Local News: Soldier From Waco Killed in Iraq Inspires GI Bill Expansion

Proposed Expansion of GI Bill Inspired by Waco-Area Soldier Killed in Iraq
By Regina Dennis (Tribune-Herald staff writer)

From the Waco Tribune-Herald

A new provision to expand GI Bill education benefits for the children of fallen service members will be named in honor of a Lorena man who was killed while on duty in Iraq.

The Marine Gunnery Sgt. John David Fry Scholarship would cover the full cost of a college education for all children of military members serving after Sept. 11, 2001, who are killed in combat or active duty.

The scholarship’s namesake, John Fry, a Lorena native stationed in Iraq, was killed in March 2006, when a hidden roadside bomb he was attempting to defuse exploded. The 28-year-old had been set to return just one week after that fatal incident for a scheduled six-month leave.

U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, added the provision to the 2009 Supplemental Appropriations bill that funds military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. A House and Senate conference committee approved the bill Thursday, and it will be sent to the floor for a vote next week.

Edwards said he met Fry’s widow, Malia Fry, and three children at a 2007 Veterans Day ceremony in Waco in which four McLennan County veterans who were killed in Iraq were honored. He said he was especially moved by Fry’s commitment, volunteering to defuse three roadside bombs as his group was being relieved from duty, a move that led to his death when a fourth bomb under one he had defused exploded.

“I can hardly tell his story without becoming emotional about it,” Edwards said Thursday. “I felt these scholarships ought to have a face on them and a story behind them, so I felt it was appropriate to name them (after Fry).”

The current GI Bill allows a soldier who died in active duty since the Sept. 11 attacks to transfer educational benefits to only one dependent. The soldier must have served at least six years with an additional four-year commitment, and the soldier’s children must serve at least three years in the military to receive full benefits.

The scholarship provision will expand GI Bill benefits to all the children of post-Sept. 11 fallen solders and waives the service commitment. It will cover the tuition and fees up to the maximum in-state tuition at a public university and will include a monthly housing allowance and up to $1,000 for books and supplies each year.

“I’m hoping this sends a message of respect to every serviceman and woman that when you go into harm’s way for your country, our prayer is that you don’t have to give your life, but if that happens, we’re not going to forget your children,” Edwards said. “This legislation is as meaningful to me as any legislation I’ve ever passed because who could be more deserving of our support than children whose moms or dads have died in military service to our nation.”

Fry’s widow, Malia Fry, said Thursday that she was grateful for the honor, and said her three children, Kathryn, 12, Gideon, 10, and C.L., 5, would be even more proud of their father.

“I am truly honored and speechless that (Edwards) was so moved by my family,” Fry said after Edwards called her Thursday morning to tell her that the scholarship provision would be named after her husband. “The great thing is that this will not just benefit my children, but every fallen (soldier’s) children. I know that John would be so proud to have something like that named after him. It’s amazing.”

In 2008, Edwards jumped aboard Fry’s efforts to have the Lorena post office renamed in her husband’s honor, sponsoring a resolution passed by Congress approving the name change.

The Marine Gunnery Sgt. John D. Fry Post Office Building at 1190 Lorena Road was officially dedicated on March 27. Fry said she hopes postal patrons will be inspired by her husband’s service.

Since her husband’s death, Fry has worked to preserve his memory for the couple’s three children. There are photo albums, videos of him reading to his children and playing with the family, and voice mail messages he left for each of the three children. A photo of John is posted over her youngest son C.L.’s bed, and he kisses his father good night at bedtime.

“It’s been difficult at times,” Fry said, her voice cracking as she spoke of her high school sweetheart and husband of nearly 11 years. “But I’ve found that life goes on, as hard as it is. You never forget, you never stop missing that person, but you move forward.”

Fry said she has befriended the widows of other fallen Iraq and Afghanistan soldiers, taking advice from the women who dealt with their spouse’s death before her.

“I’ve called some at 2 a.m. just to cry, and we’re the best of friends now,” Fry said.

She said she also has begun reaching out to women who have recently lost their husbands in the wars.

“We usually sit around and talk about our husbands, about what happened to them,” Fry said. “I try to let newer widows know that it is better to talk about it than to let it build up inside you, and let them know that you are not alone, and though you never get over it, you learn to live with it.”

Fry said one of her favorite memories of her husband is from an e-mail he sent her a month after he was deployed to Iraq in 2005. John had climbed on the roof of a home to survey unexploded bombs in its backyard, and he heard a young Iraqi child giggle nearby. He played peek-a-boo with the child for a few minutes to gain his trust, then picked the child up and moved him to a safe distance and defused the bombs.

“He said that that made it clear to him that he was there for children, so that children didn’t have to play in a backyard with bombs in it,” Fry said. “He said ‘I want to make sure my children never have to live in a country like that,’ and that was my husband. He was a Marine, and he did his job, and he had this soft center and loving soul.

Published on Friday, June 12, 2009