Iraq blast's aftermath tremendous in Maine

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

By KEITH EDWARDS
Staff Writer

WINDSOR -- About a year ago, Pvt. Christopher Fraser, the 19-year-old Maine Army National Guard soldier injured in Iraq Saturday by a bomb that killed the two other soldiers in his truck, approached his dad, Mike, to tell him he wanted to join the guard because it would allow him to pay for college.

Mike Fraser, a Windsor logger, told his son he would take care of paying for school, which, at the time, was Southern Maine Community College. But Chris, who now plans to take classes at the University of Maine at Augusta, wouldn't have it.

Chris didn't like the idea of his father having to work so hard in the woods to help him pay for school. So, instead, he joined the Guard.

"I wish he had just let me take care of (paying for) school," Mike Fraser said Tuesday, a couple hours after talking on the phone with his son. Chris Fraser is in a hospital in Germany, recovering from burns and other wounds he suffered in the roadside blast that killed Staff Sgt. Dale James Kelly Jr., 48, of Richmond, and Staff Sgt. David Michael Veverka, 25, a University of Maine student from Jamestown, Pa.

Kelly's body was scheduled to be flown into Dover Air Force Base in Delaware today, according to Sgt. Jon Jensen. His wife, Nancy Kelly, said she plans to be there when he arrives, and accompany him back home to Maine. No funeral arrangements have been set yet.

Nancy Kelly, in a press conference at her Pleasant Street, Richmond, home Tuesday, said her home and life are filled with things that make her miss her husband of 25 years.

"My husband is dead. My life as I know it is gone," she said, holding back tears. "There is not a single thing in this house that won't make me miss him. Every little piece of our existence is intertwined. Our goal was to grow old together."

Two weeks ago, Nancy Kelly got a tattoo on her wrist, featuring a brightly colored American Flag, Dale's name, and an eagle.

She said that the day Dale left for his deployment an eagle landed and perched in a tree in their backyard.

She vows to remain strong and lead the "Shadow Battalion," a group of wives of soldiers in Kelly's battalion, until the other soldiers are home safe. She said her family remained 100 percent in support of soldiers' efforts in Iraq.

Dale Kelly worked in management at Bath Iron Works, though Nancy said he was considering training to become a nurse when he returned from Iraq. He was known as "Doc Kelly" by his fellow soldiers.

"He had decided his real role in life was that of a healer," Nancy Kelly said. She said that during his life he had helped save the lives of six people, each time seeking to avoid any attention for doing so.

Sober for the last 17 years, Dale Kelly counseled numerous men through Alcoholics Anonymous, Nancy said.

And, she said, he had a way of using humor to get through any difficult situation.

Nancy Kelly said that one of the last things her husband taught to his fellow soldiers, including Fraser, was how to self-administer intravenous medication. She believes that lesson probably helped save Fraser's life.

Fraser family members said Chris suffered third-degree burns on his feet, lacerations on his leg, and a damaged ear drum.

"He's doing good," Mike Fraser said of his son. "He's tired. And sore."

He's expected to be flown to the burn unit of a Texas hospital Friday or Saturday.

Many family members plan on going to see him there -- including his father, his stepmother, Stacey Fraser, his brother James, 17, sister Kathryn, 9, and grandfather Bob Spadea of Randolph. A cousin, Eben Bradstreet, who is also stationed overseas in the military, has already been to see him in Germany.

Fraser family members are worried Chris could be pushed back into front-line duty before he's ready. They've been talking with officials of U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe's offices to try to get information on when Fraser could be headed back into action as a gunner. They hope it's not soon.

"I don't want him to go back out as a gunner; he's not ready," Mike Fraser said. "He just had two people get killed with him. He told me, since it happened, he hasn't slept more than an hour at a time."

Still, the Frasers feel lucky Chris was only injured. They each expressed much sympathy for the families of the soldiers who died.

"We're very fortunate Chris is still alive," Spadea said.

While at Erskine Academy, Fraser was an accomplished wrestler, becoming the first wrestler from the school to earn three medals in state competition.

After graduation he worked with his dad in the woods for the family business, S & M Forest Products, and attended college.

"He's always been an all-around good boy -- he didn't drink, he didn't smoke dope," Mike Fraser said of Chris. "If you ask him something, he always tells you the truth."

Stacey Fraser said the support they've received from the community has been tremendous. She said the American Red Cross helped them get contact numbers to reach Chris, and the guard's Family Assistance Center is helping them plan their trip to Texas.

Kelly and Veverka were both members of B Company, 3rd Battalion, of the 172nd Mountain Infantry regiment. Kelly was trained as a medic but was also driving security escort trucks in Iraq, so there would always be a medic on hand while the trucks were on a mission.

Fraser is a member of the 1136th Transportation Company and is attached to B Company.

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com