Damn...

[Hissyspit]

One of my students...

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/article?id=244780

Robeson soldier killed in Iraq

By Laura Arenschield
Staff writer

Army First Lt. Joshua Deese of Robeson County was on his second deployment when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in Kirkuk, Iraq, on Sunday.

Deese died in Balad from injuries caused by the explosion, the Defense Department said Tuesday. Sgt. Jonathan E. Lootens, a 25-year-old from Lyons, N.Y., also died from the blast. Two other soldiers were injured.

Deese, who was 25, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, which is based at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.

Deese entered the Army in October 2003 and reported to Schofield Barracks in August 2004, according to a spokeswoman at the Army post.

Deese graduated from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 2004 with a degree in American Studies, said his sister, Myra Deese.

~ snip ~

“He thought he would make a whole lot better officer if he was actually out there with the other troops,” Myra said. “That way he would know what it was they were going through and it would make him a better leader.”

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He majored in American studies and did above average in my Art Appreciation class. But that education is now gone. Rest in peace, Joshua, and sympathy and condolences to his loved ones.

[fooj]

1. OMG...as a teacher, this is one of my biggest fears.

I'm SOOOO sorry. RIP, Joshua.

[Hissyspit]

4. He is just one I know about.

It is possible there have been others I don't know about or whose name I did not recognize.

[fooj]

8. .

:cry:

[Bluebear]

2. I'm so sorry . . .

It's getting to be like everyone will know someone pretty soon who is dead or dying from this war of choice.

[Hissyspit]

6. I had previously posted about one of my former students who

was seriously injured as part of the international police force. She got to see her friend's brains blown apart.

I hope that Joshua will be the last person I know to die, but I know the odds are not good.

[photogirl12]

3. I am so sorry

:pals: sending you a hug!

[Hissyspit]

10. Thank you. n/t

[mmonk]

5. Sorry.

Don't look at the education you gave him as a waste though. If he learned something from you, it wasn't a waste.

[karlrschneider]

7. What a shame. I'm afraid it won't be much longer before nearly every

American will have experienced the loss of someone they had a connection with. RIP, brother Deese.

[Hissyspit]

9. Robeson and the surrounding area - poor counties.

Deese is a Lumbee/Native American surname. Still seems more likely if you know a lot of poor people.

[karlrschneider]

11. I know some folks with that name down in Georgia but wasn't aware

of the origin. We don't much have a large circle of friends locally here but I do know 2 young fellows in the army. One is back in Iraq for the 2nd time...we get news from his mom from time to time - but lost track of the other one, his family moved away back in July.

[Hissyspit]

14. Sometimes the surname is spelled Dees.

But the families have a shared origin. My sister married a Dees.

[endarkenment]

12. I dread the day one of the kids I know ends up like this.

I am so sorry for you and for his family. What a waste.

[helderheid]

13. I'm so sorry

:cry:

[Hissyspit]

16. Thanks, helderheid. It means a lot coming from you. n/t

[Mnemosyne]

15. Such a waste of young lives.

I'm so sorry.

Rest in peace, Joshua.

:hug:

[pacalo]

17. So sad to hear.

[K8-EEE]

18. Tragedy upon tragedy upon tragedy

More and more of us are being touched by this personally. It needs to stop.

[nam78_two]

19. So sorry for your loss

The second one on the greatest page today :(.

[Hissyspit]

20. .

[Erika]

21. So very sad.

When will all this stop?

[Hissyspit]

22. .

[Odin2005]

23. Oh, God...

:cry:

[Freedomofspeech]

24. So sorry..

another young life wasted. I am heartbroken and angry all of the time.