[ WAR IN IRAQ ]
GREGG K. KAKESAKO / GKAKESAKO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Soldiers who served with Army Sgt. Eugene Williams at Schofield Barracks and in Egypt posed yesterday before a memorial stone honoring their unit's involvement in Task Force Smith in the first battle of the Korean War. They are, from left, Spc. Adam Smith, Spc. Carl Venable, Sgt. Aaron Gaddis, Sgt. Chadd Nelson, Spc. Daniel Rosas and Spc. Robert Dozier.
GI’s death shocks Schofield Barracks soldiers who served with Sgt. Eugene Williams say his death at the hands of a suicide bomber in Iraq has not fully registered with them.
Hawaii comrades
Sgt. Eugene Williams was killed
by a suicide bomber in IraqBy Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com"It really brings you back to reality that soldiers die in combat," said Sgt. Aaron Gaddis. "I mean, we're soldiers and it's always in the back of your mind, but when you hear a name you know, it's shocker."
Gaddis said he was watching the news Monday night and was "very shocked" to find out that Williams was among four soldiers killed Saturday in a suicide bomber attack in Najaf.
Spc. Carl Venable, who served under Williams from July 2000 to August 2001, learned of his friend's death only yesterday afternoon.
"It's just so hard to put in words what I feel," he said. "It really hasn't registered."
Venable said Williams, 24, was his supervisor when Williams was a member of 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment.
Other soldiers of Charlie Company described Williams as "a good soldier," a top-rated noncommissioned officer who always had the welfare of his soldiers utmost in his mind and an athlete who excelled in the Army's physical fitness tests.
"He was quarterback of the company football team," said Spc. Robert Dozier, who played fullback. "We came in second one year. We turned in a pretty good job, I think."
While with the 25th Division, Williams served in the Sinai on peacekeeping duties from January to July 2001.
"It was pretty hot there," Dozier recalled. "We pulled a lot of guard duty, and we lifted a lot of weights."
Dozier said like himself, Williams called home regularly, talking to his wife, Brandy, and daughter, Mya, who is 3.
"We always try to separate our lives here and at home, so we never talked about our personal stuff too much," Dozier added.
Spc. Adam Smith, who knew Williams for a little more than a year, said the slain soldier "cared a lot for his troops and his family. He would take the time off from his schedule to check you out. He never raised his voice."
Williams enlisted in the infantry in December 1997 and was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division in April 1998. There he excelled, earning the expert infantryman's badge, which soldiers see as a mark of a well-trained soldier, and the air assault badge.
He also made sergeant before he left the Army in July 2001 after returning from Egypt.
Soldiers interviewed yesterday did not know why Williams left the Army only to return to re-enlist last June.
He was assigned to the 3rd Division (Mechanized) when he and three other soldiers responded to a motorist who seemed to be asking for help but instead detonated a bomb.
"He was a good guy," said Dozier. "He was a good soldier. He was a good American."
Gaddis added: "Definitely, it's a great loss to his family and to America."
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