Lake City family mourns loss of soldier killed in Iraq

Lake City family mourns loss of soldier killed in Iraq

May 13, 2007

By SONU WASU
6 News Reporter

LAKE CITY (WATE) -- A Lake City family is in mourning after hearing about the death of a soldier. James David Connell, Jr., 40, was killed after Sunni insurgents attacked seven soldiers who were on patrol.

The men were performing a mission 20 miles south of Baghdad in an area known as the "Triangle of Death."

Officers showed up at Connell's Lake City home on Saturday night to give the family the sad news.

Connell had served in the army for 17 years. This was his third time in Iraq.

Friends and relatives crowded into the home, holding each other for comfort, the impact of a blast thousands of miles away too close to home.

Connell's sister, Angela Reynolds, says she is extremely proud of her brother. "It's hard to say at this time with the emotions so raw whether or not the sacrifice was worth it."

Connell was home in Lake City just two weeks ago. Memories of that last visit are now cherished by the children he loved so much.

Connell spent a lot of time with his son Bryan. "We went to Dollywood and he took us out of school one day," Bryan says. He also says he considers his father a hero.

Courtney Connell, 14, adds that she too is very proud of her father. "He didn't really fight for himself, he fought for the country."

Angela Reynolds says they all went to pick Connell up at the airport. That is the last memory she has of her brother. "That's what I see when I close my eyes, him walking through that terminal."

Family members say it will take about a week to get Connell's body stateside.

He had expressed a desire to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in his will. There is a four and a half month wait list to be buried there, but family members plan to honor his request.

They are planning to hold a local memorial service, but arrangements are incomplete at this time.