Shooting at Ft Hood

[sonofabeach]

OH, b.t.w. (with all due respect), have I ever mentioned I'm ALSO of middle eastern decent?

Well that explains it. I always wondered how a guy that lives in Iowa has a better tan than my Floridian self

[Wino you know]

OH, b.t.w. (with all due respect), have I ever mentioned I'm ALSO of middle eastern decent?

Well that explains it. I always wondered how a guy that lives in Iowa has a better tan than my Floridian self

Blame it on my great grandparents, who were from the middle east (Lebanon, which, at that time was part of Syria), and my grandparents, who hail from what is now the Czech Republic (at the time was one nation, Czeckoslvakia).

What's even more amazing than my Iowa tan is that I can actually SPELL Czechoslovakia.

[phjrsaunt]

this is all just such a sad event. I can only pray and send good thoughts to all involved.

[Wino you know]

VICTIM FRANCHESKA VELEZ, CHICAGO, IL
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Velez, 21, of Chicago, was pregnant and preparing to return home. A friend of Velez's, Sasha Ramos, described her as a fun-loving person who wrote poetry and loved dancing.

"She was like my sister," Ramos, 21, said. "She was the most fun and happy person you could know. She never did anything wrong to anybody."

Family members said Velez had recently returned from deployment in Iraq and had sought a lifelong career in the Army.

"She was a very happy girl and sweet," said her father, Juan Guillermo Velez, his eyes red from crying. "She had the spirit of a child."

Ramos, who also served briefly in the military, couldn't reconcile that her friend was killed in this country — just after leaving a war zone.

"It makes it a lot harder," she said. "This is not something a soldier expects — to have someone in our uniform go start shooting at us."



Jose Rodriguez holds a photo of his granddaughter Francheska Velez in Chicago, Friday, Nov. 6, 2009. …

[Wino you know]

VICTIM P.F.C. MICHAEL PEARSON, BOLLINGBROOK, IL
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Pearson, 21, of the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, Ill., quit what he figured was a dead-end furniture company job to join the military about a year ago.

"He felt he was in a rut. He wanted to travel, see the world," his mother, Sheryll Pearson, told the Chicago Tribune. "He also wanted an opportunity to serve the country."

At Pearson's family home Friday, a yellow ribbon was tied to a porch light and a sticker stamped with American flags on the front door read, "United we stand."

Neighbor Jessica Koerber, who was with Pearson's parents when they received word Thursday their son had died, described him as a man who clearly loved his family — someone who enjoyed horsing around with his nieces and nephews, and other times playing his guitar.

"That family lost their gem," she told the AP. "He was a great kid, a great guy. ... Mikey was one of a kind."

Sheryll Pearson said she hadn't seen her son for a year because he had been training. She told the Tribune that when she last talked to him on the phone two days ago, they had discussed how he would come home for Christmas.

[big john]

Does anyone else find it ironic that the shooter was gunned down by a woman cop?
From what I've read he had some real issues with females.

[big john]

OH, b.t.w. (with all due respect), have I ever mentioned I'm ALSO of middle eastern decent?

Well that explains it. I always wondered how a guy that lives in Iowa has a better tan than my Floridian self

Blame it on my great grandparents, who were from the middle east (Lebanon, which, at that time was part of Syria), and my grandparents, who hail from what is now the Czech Republic (at the time was one nation, Czeckoslvakia).

What's even more amazing than my Iowa tan is that I can actually SPELL Czechoslovakia.

So you're 1/2 "Hunky". Same here, by way of Slovenia, which used to be part of
Yugoslavia.

[Karacal]

Many prayers for all involved...my deepest sympathies to the families of those who lost their life. My friend's husband was one of the victims. Please say an extra prayer for Staff Sgt. Justin DeCrow's wife and his daughter and the rest of his family. So tragic...

Sail on, Justin and thank you for your service and sacrifice......

[springparrot]

Many prayers for all involved...my deepest sympathies to the families of those who lost their life. My friend's husband was one of the victims. Please say an extra prayer for Staff Sgt. Justin DeCrow's wife and his daughter and the rest of his family. So tragic...

Sail on, Justin and thank you for your service and sacrifice......

(((Justin and Family))))


very nice memorial service today....

[SMLCHNG]

Many prayers for all involved...my deepest sympathies to the families of those who lost their life. My friend's husband was one of the victims. Please say an extra prayer for Staff Sgt. Justin DeCrow's wife and his daughter and the rest of his family. So tragic...
Sail on, Justin and thank you for your service and sacrifice......

[Karacal]

Some of the funerals are today including the one for my friend's husband. Please keep them all in your thoughts and prayers.

[dnw]

Thinking of Marikay and her daughter.

[txaggirl91]

If you would like to make a donation to the families, our campus in Killeen is heading up a fund raising event... just let me know and I can post or send you how to donate.