SGT David Weir of Cleveland
Local Soldier Killed in Baghdad Firefight
 by Rich Dinsmore, Managing Editor
It was what every family with a member in the military fears, the
arrival of officers and senior NCO’s in dress uniforms at the
door. Today, Thursday, September 14, those fears were realized as
the family of Army Sergeant David Weir was notified that the sergeant
had been killed in the line of duty.
A pair of chaplains, bearing the dreaded news, appeared at the door of
Allyson Weir, David’s wife, and at the workplace of his father, Charles
L. “Lynn” Weir, to inform them of the loss and escort them to the Weir
home on Falcon Drive in Cleveland. “We learned about David’s death
about 11:00am this morning,” said Chris Weir, David’s older
brother. “Two chaplains came to the door and told us that David
had been killed in Iraq.”
The chaplains also visited Charles, David’s father, at the Bradley
County Assessor of Property office. Charles was out in the field
according to family members, and county assessor of property Stanley
Thompson had to call him on the radio and have him come in. When
Charles entered the office in the courthouse annex the pair of Army
chaplains took his aside to deliver the bad news. They then headed
to the workplace of David’s mother, informed her of David’s death, and
then went to the family home in southern Bradley County.
Surrounded by family and friends, Chris Weir remembered his younger
brother, saying, “He loved this country. He always wanted to go
into the military. It was exactly what he always wanted to
do. It was pretty fortunate that he got to do what he always
wanted to do. Not all of us get that, so he certainly was doing
exactly what he wanted.”
Chris said that the father’s military service in Vietnam helped the
family as far as David’s being in a hostile environment, “but as far as
losing him, I don’t know how you prepare.”
David had been in Iraq for eleven months and was due to rotate home
sometime in the next four to eight weeks said Chris. “October was
going to be a year, so it was going to be the last week in October or
the first week in November.”
Chris said that he had just spoken to David Wednesday, September 13,
“about lunch time, and they (military) said that he was killed about
4:00pm our time. By the grace of God we were able to talk to him
(one last time)…and that had been the first time I’d talked to him in a
couple of months.”
Chris’s last conversation with his brother was about how things are
“over there". They felt like they were in the middle of the
fighting. That they (the enemy) weren’t really targeting our
soldiers or anything. They (US soldiers) were just kind of stuck
in the middle being policemen. And that was basically it. He
was really getting anxious to get home,” said Chris. “He was in
good spirits and, again, he was proud of what he was doing and he was
very happy to be able to have the opportunity to be able to do it.”
David was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, KY., and was looking forward
to returning to the United States and state-side Army life with his
wife and son, Gavin. Allyson had only recently returned from
Clarksville, Tennessee, where she had been apartment hunting.
David’s job was forward observer, but reportedly had been sitting
behind a desk a lot and wanted to get into the field. According to
reports, when the chance to go on a security patrol came up David
jumped at it. It was on that security sweep that David’s unit came
under small arms and RPG (rocket Propelled Grenade) fire. In the
exchange of gunfire, David was killed.
Describing how the family was taking the news of David’s death, Chris
said “Shock is the best way to explain it. We were all preparing
for him to come home, you know? And we were getting excited about
what we would be doing for his homecoming. Right now were stuck
between devastation and pride. We are very proud of what he did,
proud that he loved his country like he did, but at the same time it’s
my little brother, so it’s devastating at the same time.”
Asked to describe David, Chris said “he was stubborn…he was very
stubborn. He was a good kid, played football, graduated from
Bradley High School, very active, very in-shape guy. One of the
nicest guys you’d want to meet, but stubborn is the first thing that
comes to mind,” says Chris.
So far the Army has not been able to tell the family when David’s body
will be returned to the United States, so funeral arrangements are on
hold for now.
Cleveland Mayor Tom Rowland said that he had ordered all flags at city
buildings and offices flown at half-staff until David “comes home and
is laid to rest with the military honors he deserves.” |
