Specialist Keith Eric Essary, of Dyersburg, was killed yesterday in Afghanistan,

Essary was a member of the Army's Airborne unit, Charlie 2 Comp.

He had been deployed to Afghanistan for approximately 8 months and was stationed at a base 40 miles from the city of Kandahar.

Essary graduated from Dyer County High School in 2006, where he was a member of the Jr. ROTC and Capt. of the Honor Guard.

His father is Chuck Hall and his mother is Mary Beth Franks. Anita Essary, the late Monty Essary Sr. and Martha and Thomas Hall are his grandparents.







R.I.P. BRO YOU WILL BE MISSED

Thursday evening, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Anita Essary received a knock at the door from two soldiers from Fort Campbell. They were casualty notification officers there to notify her of the death of her grandson, Spc. Keith Eric Essary.

Essary was the latest casualty in the United States Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, which has had 561 US military casualties since it began.

He was a member of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division, Charlie Company, 2nd Division stationed out of Fort Hood, Texas.

Essary was killed in the village of Maiwand, Afghanistan, which is 50 miles northeast of the city of Kandahar in the Kandahar province.

The incident occurred at approximately 4:17 p.m. (Afghanistan time), Thursday, Jan. 8. Afghanistan is 10.5 hours ahead of US Central Standard Time.

Details surrounding the incident have not been released, however the cause of death has been ruled as an impact from an improvised explosive device (IED) while on dismounted patrol.

International news agencies reported two unnamed American soldiers and three Afghan civilians were killed in a suicide bombing on Thursday in Maiwand. This occurred when the bomber detonated an explosive-packed car after driving it into a crowded bazaar. The blast also injured 21 Afghan civilians.

A man claiming to be a spokesman for the Taliban, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said he was responsible for the bombing and that the bomber was an Afghan man.

Essary was a 2006 graduate of Dyer County High School. He enlisted into the Army the beginning of his senior year of high school.

On Friday, friends and family gathered at the house of his grandmother, Anita Essary, to remember their fallen loved one and share memories of him.

"He was the greatest kid you will ever meet," said SFC Robert Lipker. "He made the perfect soldier and had a big heart. He would give you the shirt off his back. He would rather be with the folks he loved than sleep or eat." Lipker is the recruiter that enlisted Essary and they remained friends afterwards.

"He wanted us to be proud of what he was doing," said Keith's uncle, Monty Essary.

Essary lived in Dyersburg all of his life and was raised in the home of his grandparent's Anita Essary and the late Monty Essary Sr. He had a close relationship with both his father, Chuck Hall, and his mother, Mary Beth Franks. His sister's are Bethany Willard, Taylor Clark and Brooke Hall and his brother is Randy Hall.

Essary had a fondness for motorcycles and liked to go riding with his father. "We enjoyed riding motorcycles together," said Chuck Hall. "Every time we talked, that's what we always talked about."

In May of 2008, Essary's family threw him a going away party when he was home on leave for two weeks. He deployed to Afghanistan the following month and was able to come back to Dyersburg on leave in September. It was believed that Essary's deployment would end in June 2009.

During Essary's deployment to Afghanistan, he along with other members in his unit took on the task of refurbishing their Forward Operating Base (FOB) Hutal, which translates into Hotel. Essary was mentioned in a military news publication as going "above and beyond" his duty in the repairs. The publication stated he "worked day and night to build brand new floors, walls and shelving in the buildings."

A couple of Spc. Essary's friends recounted their time spent together in Dyersburg. "He was my best friend," said Jonathan Pope. "If you saw him, you saw me and if you saw me, you saw him. He was bighearted and you could have called him anytime you needed something. He always kept the mood light."

"He was a good guy," said Terry Wilson. Both Pope and Wilson were in JROTC with Essary who was Capt. Of the Honor Guard and Cmdr. of the drill team and the rifle team.

"There were nine of us that were really tight and we all joined the military," said Pope. "That was our big thing, ROTC." Wilson and Pope are both in the Army Reserve.

"He wanted to go to OCS (Officer Candidate School) so I would have to salute him," said SFC Lipker, recalling a lighter moment.

"He was a very strong willed boy, "said Anita Essary. "He pretty well always knew what he wanted to do and he loved Johnny Cash."

Essary is the second soldier from Dyer County to be killed in Afghanistan in the last 3 years. The last soldier was US Army PFC Kevin Edgin, who was killed in a firefight against Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan.

Funeral arrangements for Essary are still incomplete at this time.