in the same Army platoon, was in a separate helicopter when his brother went down and was ordered to secure the crash site.
When he and his men reached the downed Blackhawk, Jason says he realized it was his brother's unit.
"We also had to remove as many of the men as we could out of that helicopter," Jason remembered. "And I couldn't participate in that. I knew my -- I knew Nathan was in there. I tried several times to kind of gather myself, but I just -- I couldn't."
Jason says as the men carried bodies out of the wreckage, he spotted his younger brother. "At one point they did carry Nathan by me. And that's when the reality, the complete reality, and complete understanding of the situation came to me and I began dealing with it."
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Under the Department of Defense sole survivor policy, Jason says he was told he will not be allowed to return to war. His wife and young son will join him at his base in Hawaii.
Nathan will be eulogized at St. Anthony of Padua, the same church where Jared's funeral was held. And Nathan will be laid to rest at Clovis Cemetery, beside his brother Jared.
I think that pretty much covers it.