Memoriam - Sean K. Mitchell
Fallen Heroes
“Not for fame or reward, not lured by ambition or goaded by necessity, but in simple obedience to duty.”
--Inscription at Arlington Cemetary
"Each of these heroes stands in the unbroken line of patriots who have dared to die that freedom might live and grow and increase in its blessings."
-- Franklin Delano Roosevelt
I'm quite sure no one reading this will know who Sean Mitchell was, but to me he will always be that goofy Private First Class from 1997 at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA.
Sean was one of my best friends in the service...in fact, one of those guys I couldn't have gotten rid of even if I'd wanted to (which I of course did not). We were stationed together at DLI, in the same Russian language class, and were roomates twice during our stay in Monterey. We parted ways briefly when we went to Advanced school, but then....in true "Small World" fashion we were both assigned to the same unit in Germany where we were once again thrown together as bunkmates.
Sean was a terrific guy who was always eager to please, eager to help, and eager to fight for something he believed in. After I ended my tour on active duty, Sean always joked that he would follow me back to Kansas when his tour was done...but he didn't. Sean stayed in the Army, stayed Active Duty for just over 10 years. Something he NEVER would have thought about back in 1997.
As with most distant friendships, we talked a lot on email and messenger over the years...but eventually our communications became more and more infrequent. I had an increasingly demanding career path and Sean...Sean went through three tours in Afghanistan in the last 4 years, quite obviously limiting his ability to communicate. After joining the Army Special Forces, that communication dropped to virtually zero.
The last time I spoke with Sean Mitchell was just after he'd married his wife. I wasn't even aware they'd had a boy. He was happy and in love and didn't think twice about the danger he was putting himself in because he knew he was making the world a better place by putting himself between Terror and the ones he loved. Which is why, after four months of no word from Sean, the message I received today hit like a punch to the gut:
All,
I just wanted to pass on the horrible news that Sean died a few months ago. A friend of his noticed that I left him a MySpace comment and told me that he is no longer with us. He barely got to see his son after he was born before shipping out to Africa. It's hard to believe he's gone; my heart is so heavy. I am trying to get his wife, Sonja's, address to send her a card. Please pass on this email to any other friends that he may have from DLI or 1st MI.
This is the best article I could find about it.
http://livinglegendteam.blogspot.com/2007/07/army-sgt-1st-class-sean-k-mitchell.html
My thoughts are with his wife, son and mother.
Angel
Sean K. Mitchell, friend, husband, father died 7/07/07 from wounds suffered while on duty in the country of Mali, in Africa. His final mission involved training African governments in our fight against Terrorism.
God Speed.
PFC Sean Mitchell, 1997 @ DLI - Learning Russian takes a lot out of a guy!
God's Speed and God Bless
Ryan
I got out of the Army, met up with my boyfriend at Ft. Huachuca, AZ (AZ is my home state), and just a few months later Sean's there too. I have so many goofy pictures of him on our couch, playing with our dog. And he always smiled for every one of them.
Ted wanted Sean to be the best man at our wedding, but Sean couldn't get away from training for the day. That's how much Sean meant to both of us.
After Sean was stationed in Germany and my husband and I moved to the Seattle area, I was very, very lucky that I had the chance to keep in pretty regular contact through e-mail and IM...well, as regular as you can get, considering Sean with going Airborne, SF, ect.
But I got to e-mail him all during his time in Afganhistan. He was never afraid. He he a job to do, and he was doing it. What was tough on him was being away from his family, especially when his son was about to be born.
The last e-mail I got from Sean was just a few weeks after his son was born. He was so happy to be a father. I don't think I'd ever seen him happier. He had said that all he really wanted to do was to get a desk job while stationed in Germany and what his son grow.
I didn't know that Sean has been sent out to North Africa until I stumbled across a news article about his death on the Internet. At first, I didn't believe it, since Sean was supposed to be in Germany, not on another mission. And there have been other Sean Mitchell's killed overseas whiled serving. But at the third article I found, there was his picture, and I crumbled into a ball of tears. I cried for three days.
Even though I know Sean would have hated leaving his wife and newborn son, I know his sense of honor and duty would have compelled him to serve as the best soldier he could.
The one thing that I will never forget about Sean was not only his love of tatoos, but his love for Star Trek tatoos. I remember he showed me about a half dozen once, one of them being the Starship Enterprise.
I'll also never forget one of the last lines he wrotes me, telling me we had to keep in touch, if for no other reason than to keep each other sane in the crazy world.
There's a song by Tim McGraw called, "Letter Home", that came out right around the time I learned of Sean's death. I think that song epitomizes Sean, his love for his country and his family.
Sean was a good guy. There aren't a lot of people you can say about that anymore. But he was genuinley a good person, and a good friend. He always put others in front of himself. And he was always there whenever you needed him.
My life is that much richer for having known Sean, and yet that much more empty knowing he's gone.
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