‘They say there’s a reason for everything, but I just can’t find a reason for this.’ – Bucklaw’s uncle Jack Smith
Ernest Bucklew was heading back to the States from Iraq for his mother’s funeral.
Now his family is planning his funeral.
The 33-year-old Army sergeant from Pennsylvania coal country was one of the 16 U.S. soldiers killed by Iraqi guerrillas in their devastating weekend missile attack on a Chinook helicopter ferrying troops on R & R and emergency leave.
Bucklew planned to stop off at his home at Fort Carson, Colo., to see his wife and two young sons before joining family members in Pennsylvania in saying a final farewell to his mom, Mary, who died Friday of a burst aneurysm.
Bucklew’s grieving widow, Barbara, whom he met when both were in the Army Reserves 12 years ago, said she found it difficult to tell their two sons that their fun-loving dad wasn’t coming home – ever.
Four-year-old Justin “just doesn’t understand,” she said as she choked back tears. “He doesn’t understand the concept of death right now.”
And Joshua, 8, is “just a little numb. He understands that his nana and father passed away, but he hasn’t talked about it.”
Barbara said when she met Bucklew, a 5-foot-3 coal miner’s son with brown eyes, she knew he was the man for her.
In one of his last e-mails, she said, he told her he couldn’t wait to get home.
In Point Marion, Pa., Bucklew’s uncle, Jack Smith, said his nephew initially wasn’t going to take a furlough because he was afraid it would be too hard on his sons when he left.
But after his mother’s death, he arranged for the trip home through the Red Cross.
“They say there’s a reason for everything, but I just can’t find a reason for this,” said Smith.
Pfc. Anthony D’Agostino was coming home to celebrate his 21st birthday – this Thursday – with his family in Waterbury, Conn.
D’Agostino joined the Army after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said his aunt, Beth Santos.
He was proud to be serving in Iraq, but his relatives were nervous – “You never stop worrying,” said Santos.
Another young victim of the attack on the helicopter was Pfc. Karina Lau – whose home furlough was planned as a surprise.
The 20-year-old was heading for Livingston, Calif., to see her family.
“She had just e-mailed my wife two hours before she got on the helicopter,” said her brother-in-law, Noel Rivera.
He said Lau planned to return to school after finishing her Army stint, and eventually open a music shop.
First Lt. Brian Slavenas of Genoa, Ill., wasn’t heading home – he was piloting the chopper.
A former Army paratrooper who was serving in Iraq with the Illinois National Guard, Slavenas, 30, could have ducked out of serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but he chose to go, said his brother, Eric.
“Technically, he didn’t have to go. He went for the honor. He felt serving his country was his duty,” said Eric.
Their father, Ronald, a Lithuanian immigrant, said Brian enjoyed checking out Iraq’s archeological sites as he flew his missions in Iraq.
With Post Wire Services