Slain soldier is Waipahu family hero
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
The widow of a U.S. soldier killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq said she considers her husband, Sgt. Eugene Williams, a family hero.
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In a written statement released yesterday to the media, Brandy Williams, a 25-year-old Waipahu woman said: "Eugene died for his country and when our children grow up, I will be sure to tell them how proud we all are of their daddy and that he may not be here with us but that he will always remain in our hearts. His family and I are very proud of the sacrifice he made. He is our hero."
A family portrait of Sgt. Eugene Williams, wife Brandy, and their daughter Mya, 3, was shown on NBC's "Today" show yesterday. "Eugene died for his country ... " Brandy said.
Eugene Williams, 24, of Highland, N.Y., died Saturday when a suicide bomber posing as a taxi driver pulled up close to a roadblock north of Najaf and waved to the troops for help. He was one of four U.S. soldiers who died; the others were Cpl. Michael E. Curtin, 23, of Howell, N.J., and Pfcs. Diego Fernando Rincon, 19, of Conyers, Ga., and Michael Russell Creighton Weldon, 20, of Palm Bay, Fla.
Brandy Williams, along with her 3-year-old daughter Mya, is living with her parents in Waipahu. She is pregnant and expecting the couple's second child in June. The Sacred Hearts Academy and University of Hawai'i graduate met her husband when he was stationed in Hawai'i with the 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks.
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"When Eugene deployed to Iraq, we really didn't talk a lot about what he was going to do over there," she said. "He knew it was his job to go over there and fight for his country. Since he was an Infantryman, we both knew that he would most likely be on the front lines."
Williams had joined the Army in 1998 and served at Schofield Barracks with the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment from April 1998 to December 2001.
He finished his enlistment in January 2002 but was back in the Army five months later. After that he was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, Ga. He left for the Gulf in December and waited during the long weeks for the war to start.
Eugene Williams' sister, Lori Ackert, who lives in upstate New York, said that the family was struggling with the loss.
"My mom took it pretty hard," Ackert said. "My dad took it pretty hard. We just buried my uncle on Saturday and Sunday morning we got the phone call from Brandy."
Then an Army sergeant arrived to tell them personally.
Sgt. Eugene Williams 24, of Highland, N.Y., died Saturday when a suicide bomber pulled up close to a roadblock north of Najaf, Iraq.
"My mom went a little crazy," Ackert said. "She lost her voice, but now she is OK. Me, I'm trying to stay strong for everyone."
Ackert's brother was 24, the third oldest of four children. Another brother, 19-year-old Eric, is also in the Army, fighting somewhere in Iraq.
"But he is supposed to be coming home," said Ackert. "That's what they told us."
She said her brother Eugene really wanted to be a soldier. But he missed his family, too.
"He went over to do his job because that was what he signed up for," she said. "Everybody would have fears and doubts. Once he got over there, he wanted to come home."
Williams told family members that he would be back stateside in June or July, Ackert said, and that he was anxious to see his new baby.
"In the last letter I received he said he wanted everybody to write to him because he said he would be unable to write to us once they went to war."
The family plans to have a funeral in Hawai'i.
Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.
