Nemont
Well-known member
My wife knew this young mans parents. Unfortunately I now have personally known two families who had a loved one killed in Iraq. This young man believed in his mission and what he was doing. God bless his children 
Bomb kills Glasgow grad in Iraq
By KAREN OGDEN
The Associated Press
Staff Sgt. Aaron Holleyman is shown in an undated photo.
GLASGOW -- A 1996 Glasgow High School graduate died Monday in a roadside bomb attack in Iraq, becoming the first soldier with Hi-Line ties to be killed in the war.
Army Staff Sgt. Aaron N. Holleyman died Monday when his convoy encountered an explosive device in Khutayiah in western Iraq near the Syrian border.
Holleyman, 26, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group in Fort Campbell, Ky., military sources said.
As a student at Glasgow High School, Holleyman asked his parents, Ross and Glenda Holleyman, to sign his military papers so he could enlist before his 18th birthday.
"He graduated from Glasgow High School in May of '96, the last week of May, and he was inducted into the Army on the 12th of June," his father said during a phone interview from the family home in Carthage, Miss., Tuesday.
The Holleymans lived in Glasgow from 1993 to 1997. Aaron's father, Ross, was pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church and worked as a substitute teacher and junior varsity football coach. His mother, Glenda, taught high school physical education.
Aaron played on the Scotties basketball and football teams.
A quiet student with a soft southern accent, the Mississippi native was adored by his classmates and teachers.
"He was an absolute joy and delight to have in class," said Larry Mires, a retired teacher who taught Holleyman several courses, including woodworking and drafting. "He was polite and respectful of his teachers, his school and his fellow classmates. He had a good sense of humor. He was always upbeat and always positive."
Ross Holleyman said he didn't talk with Aaron in detail about what inspired his military career. But his dedication was unquestionable.
"He saw it as a job he was willing to do, that he had put himself in the position and you answer the call," Ross Holleyman said.
At 26, Holleyman was young for the Special Forces, where most soldiers are in their early 30s, according to his father.
He joined the 82nd Airborne and worked his way up to sergeant before joining the Special Forces.
A medic, Holleyman left for his first deployment to Iraq in October 2003 and had his first brush with danger a month later, when a roadside explosive device fashioned from a rocket hit his Humvee on a patrol.
The detonation broke Holleyman's eardrums and seriously wounded another soldier.
Upon his return home in February 2004, doctors determined that Holleyman was legally deaf and fitted him with hearing aids.
After spending time with his family, the father of three returned to Iraq for his second tour July 12.
His four-Humvee convoy was traveling down a dry riverbed Monday when an explosive device, possibly operated by a remote control, detonated on the last vehicle, Ross Holleyman said.
Three other soldiers were thrown from the Humvee but suffered only minor injuries.
In Glasgow Tuesday, sympathy for Holleyman family flowed through phone lines and prayer circles.
"The whole Holleyman family had a tremendous impact on the community," said current Calvary Baptist Church Pastor Bruce Plummer.
"(Aaron) was just a good all-around, small-town American boy, one of those kids that did all the sports," Plummer said.
Patrick Price, 26, played on the football team with Holleyman.
"He was a pretty standup guy," Price said. "Just an all around nice guy. Quiet. Never stood out in the crowd ... a southern boy."
In addition to his parents, Holleyman is survived by three children, ages 5, 2 and 1, and his ex-wife, Gayla Holleyman of Fayetteville, N.C. He also is survived by a sister, Kelly, 25, and a brother, Daniel, 20.
Funeral arrangements have not been finalized.
He will be buried with full military honors, likely at a family burial plot in southern Mississippi, his father said.
and Glasgow Courier Editor Samar Fay contributed to this report
