Two deaths bring tragedy of war home to Islands

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

American military casualties in Iraq took on a personal note for Hawai'i residents this week as word spread that two of the soldiers killed in a collision of Black Hawk helicopters Saturday had strong ties to the Islands.

Sgt. 1st Class Kelly Bolor was a graduate of Lahainaluna High School.

2nd Lt. Jeremy Wolfe was a 2002 graduate of Hawai'i Pacific University.

The other, 2nd Lt. Jeremy Wolfe, 27, was a 2002 graduate of Hawai'i Pacific University, where he majored in business administration. A native of Menomonie, Wis., Wolfe was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky.

Both men were among 17 soldiers killed when two Army UH-60 Black Hawks collided over a residential neighborhood in Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city. The U.S. military is investigating whether ground fire may have been a factor in the crash.

Bolor's identical twin, Keith, said yesterday that his brother was extremely proud of serving in the Army. The twins, along with brother Rocky, graduated the same year and all joined the military right out of school. There were two other siblings in the close, but financially strapped family.

"We all grew up without a dad," Keith Bolor said. "My mom was on welfare, and she stayed home with the little ones. We were struggling."

They knew there would not be money for college, so the Army was a choice that offered both education and career, said Keith Bolor, the older twin by six minutes. Keith chose the reserves, however. Brother Rocky is still in the Army, assigned on O'ahu.

Kelly Bolor served in the Army for four years with assignments in Kentucky and Alaska, where he regaled family members with stories about eating his first moose and squirrel. Just after he joined the reserves, he was sent to the Persian Gulf War.

The twins were extremely close. As boys, they looked so much alike that they could trade places. But when they got caught, their teachers pinned name tags on them.

And each knew when something was not right with the other.

"Me and my brother, we would feel each other's pain," Keith Bolor said. "Sometimes we would call each other simultaneously and one would beat the other guy and say, 'Wow, I was just trying to call you.' "

Kelly Bolor was married and lived in Whittier, Calif., where he was a government employee. His wife is also named Kelly, and the family would refer to them as "Kelly Boy" and "Kelly Girl." They have a 3-year-old son, Kyle.

He was activated last December and left for Iraq in January. Kelly Bolor was due to come home sometime later this month for the holidays and his son's birthday.

His death hit the family hard.

"At first, everyone was in disbelief," said brother Conrad Bolor. "Everyone had a sense of hope that it wasn't him. And then uncles were getting mad and were in denial. Are they sure, are they positive? It is just hard to accept."

At HPU, friends and teachers of Wolfe are struggling, too.

Wolfe was "an all-star student" in Jack Karbens' accounting class. Wolfe also was a member of the ROTC program at the University of Hawai'i, Karbens said.

"He was just a brilliant guy who was trying to learn more things," Karbens said yesterday. "He was totally dedicated to becoming part of this helicopter program in the Army."

Wolfe included Karbens in the e-mail messages he sent in October, not long after he arrived in Iraq. Wolfe was a flight platoon leader who was excited to be in Iraq, Karbens said. But his former student and friend also wrote a lot about the flies.

"He said they will crawl into your mouth, they don't have any respect for your personal space," Karbens said. "He had a good sense of humor."

Sylvia Zhuang, who graduated from HPU in May, took several classes with Wolfe. She called him intelligent, witty and kind-hearted.

"You could see it under his disciplined and masculine outside," she said. "You could tell he was very warm and caring inside."

Like Karbens, Zhuang received e-mail from Wolfe.

For Zhuang, Wolfe's death put a tragic face on the fighting in Iraq.

"This really hits home," she said. "It definitely is more on a personal level."

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.