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Darris Julius Dawson |
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Pensacola, Florida |
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September 14, 2008 |
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Died in Tunnis, Iraq, of wounds sustained in a non-hostile incident. |
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| Soldier remembered as quick learner, true leader The Associated Press When he wasn’t leading his squad on patrol, Army Staff Sgt. Darris Dawson liked to challenge his men to pick-up basketball. “Dawson liked joking around with the soldiers. He was a friendly guy. He would take them out on the basketball court and say stuff like, ‘When y’all get old enough to play me, come play me,”’ said Sgt. 1st Class Xaver Perdue. Dawson, 24, of Pensacola, Fla., was shot and killed by a fellow soldier Sept. 14 in Tunnis. He was a 2001 high school graduate, was on his third tour of duty in Iraq and was assigned to Fort Stewart. Dawson, 24, had recently re-enlisted during his third combat tour in Iraq. Just two months ago, he was asked to take charge of an eight-man squad whose leader had been wounded. “The thing about him that impressed me most was he picked things up like he had been in the company for the entire deployment,” said Capt. Eric Tisland. Within his first week as a squad leader, Dawson had discovered two caches of enemy explosives and helped an Iraqi village set up a water purification system, said Perdue. He is survived by his wife, Latasha, and four young children. |
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| Staff Sgt. Darris J. Dawson of Pensacola, Florida attended Escambia High School where he played guard on the basketball team. He joined the Army after graduating in 2001. The father of four children was an honorable young man who wanted to serve his country. Many times he said he would not re-enlist, but he ended up re-enlisting twice when it was time. And he loved it more and more each time. He pretty much had decided to make the military a career. Darris was serving his third tour of duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom when he was killed at age 24 in Tunnis, Iraq, of wounds sustained in a non-hostile incident. Soldier remembered as quick learner, true leader The Associated Press |
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