[ WAR IN IRAQ ]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Army Sgt. Eugene Williams was killed Saturday by an Iraqi suicide bomber.
Fallen U.S. soldier Army Sgt. Eugene Williams, who was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq Saturday, served with the 25th Infantry Division and was expecting the birth of his second child this summer.
had Hawaii ties
Sgt. Eugene Williams' wife is
a 1995 grad from Sacred Hearts
By Gregg K. Kakesako
CORRECTION
Wednesday, April 2, 2003» Brandy Dela Cruz Williams is the wife of Sgt. Eugene Williams, one of four soldiers killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq on Saturday. Her first name was spelled incorrectly in a Page A1 report on Monday.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.
gkakesako@starbulletin.comWilliams, 24, and his wife, Brandi Dela Cruz, a 1995 Sacred Hearts Academy graduate, have a 3-year-old daughter, Mya, and are expecting another child in June.
Williams died Saturday when a suicide bomber, posing as a taxi driver pulled up close to a roadblock north of Najaf and waved to the troops for help. He was one of four U.S. soldiers who died. Another soldier was injured.
A family member, who asked not to be identified for privacy reasons, said this morning Brandi Williams was too distraught to speak to reporters.
Brandi Williams appeared earlier this morning in an interview on the NBC's "Today" and said she would tell her children that their father gave his life for his country, "and that even though he's not here, he loves them with all his heart and that he's always going to be our hero."
She said she last spoke to her husband March 15.
"He told me that he wasn't going to be able to call for a while," Williams told "Today." She said he had written some letters for her and their daughter, "but we haven't received them yet."
The coupled married three years ago while Williams was a member of the division's 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the "Gimlets." The family member said the two met while Brandi Williams was attending the University of Hawaii, working toward a degree in primary education.
Williams had been stationed at Schofield Barracks, and his unit was deployed for six months to the Sinai in a 2001 peacekeeping mission.
Williams left the Army after the Sinai deployment ended in July 2001, but re-entered the Army later that year after the couple moved to Florida. Williams was then assigned to the 3rd Infantry at Fort Stewart in Georgia.
When the 3rd Division was sent to Kuwait, Brandi Williams decided to move back to Honolulu because she was expecting another child, the family member said.
Relatives of Williams are on the Mainland but a memorial service may be held here, the family said.
"This just brings the family together," Williams' sister, Lori Ackert told the Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal. "It opens our eyes and makes us realize you can die at anytime."
Ackert said another brother, Erick Williams, 19, is also in the Army and stationed in Iraq.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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