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Please think of them..... of all the grieving ones............
Cape May Point woman's son killed in Iraq
By RICHARD DEGENER Staff Writer, 609-463-6711
Published: Sunday, January 6, 2008
CAPE MAY POINT - Pat Casey worried about her oldest son when he graduated from college and decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. She was happy when he left the Army and got a job in Texas, but the worry came right back when he decided civilian life wasn't for him and re-enlisted for a second tour of duty in Iraq.
But this time, the worry ended for the worst Thursday.
Captain Thomas J. Casey, 32, a native of Albuquerque, N.M, and his commanding officer, Major Andrew J. Olmsted, 37, of Colorado, were both killed by insurgents in a firefight in Sadiyah, Iraq. Army personnel from Fort Dix drove to Pat Casey's Lighthouse Avenue home Thursday to deliver the news.
Casey was devastated. She thought about her son's widow, Leslie, and his two young sons, her grandsons, Joseph, 3, and Michael, 16 months. But she didn't worry.
"I don't have to worry about him anymore. He's in a good spot," Casey said.
Casey knows her son died doing something he felt strongly about. That's why he re-enlisted after briefly leaving the Army.
"He rejoined. He thought they were making a difference there," Casey said.
Now Casey is getting ready to leave town today to fly to New Mexico for the funeral. Her son will be buried with full honors at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. Her son died for his country, but it didn't take that to make his mom proud of him.
"I've always been proud of him. I'd be happier if he was alive, but I've always been proud of him. He did what he wanted to do and I respected his decision," Casey said.
There is no long military history in the family but Casey noted her son was somewhat of "an adrenaline junkie." He rode mountain bikes, played soccer and was on the high school swim team back in New Mexico. Casey is a native of Salem County, grew up in Woodstown, but raised her family in New Mexico with ex-husband John Casey. She retired to Cape May Point about five years ago, setting up a perfect beach vacation home for her sons, grandchildren and southern New Jersey cousins to come visit.
"For 32 years I lived in Albuquerque. 9-11 made me want to come home," Casey explained.
All the Army told her was her son and his commanding officer were killed in an ambush. One other soldier from the unit, the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kansas, was wounded. The men were working for what is called the Military Transition Team. Casey said it was a small unit with only 11 members.
"I know all of them. He was (military intelligence) and could only tell me so much. They were embedded with the Iraqi Army, getting them to take over. He thought they were making real progress," Casey said.
The Department of Defense lists them as the last two U.S. military casualties on a running list now at 3,908. The deaths were attributed to small arms fire in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Captain Casey graduated from the University of New Mexico with degrees in Spanish and Portuguese. Casey said her son tried civilian life but told her, "Mom, what I don't like about the Army I don't like about civilian life." She said there were things in the Army he couldn't get from civilian life.
"He liked the disipline. He was a real straight arrow," Casey noted.
Casey also became proficient in the Korean language while in the military. He completed Army Airborne School and Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. He then underwent trianing to become a military intelligience officer, taking him to his final assignment of training Iraqi police and military forces.
Casey was not the best student or athlete but according to his mother, he always gave 100 percent like Rudy, the Notre Dame football player who got on the team by pure effort - only taller and more handsome, she says.
"He wasn't great at everything but gave it everything he had. My favorite memory of him was at a swim team meet. Before the meet everybody was gathered at the diving board cheering loudly. He was leading the cheers with a dead rubber chicken. He was a big Teddy bear," Casey said.
The death brought grief to this resort town that is mostly a home away from home for most property owners. Most of the 250 year-round residents know Pat Casey but only a few knew her son, whose last home address was in Reno, Nev.
Pat Casey's family had summered here when Captain Casey was only a child.
"The community is really upset," said Deputy Mayor Carl Schupp. "Pat is really well-liked in the community and it's a real shock to everybody."
Donations in lieu of flowers can be sent to: C/O Capt. Thomas Casey Children's Fund, P.O. Box 1306, Chester, Ca. 96020.
To e-mail Richard Degener at The Press:
RDegener@pressofac.com
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