Dad builds memorial to son killed in Iraq - News

Dad builds memorial to son killed in Iraq

OSCODA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Vietnam veteran John Dearing says he was overwhelmed with guilt when his son died while on combat duty in Iraq in 2005. When he got the tragic news, Dearing reflected on the day he accompanied his son, John W. "JW" Dearing, to a recruiter's office to enlist in the U.S. Army. The younger Dearing was a 17-year-old high school junior at the time. "He enlisted for college purposes," Dearing said. "That's why a lot of kids do it. I was proud of him." Advertisement It proved a fateful decision. JW Dearing was killed on Nov. 21, 2005 when the Humvee in which he was riding was hit by an improvised explosive device in Habbaniyah, Iraq. The elder Dearing said he felt partly to blame for his son's death because he encouraged him to join the military. "I beat myself up over it for about a month," he said. "Then I thought, 'He wouldn't want you to do this....

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