When Marikay DeCrow, of Evans, heard about Thursday's shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, she spent hours desperately calling hospitals looking for her husband, Staff Sgt. Justin DeCrow.
"But no one could find him anywhere," she said. "No one could find my husband because he was gone."
Staff Sgt. DeCrow, 32, was fatally wounded along with 12 others in the shootings at a processing center at the sprawling Army base.
Staff Sgt. DeCrow was there preparing for his deployment to Iraq, Fort Gordon spokesman Buzz Yarnell said Saturday.
The Indiana native was a satellite communications operator-maintainer and had been assigned to a signal unit at Fort Hood since September. His deployment was expected soon. He had been stationed at Fort Gordon in 2000 and apparently liked the area, Mr. Yarnell said.
His wife told Army officials Saturday that she did not want to talk to the public or take part in media interviews. However, through a military spokesman, Mrs. DeCrow said she wanted everyone to know what a loving man her husband was.
"His infectious charm and wit always put others at ease," she said. "He was well loved by everyone. He was a loving father and husband and he will be missed by all."
The couple have a 13-year-old daughter, Kylah.
Several neighbors in the River Birch Landing subdivision said Saturday that they didn't know the DeCrows that well, but such was typical with many Army families.
"We have a lot of military people in this neighborhood," said Mary Adcock, a Grier Circle resident, noting how one of the DeCrows' next-door neighbors was recently deployed overseas.
Patty McDonald, who also lives on Grier Circle, said she also didn't know the DeCrows and was shocked to hear there was a local connection to the tragedy at Fort Hood.
"That's awful news," she said. "We would be glad to help do something for them."
According to military and family members, Staff Sgt. DeCrow graduated in 1996 from Plymouth High School in Plymouth, Ind., married Marikay -- his high school sweetheart -- that spring and joined the Army in the summer.
"He always wanted to be a soldier," his wife said Saturday.
When his current deployment ended, she said, she had hoped they would reunite at their home in Columbia County when another post at Fort Gordon opened up.
Funeral arrangements are incomplete, but the burial is expected to take place in Indiana, according to a military spokesman.
The soldier's father, Daniel DeCrow, of Fulton, Ind., said he talked to his son last week to ask him how things were going at Fort Hood.
"As usual, the last words out of my mouth to him were that I was proud of him," he told The Associated Press. "That's what I said to him every time -- that I loved him and I was proud of what he was doing. I can carry that around in my heart."
Interviews by Staff Writer Preston Sparks and information from The Associated Press, the U.S. Army and WSBT-TV in Indiana were used in this report.
Reach Bill Kirby at (706) 823-3344 or bill.kirby@augustachronicle.com
OBAMA TO ATTEND MEMORIAL
WASHINGTON --- President Obama will attend a memorial Tuesday honoring victims of the Ford Hood shootings, an attack he described as "all the more heartbreaking and all the more despicable" because it occurred on the nation's largest Army post.
He praised those who ended the shootings, which killed 13 and wounded 30 others, and lauded the armed services' diversity -- a move designed to calm tensions about the suspect, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.
"They are Americans of every race, faith and station. They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers," Mr. Obama said in his radio and Internet address Saturday, airing the weekend before Veterans Day.
Mr. Obama on Friday ordered flags at the White House and other federal buildings to be at half-staff until Veterans Day, on Wednesday.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the DeCrow family and to all of those affected by this terrible event. May God bless and watch over them.
this is so sad.
Mrs DeCrow, We are so sorry for the tragic loss of your husband. You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers. Fellow Signal Soldiers, 1st Cavalry Division, Baghdad.
Our deepest condolences and prayers to Marikay and the family of Staff Sefgeant DeCrow.
My deepest condolences and our prayers to your family
I am so sorry. Robbie, you guys stay safe.
Condolences to the family.
My god give you strength to make it through this difficult.
May God Bless you and your daughter and keep you in his care. I know the fear you lived with everyday being a Soldiers wife, wondering what the next day will bring. God has another Angel in his care.
may god bless the family, friends, and fellow soldiers. my anger urges me to lash out, but, that would be inappropriate. i'm certain the world is a darker place without justin decrow, and many other good people that have perished under these same type of circumstances. again, may god bless the family, friends, and the U.S.A.
God Bless the family and friends of Justin Decrow. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
May god bless him and be with his family. He was a hero.
I am so very sorry for this tragic loss. So many of us take our dedicated service men and women for granted. We are blessed to have these 'voluntary' people to serve and protect us.
Mrs. DeCrow, you and the entire family are in my thoughts and prayers.
God be with you Ms DeCrow. I am sure your husband is with Him.
Many military families live amongst us yet hardly ever do we "know" them. Why is that? In this time of tragedy it would have been nice for some neighbor(s) to have at least been able to bring some comfort, prepare some meals, do what we usually do when a tragedy occurs to our neighbors. Get to know people in your community, in your church and particularly if they are military make friends. We never know when they might need us, or vice versa. My prayers to this family - although it wasn't Iraq, the same kind of hateful violence took out this hero and the pain for the family is the same. God bless them.
I don't know dawg, but perhaps they feel as if why should they get to know them? They often move around and stuff. That doesn't make it right, but it is one assumption.
They commented they didn't *know* them, but let's hope that it didn't matter and Ms DeCrow and daughter did receive offers of food, help, and support from them now.
A senseless tragedy hits close to home. May Marikay and Kylah find strength and comfort during this time of sorrow. Life is not always fair or just.
In my neighborhood, most of us have been here for years, so we certainly know our neighbors. Maybe the newer neighborhoods with more rapid turnover of residents don't lend themselves to neighbors getting to know each other. That is a shame.
My prayers are that God put his loving arms around this family.
my family is sorry for your lost we heard how good of a man he was
I am so sorry for your loss, and we thank you and your husband for your service to our great nation!!
I saw a couple of posts about folks knowing their neighbors. They are spot on. Think about this. If something terrible happens to you, what will your neighbors know or say about you? Will your spouse get support from those that live on his/her street? Why not make it a point to introduce yourself to your neighbors. That way if something terrible happens, they already know they can look to you for the support they need. Doesn't matter how long you have a neighbor. Time spent on making a friend is never wasted.