thedrifter
03-19-06, 07:12 AM
Aaron C. Austin: Marine lance corporal, 21, Lovington
By ERIKA DÁVILA | The New Mexican
March 19, 2006
Aaron Austin rarely talked about the war when he would call his mother from Iraq.
But when two of his fellow Marines were killed, he called to tell her he was having a hard time sleeping. He had a sadness in his voice that De'on Miller said she wasn't used to hearing from her energetic, rambunctious son. So she sent him a Snuggle pillow from home, and soon after, she heard from her son again.
"He called at 12:15 at night and said, 'Mom, I wanted to tell you I got some sleep. I shook it off. I'm good to go,' " she said.
The pillow was among Aaron's belongings that were later returned to her after her only son was killed in combat. She sleeps with it every night.
Austin was a "miracle baby," said Miller, whose first son died 10 years before Aaron was born. The first son had microcephaly, an abnormal smallness of the head, and died at 17 months. When Miller became pregnant with Aaron, doctors were sure he would have the same condition. But he didn't. "He was smart and handsome and charming," she said.
He was also destined to join the military. As a boy, he would often play in his mother's Army boots and watch military movies. He lived in Panama during the U.S. invasion while Miller, now an Army veteran, was stationed there.
At about the age of 14, he discovered life outside school, and the classroom became secondary to him, Miller said. His mother was not surprised when he chose to join the Marines Corps out of high school. He believed Marines were top-of-the-line ground troops, and that's the kind of challenge that suited him, she said.
He loved the camaraderie the military provided, loved his country and believed strongly in the war in Iraq. "He found his niche in the Marines," Miller said.
"He was for the war and didn't like to hear people speak against it."
Austin, who was awarded the Silver Star posthumously, was engaged to be married when he was killed.
Erika Dávila
Rest In Peace
Ellie
By ERIKA DÁVILA | The New Mexican
March 19, 2006
Aaron Austin rarely talked about the war when he would call his mother from Iraq.
But when two of his fellow Marines were killed, he called to tell her he was having a hard time sleeping. He had a sadness in his voice that De'on Miller said she wasn't used to hearing from her energetic, rambunctious son. So she sent him a Snuggle pillow from home, and soon after, she heard from her son again.
"He called at 12:15 at night and said, 'Mom, I wanted to tell you I got some sleep. I shook it off. I'm good to go,' " she said.
The pillow was among Aaron's belongings that were later returned to her after her only son was killed in combat. She sleeps with it every night.
Austin was a "miracle baby," said Miller, whose first son died 10 years before Aaron was born. The first son had microcephaly, an abnormal smallness of the head, and died at 17 months. When Miller became pregnant with Aaron, doctors were sure he would have the same condition. But he didn't. "He was smart and handsome and charming," she said.
He was also destined to join the military. As a boy, he would often play in his mother's Army boots and watch military movies. He lived in Panama during the U.S. invasion while Miller, now an Army veteran, was stationed there.
At about the age of 14, he discovered life outside school, and the classroom became secondary to him, Miller said. His mother was not surprised when he chose to join the Marines Corps out of high school. He believed Marines were top-of-the-line ground troops, and that's the kind of challenge that suited him, she said.
He loved the camaraderie the military provided, loved his country and believed strongly in the war in Iraq. "He found his niche in the Marines," Miller said.
"He was for the war and didn't like to hear people speak against it."
Austin, who was awarded the Silver Star posthumously, was engaged to be married when he was killed.
Erika Dávila
Rest In Peace
Ellie