Soldier Remembered

By Mike Savage
WPPR Demorest


A soldier from Northeast Georgia killed in Iraq was remembered this week as "a special young man" who did not consider himself a hero.

According to the Gainesville Times, family members were told Army Seargant Jason Harkins was killed by a roadside bomb that took the lives of several other members of his unit, Striker Brigade, 2nd Infantry, based at Ft. Lewis, Washington.

The Pastor of Concord Baptist Church in Clermont, where Harkins attended, said the 25 year-old man described his fellow soldiers as "regular guys doing an irregular job." He called Harkins, "a special individual."

Shortly before he was killed, the paper says Harkins pulled a soldier from the line of gunfire, taking a bullet in his helmet. Four soldiers were injured in the incident and are now recovering. As a result of his efforts, the family says Harkins will receive a Bronze Star from the military.

Harkins was a 1999 graduate of Habersham Central High School. A funeral is planned in Clermont.