Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,164
- Reaction score
- 6
Ft. Lewis soldier dies long after blast
The explosion that took Spc. Kevin Mowl out of the war in Iraq six months ago finally killed him Monday.
The 22-year-old Fort Lewis soldier from Pittsford, N.Y., who received awards from President Bush in December as he struggled against death, succumbed "calmly" Monday at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., family members said on their blog.
The 3rd Stryker Brigade infantryman was among 11 soldiers wounded Aug. 2 in a powerful roadside bomb explosion in Baghdad that flipped over the heavy vehicle in which all rode.
Three Stryker soldiers were killed outright in the explosion: Staff Sgt. Fernando Santos, 29, of San Antonio; Spc. Cristian Roya-Gallego, 24, of Loganville, Ga.; and Spc. Eric D. Salinas, 25, of Houston.
Mowl suffered massive head and brain trauma as well as broken bones and lacerations throughout his body. He was flown from Iraq to Germany and then to Bethesda.
Part of Mowl's skull was removed to treat his brain injuries, and he endured months of extensive surgery.
He lay in a comatose state at first and required heavy pain medication, his relatives wrote.
In recent weeks, according to the blog, the Mowl family was buoyed that he had fought his way back to more responsive interchanges with them and was sitting in a chair more often.
On Feb. 13, they were excited when Mowl was moved from intensive care to a regular hospital room.
Mowl in recent weeks underwent an eight-hour surgery and was slated to undergo an operation this week that would have given him a complete skull.
Mowl's fight was an inspiration that captured the attention of many. In December, Bush visited the medical center and presented Mowl with a Purple Heart and an Army Commendation Medal.
Mowl, who died with family members present, is survived by his parents, Harold and Mary Mowl, and a sister.
Harold Mowl, according to Deafweekly, is the superintendent of the Rochester (N.Y.) School for the Deaf.
Kevin Mowl visited the school while home on leave nearly a year ago and received cards from the children when he was injured that raised his spirits, hometown TV station WHEC reported last year.
The explosion that injured Mowl occurred just a month before the 3rd Stryker Brigade began returning to Fort Lewis after a 15-month deployment in Iraq.
Mowl joined the Army on June 14, 2004, and reported to Fort Lewis that December.
A close cousin, Anthony Mowl, who is deaf, wrote with pride about his "CODA cousin" the acronym for the group Children of Deaf Adults.
Mowl was the first from the family to serve in the military. Any political beliefs about the war were set aside to support him, Anthony Mowl wrote.
"When we received the news that Kevin was caught in the crosshairs of an explosion, the war really slammed home," Anthony Mowl wrote.
"Watching Kevin go off to basic training made me realize that I would never have the strength to do what he did, to make his sacrifice," the soldier's cousin wrote.
When he later saw Mowl in the hospital, his cousin wrote, "he had aged considerably; he was now a man."
Visit the family's blog at CaringBridge. Free Websites That Support And Connect Loved Ones During Critical Illness.
The explosion that took Spc. Kevin Mowl out of the war in Iraq six months ago finally killed him Monday.
The 22-year-old Fort Lewis soldier from Pittsford, N.Y., who received awards from President Bush in December as he struggled against death, succumbed "calmly" Monday at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., family members said on their blog.
The 3rd Stryker Brigade infantryman was among 11 soldiers wounded Aug. 2 in a powerful roadside bomb explosion in Baghdad that flipped over the heavy vehicle in which all rode.
Three Stryker soldiers were killed outright in the explosion: Staff Sgt. Fernando Santos, 29, of San Antonio; Spc. Cristian Roya-Gallego, 24, of Loganville, Ga.; and Spc. Eric D. Salinas, 25, of Houston.
Mowl suffered massive head and brain trauma as well as broken bones and lacerations throughout his body. He was flown from Iraq to Germany and then to Bethesda.
Part of Mowl's skull was removed to treat his brain injuries, and he endured months of extensive surgery.
He lay in a comatose state at first and required heavy pain medication, his relatives wrote.
In recent weeks, according to the blog, the Mowl family was buoyed that he had fought his way back to more responsive interchanges with them and was sitting in a chair more often.
On Feb. 13, they were excited when Mowl was moved from intensive care to a regular hospital room.
Mowl in recent weeks underwent an eight-hour surgery and was slated to undergo an operation this week that would have given him a complete skull.
Mowl's fight was an inspiration that captured the attention of many. In December, Bush visited the medical center and presented Mowl with a Purple Heart and an Army Commendation Medal.
Mowl, who died with family members present, is survived by his parents, Harold and Mary Mowl, and a sister.
Harold Mowl, according to Deafweekly, is the superintendent of the Rochester (N.Y.) School for the Deaf.
Kevin Mowl visited the school while home on leave nearly a year ago and received cards from the children when he was injured that raised his spirits, hometown TV station WHEC reported last year.
The explosion that injured Mowl occurred just a month before the 3rd Stryker Brigade began returning to Fort Lewis after a 15-month deployment in Iraq.
Mowl joined the Army on June 14, 2004, and reported to Fort Lewis that December.
A close cousin, Anthony Mowl, who is deaf, wrote with pride about his "CODA cousin" the acronym for the group Children of Deaf Adults.
Mowl was the first from the family to serve in the military. Any political beliefs about the war were set aside to support him, Anthony Mowl wrote.
"When we received the news that Kevin was caught in the crosshairs of an explosion, the war really slammed home," Anthony Mowl wrote.
"Watching Kevin go off to basic training made me realize that I would never have the strength to do what he did, to make his sacrifice," the soldier's cousin wrote.
When he later saw Mowl in the hospital, his cousin wrote, "he had aged considerably; he was now a man."
Visit the family's blog at CaringBridge. Free Websites That Support And Connect Loved Ones During Critical Illness.