20 years in the service, told he could not retire until he went to iraq for 1 yr - dead [View All]

[The Straight Story]

Courage, faith remembered
By Carol Ann Alaimo
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.17.2007

A fallen Tucson soldier, who turned down a job that would have kept him out of harm's way to stay on the front lines with his comrades, was honored as a hero in his hometown on Friday.

Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Darrel Kasson, killed in action in Iraq while working as a military police officer, was laid to rest at Evergreen Cemetery, fulfilling his wish to buried in the city in which he was born.
...
Last month marked Kasson's 20th year of Guard service, making him eligible to retire. But when his unit got word last summer of the upcoming Iraq deployment, he was told he'd have to go overseas for a year before he could leave the military.

Kasson took the news in stride and did his best to keep spirits high among fellow Guard members as they prepared to go to war, said Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Tatum, who spoke at the funeral on behalf of Kasson's unit.

http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/174081.php


Sharon Jones, from New Mexico, is given an American flag during funeral services for her son. Darrel Kasson was killed March 4 when a homemade bomb blew up near his vehicle. He is the 28th service member with Southern Arizona ties to be killed in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.