Maine mom loses son in Iraq

By BETH QUIMBY, Portland Press Herald Writer

Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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Photo Heath McMillin is shown in this family photograph with his daughter Mary, 7, and his wife, Kelly. The couple also has two other children, ages 3 and 11 months. McMillin, a sergeant in the Army National Guard out of New York, was killed Sunday in Iraq.

A Biddeford mother is in mourning for her soldier son, who was killed in a small village in Iraq Sunday when the military vehicle in which he was riding was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

Etta McMillin, who lives on Hill Street, said all she could tell the officers who came to inform her of her son's death was that it was time for the U.S. forces in Iraq to come home.

"They asked me if there were any words I would like them to take back. I said, 'Bring them all home. Get them out of there. They don't belong there,' " said McMillin.

Her son, Sgt. Heath A. McMillin, 29, of Canadaigua, N.Y., was with the 105th Military Police Unit of the Army National Guard in New York. He had been stationed in Iraq since April.

The only information provided by the U.S. Central Command Headquarters was a press release stating one soldier was killed and another wounded Sunday at about 2:30 a.m. when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the patrol they were on in northern Babil province near the village of Al Haswah.

McMillin and the other soldier, both attached to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, were evacuated to the 28th Combat Support Hospital.

Described as a tall, thin redhead with a lively sense of humor, McMillin grew up in upstate New York and vacationed every summer with his mother in Maine. He and his wife, Kelly, had three children aged 7, 3 and 11 months.

Etta McMillin said her son served four years in the Marines, then signed up with the National Guard military police in order to get experience that he hoped would lead to a career as a state trooper.

McMillin had one weekend left in his National Guard duty when he was informed he would be heading to Iraq, said his sister, Kasandra McMillin, 21, of Biddeford.

"He was proud to do it and he knew that is what he had to do," she said.

His mother said her son showed bravery and courage before he left. "He was the 'Let's do it and get the job done' type," she said.

She heard from him several times from Iraq. In his letters, he expressed concern for the Iraqi people.

"Heath did feel sorry for those people. He was willing to stand up like the rest of them and fight for them to help them," she said.

She had just finished a letter to him when she learned of his death.

She said she has received little information about the circumstances of her son's death, which she was told is under investigation. Details about funeral services will be worked out after his body is returned to the United States.

She said her family, which includes a younger son, is still trying to work out what happened.

"We can't believe it. We have to believe it, " she said.

She said her son loved to hunt, fish and go lobstering when in Maine.

Her long-time companion, Ray Croteau, said he considered McMillin a stepson. "He spent every summer and you couldn't ask for a better son," he said.

Etta McMillin said she has mixed emotions about the war in Iraq and the mounting deaths of military personnel stationed there since major combat ended.

"Every day they are getting killed. It is not worth it," she said.

His sister said she also feels a sense of urgency about the return of other U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

"I know nothing I say is going to make them hurry. But I have some anger," she said.

U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, a Democrat who represents Maine's 1st Congressional District, noted Tuesday that McMillin had seen dangerous duty in the Balkans before being sent to Iraq.

He said he felt terrible for McMillin's friends and family and called McMillin's death "another tragedy. This war keeps getting brought home to all of us because we're losing so many people on a regular basis. We all hope that stability can be brought to Iraq sooner rather than later."

U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, expressed condolences.

"His bravery in action, his commitment to freedom and democracy, and his loyalty to his country will forever be his legacy. Sergeant McMillin is truly an American hero to us all. My thoughts and prayers are with his family as they cope during this extremely difficult time," she said in a written statement.

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