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James R Wolf |
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Scottsbluff, Nebraska |
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November 6, 2003 |
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| Mosul, Iraq. Wolf was in a convoy when an improvised explosive device was detonated. Wolf died of his injuries. | ||||||||
| From: News@Starherald.com
By RICK MYERS Staff Reporter Wolf, a specialist first class with the U.S. Army 52nd Engineering Company connected with the 101st Airborne, was killed Thursday while serving in Iraq. According to a new release from the Department of Defense Wolf, 21, was killed on Thursday in Mosul, Iraq. He was in a convoy when an IED was detonated, and he died of his injuries. Wolf was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 52nd Engineer Battalion of the 43rd Area Support Group, based in Fort Carson, Colo. Wolf is the son of Bob and Chris Wolf of 2434 Ave. D, Scottsbluff. “We just don’t know anything,” Wolf’s mother, Chris, said Thursday afternoon. “We’re going to meet with some people tonight and should find out something then.” “He was very proud of what he did,” she said. “He talked about making it a career, and he had such a sense of purpose. It was awesome just to hear him.” Kirk Begley, principal at Scottsbluff High, said Thursday was a “sad, sad day when we had to let the staff know.” Begley said it a shock when James’ sister, Rachel, a 2003 graduate of Scottsbluff High came to school to tell them of her brother’s death. “He had just been back and was in the building,” Begley said. “He was a very talented guy.” Begley said he remembers Wolf walking down the hallway with a little smirk on his face. “He was always up to something positive. He was very active in musicals and ran track.” “He was just an all around great kid and was adamant about being a soldier.” Begley said this is the first time he has had to deal with the death of a soldier since he has become a principal. “We’re short one young man that made an impact to Scottsbluff High School,” Begley said. “There were a lot of wet eyes around here today.” Chris Wolf works with the Foster Grandparent program at Panhandle Community Services. Shirley Merritt, who runs the program, said she met briefly with the family Thursday afternoon. “He was just home and had gone to the schools,” Merritt said. “He was so positive about what he was doing and felt he was doing good there.” Wolf was home on a 15-day leave in mid-October. In an email Chris Wolf said her son was not in the infantry, but an engineer, working on the rebuilding in North Iraq. “He has worked on schools, housing for both US soldiers and Iraq citizens, and spent a month working on the sulfur mine fire. His unit saved this major water source from being polluted by the sulfur,” she wrote in the email. Julie Pengelly, principal at Lincoln Heights Elementary in Scottsbluff, said Wolf came to the school when he was home on leave to thank a class, members of which had written to him when he was in Iraq. “He stopped by to say thanks to the students,” Pengelly said. “He said he shared the letters to him with others who were not getting letters.” |
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| From journalstar.com
Scottsbluff man sixth Nebraskan to die in war Robert and Chris Wolf never interfered when their son Jamie told them that he wanted to enlist in the U.S. Army four years ago.
The third of the couple's four children, James R. Wolf had his mind
made up.
Before he graduated from Scottsbluff High School in 2000, Jamie had already signed the line and committed himself to the service of his country. Last spring he was called to serve in Iraq. A month ago he was given two weeks leave, which he spent with his family in Nebraska. On Thursday Spc. Jamie Wolf, 21, was killed in Mosul, Iraq. The truck he was driving ran over what the Defense Department said was an improvised explosive device. Wolf is the sixth native of Nebraska to be killed in the war in Iraq. Chris Wolf said she was told by Army officials that two others riding with her son were also injured in the blast. She did not know how serious their injuries were. Wolf was an engineer assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 52nd Engineer Battalion, 43rd Area Support Group, based in Fort Carson, Colo. In early October, Wolf spent his leave in Scottsbluff with his parents and older sister, Elli, 23, while visiting his older brother, David, 25, and younger sister, Rachael, 18, in Lincoln. David is a senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Rachael is a freshman at Southeast Community College, their father said. Born in Spokane, Wash., Jamie moved with his family to Scottsbluff in 1987, Robert Wolf said. Jamie participated in track and choir during high school, said his father, adding that Jamie also enjoyed outdoor activities such as camping and fishing. Chris Wolf said the Army gave her son a sense of direction that he lacked in high school. She said his maturity level was noticeably different last month during his visit home. "He had become a man," she said. "We could still see the same Jamie underneath, but it was obvious he had grown up." Robert Wolf said Jamie had planned to re-enlist in eight months, to make the military a career. The war in Iraq didn't change that, his father said. "He just knew he had a job to," Robert Wolf said. "It was his duty to do it, and that's what he was going to do." Jamie worked on schools and housing for U.S. soldiers and Iraqi citizens, his mother said. "He was glad to be doing what he was doing," she said. "We're all very proud of him." Kirk Begley, principal at Scottsbluff High, said Wolf's sister Rachael, who graduated last year, came to the school to tell them of her brother's death. It was a "sad, sad day when we had to let the staff know," Begley said. "He had just been back and was in the building. He was a very talented guy." Julie Pengelly, principal at Lincoln Heights Elementary in Scottsbluff, said Wolf came to the school when he was home on leave to thank a class. The children had written to him in Iraq. "He stopped by to say thanks to the students," Pengelly said. "He said he shared the letters to him with others who were not getting letters." |
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