Monday, March 31, 2003
BY MATTHEW J. DOWLING AND JERRY BARCA
Star-Ledger Staff
A soldier from Monmouth County remembered yesterday by his family for his “tremendous bravery” was among the four Americans killed by a suicide bomber at an Army checkpoint in Iraq.
Cpl. Michael E. Curtin, 23, of Howell Township is the first confirmed death of a New Jersey serviceman since the war began in Iraq. Curtin and three other Army soldiers were killed at 10:40 a.m. Saturday when a taxi exploded near a roadblock on a highway north of the Iraqi city of Najaf.
The driver waved to the soldiers to draw them closer before detonating the bomb in what Iraqi officials promised was the start of a wave of suicide bombings.
Curtin’s parents, Joan and Michael, requested privacy but issued a statement through officials at Fort Monmouth last night.
“Our family is deeply saddened and our hearts are heavy at this time,” the statement said. “Although he was with us but a short time, he displayed tremendous bravery, unwavering faith and a devout love for his family.
“He was a hero in our eyes. He was fighting for our freedom which we should never take for granted. We are extremely proud of his patriotism and service to his country.”
Curtin’s family was notified of his death by Fort Monmouth officials on Saturday night. His body is expected to be returned from Kuwait in the next week.
“He was a wonderful kid,” said Curtin’s paternal grandmother, Catherine. “It’s just a big tragedy. A really, really big loss.”
Terri Morte, who lives on the same cul-de-sac as the Curtins, said news of his death spread quickly in the close-knit neighborhood where concerns immediately turned toward helping the family.
“They’re doing the best they can, but they’re really hurting,” Morte said, breaking down into tears. “They have the support of the entire neighborhood. We’ll miss him very much.”
Curtin was a 1998 graduate of Howell High School, where he played three years of varsity football. Head coach Cory Davies said Curtin, a 5-foot-10-inch, 155-pound wide receiver and defensive back who wore number 40, was used sparingly in games, but always led by example through hard work at practice.
“He was the kind of person you’d always want to be part of your team,” Davies said. “He was one of those individuals who always attempted to do things the right way. He always gave everything that he had.”
Davies teaches physical education to Curtin’s brother, Dan, who is a senior this year. Curtin is also survived by three sisters, Katie, Jennifer and Stephanie.
“What a terrible, terrible loss,” said Howell High School Principal Barbara McMorrow, adding that the school planned to have its crisis counselors ready for classes this morning.
McMorrow said she remembers the brown-haired, blue-eyed kid with an All-American look always laughing and talking with friends when he walked through the halls.
“He was so terrific,” McMorrow said. “He was friends with everyone.”
Curtin’s Little League coach, Chuck Senna, said he still pictures Curtin as the 10-year-old from a few blocks away.
“You just don’t think these kids are grown up,” said Senna, a Vietnam veteran. The former Marine said he had purposely been avoiding news from Iraq but Curtin’s death has forced the war into his thoughts.
“I just can’t stop thinking about him,” Senna said, starting to cry. “I woke up last night and the first thing I thought about was Michael. Four guys stopped this car and I know one of them.”
Curtin, a member of the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division, was deployed to Kuwait in January from his base at Fort Stewart in Georgia, according to Fort Monmouth spokesman Henry Kearney. Curtin enlisted in the Army in May 2001 and completed basic training at Fort Benning in Georgia. He also completed the Army’s paratrooper training school.
Kearney said Curtin’s body is expected to be returned from Kuwait in the next seven to 10 days.
Gov. James E. McGreevey planned to personally extend his condolences to the Curtin family, said his spokesman, Micah Rasmussen.
“Governor McGreevey deeply regrets the tragedy that the Curtin family has endured. He extends his thoughts and prayers. I’m certain the entire state joins the governor in his gratitude for Corporal Curtin’s sacrifice to make the world a safer place.”
While Curtin is the first confirmed death of a New Jersey soldier, the family of Army Sgt. James Riley, 31, of Pennsauken, a mechanic with the 507th Maintenance Company, continues to await word from their son. Riley was taken prisoner in Iraq with four other soldiers after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy around Nasiriya.
In December, Sgt. Steven Checo of Elizabeth, a 22-year-old paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, was killed following a gun battle in the eastern Afghanistan town of Shkhin.
Army officials identified the three other 3rd Infantry Division soldiers who died with Curtin in the suicide bombing as Sgt. Eugene Williams, 24, of Highland, N.Y.; Pfc. Michael Weldon, 20, and Pfc. Diego Rincon, 19, both of Conyers, Ga.
The Curtins expressed sympathy for other families affected by the conflict overseas in their statement yesterday.
“Our son, Michael, was a kind and courageous young man,” Curtin’s parents said. “Our hearts and prayers go out to the other servicemen who were killed and their families.”
Staff writers Sue Epstein and Thomas Bergeron and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
