The death of a loved one is always a tragedy. When they are far from home when they die, it just seems even harder to bear. Tonight, we celebrate the life and mourn the tragic death of a young El Paso man who traveled to Kentucky and then on to the mountains of Afghanistan before meeting the untimely end of his life's journey.
Private First Class James J. O’Quin, may you rest in blessed peace.
Private First Class James J. O’Quin
James J. O’Quin was from El Paso, Texas. He enlisted in the US Army in October of 2008. According to the KTSM News site:
His mom didn't want to talk on camera, but she told us he wanted to serve his country since he was 10-years old. Fascinated by the military, O'Quin was in the JRROTC program, and an El Paso Explorer. His mom says he helped build two homes for the habitat for humanity and was a loving person.
"If he knew you were down he would make you laugh by doing the silliest things," Michaela O'Quin said.
Private First Class James J. O’Quin was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). He arrived at his base at Fort Campbell, Kentucky in February of 2009.
James O'Quin was married, and his wife, Patricia is expecting their first child. O'Quin was deployed to Afghanistan. He was supposed to come home from Afghanistan in less than two weeks, and his wife is due in about a month.
The Private was in the Paktika province, one of the most remote provinces in Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan. Forward Operating Base Orgun-E is a small base about 7,000 feet above sea level in the mountains of the province. Like many areas of the country, Paktika has been heavily deforested. This has been one of the causes of devastating flooding, which has occurred in that region.
One of the things that can be found in abundance in the area is dust. The wind through the mountains blows fine "moon dust" into equipment and all over everything at the base. There is also a lot of mud when the rains come. The mud is a common building material for people of the region. According to a webpage on the Global Security.org site, the Orgun-E PX and billets are mud huts:
Forward Operating Base Orgun-E is located outside the town of Orgune in the Paktika province of southeastern Afghanistan. Paktika Province. The province is approximately the size of Vermont and shares a 600-kilometer border with Pakistan. The population of the area, on the border with Pakistan, is majority Pashtun, and the province was a stronghold of the Taliban. While the FOB is nothing spectacular to visitors, and although it may not have many of the same amenities as some of the bigger bases around Afghanistan, it’s home. It’s a place for them to get a hot shower, a hot meal and a bed...
The path to outlying villages is a difficult one, even for rugged American vehicles. There are roads in Paktika, but due to rough weather, many are tracks of mud. Some have been washed out, while others are too narrow for the broad humvees to pass. So, many times the humvees head off the beaten path. They follow flat areas and river beds – some dry, some not so dry. The ride was bumpy and slow going for the troops. But the humvees plow through and get the troops to their destination.
Private First Class James J. O'Quin was riding a military vehicle through Paktika province on July 23rd, when tragedy struck. A levee broke and he was swept away by the resulting currents. He died in Orgun-E, Afghanistan from the incident. He was 20 years old. The investigation into his death is ongoing, and results of his autopsy are expected soon.
His awards and decorations include: Army Good Conduct Medal; NATO Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Army Service Ribbon; and Weapons Qualification: M4 (expert).
James O'Quin is survived by his wife, Patricia, of Fabens, Texas; mother, Michaela, and father, James O'Quin, of El Paso, Texas.
A memorial service for Private First Class James J. O'Quin will be held in Afghanistan on August 11th. Funeral arrangements for O'Quin are pending. His family is now working on bringing his body back to El Paso.
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About the IGTNT series:
"I Got the News Today" is a diary series intended to honor, respect, and remind us of the sacrifice of our US troops. Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, noweasels, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, JeNoCo, Mediaprof, TrueBlueMajority, JanosNation, Proud Mom and Grandma, Ministry of Truth, CalNM, and Wide Awake in KY. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but are an important service to those who have died, and show our community’s respect for them.
Fallen service members whose names have been released by the US Department of Defense will usually be diarized two days after the official announcement on the DoD website. This allows the IGTNT team to cover each person more fully, but still in a timely manner
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Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members mentioned here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.