thedrifter
02-03-08, 07:52 AM
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Marine said little about war
Death in California being investigated
By Jason Thomas
The Indianapolis Star
WHITE RIVER TOWNSHIP, Ind. -- On leave during the Christmas holiday, Johnathon Goffred treated his family to dinner at Texas Roadhouse.
It was the one time the 22- year-old Marine mentioned anything about his seven-month tour of duty in Iraq's Anbar province.
"He made it very clear he did not want to discuss the war," said his grandmother, MaryAnn Sparrow, who had raised Goffred since he was 2 days old. "He said nobody knows what it's like until you've been there."
More than a month later, those words haunt Sparrow and her husband, Walter, after Goffred was found dead in his barracks Jan. 26 at Camp Pendleton near San Diego. His death remains under investigation, leaving MaryAnn Sparrow leaning on her Christian faith and trusting the military to find answers.
"My faith keeps me going," Sparrow said from her home just south of Center Grove High School in Johnson County, where Goffred graduated in 2003. "I think (the military's) goal is to be accurate."
Sparrow last talked to Goffred two days before his death.
He told her about a recent snowboarding trip, where he happened to fall a few times.
She urged him to try skiing. He voiced his reluctance.
"I said, 'Look, John, anybody that can rappel out of a Blackhawk helicopter can get on two skis. Now get your butt back up there and get on those skis,' " Sparrow said. "He laughed and said, 'All right, I'll try it.' Everything was so positive."
Lance Cpl. Goffred, who joined the Marines in June 2005, was a rifleman in the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
The Navy Criminal Investigative Service is handling the investigation, according to Sgt. Trent Lowry, spokesman for the regiment.
Goffred's unit had peacekeeping duties while stationed in Anbar, regarded as Iraq's most violent province. His missions included training Iraqi police and self-defense forces, as well as regular patrols.
The Marines were a way for Goffred, whom Sparrow described as outgoing and "definitely a clown," to prepare for his goal of becoming a state police trooper.
He had two other goals: to buy MaryAnn and Walter a bigger house and to open a foundation for needy children, something the Sparrows are familiar with after having adopted 13 children.
He told Sparrow he would name it The Sparrows Nest.
"Which is such an honor," she said. "I cried like a baby."
Sparrow gave her grandson a rosary to safeguard him in Iraq. Goffred told her that he wore it every day of his deployment. "When I talked to him, I asked him, 'Where is your rosary?' " she said. "He laughed and said, 'It's on my nightstand by my head every night before I go to sleep.' "
Ellie
Marine said little about war
Death in California being investigated
By Jason Thomas
The Indianapolis Star
WHITE RIVER TOWNSHIP, Ind. -- On leave during the Christmas holiday, Johnathon Goffred treated his family to dinner at Texas Roadhouse.
It was the one time the 22- year-old Marine mentioned anything about his seven-month tour of duty in Iraq's Anbar province.
"He made it very clear he did not want to discuss the war," said his grandmother, MaryAnn Sparrow, who had raised Goffred since he was 2 days old. "He said nobody knows what it's like until you've been there."
More than a month later, those words haunt Sparrow and her husband, Walter, after Goffred was found dead in his barracks Jan. 26 at Camp Pendleton near San Diego. His death remains under investigation, leaving MaryAnn Sparrow leaning on her Christian faith and trusting the military to find answers.
"My faith keeps me going," Sparrow said from her home just south of Center Grove High School in Johnson County, where Goffred graduated in 2003. "I think (the military's) goal is to be accurate."
Sparrow last talked to Goffred two days before his death.
He told her about a recent snowboarding trip, where he happened to fall a few times.
She urged him to try skiing. He voiced his reluctance.
"I said, 'Look, John, anybody that can rappel out of a Blackhawk helicopter can get on two skis. Now get your butt back up there and get on those skis,' " Sparrow said. "He laughed and said, 'All right, I'll try it.' Everything was so positive."
Lance Cpl. Goffred, who joined the Marines in June 2005, was a rifleman in the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
The Navy Criminal Investigative Service is handling the investigation, according to Sgt. Trent Lowry, spokesman for the regiment.
Goffred's unit had peacekeeping duties while stationed in Anbar, regarded as Iraq's most violent province. His missions included training Iraqi police and self-defense forces, as well as regular patrols.
The Marines were a way for Goffred, whom Sparrow described as outgoing and "definitely a clown," to prepare for his goal of becoming a state police trooper.
He had two other goals: to buy MaryAnn and Walter a bigger house and to open a foundation for needy children, something the Sparrows are familiar with after having adopted 13 children.
He told Sparrow he would name it The Sparrows Nest.
"Which is such an honor," she said. "I cried like a baby."
Sparrow gave her grandson a rosary to safeguard him in Iraq. Goffred told her that he wore it every day of his deployment. "When I talked to him, I asked him, 'Where is your rosary?' " she said. "He laughed and said, 'It's on my nightstand by my head every night before I go to sleep.' "
Ellie