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Jul 2, 2009 8:41 pm US/Central
Local Military Family Remembers Son Who Died
By Sana Syed
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
As Americans prepare to celebrate the nation's independence, a family full of people who have served in the military are preparing to say goodbye to a young man who was killed in Afghanistan. Peter Cross was in the Army. His father served in the Navy. His grandfathers served in the Air Force.
Cross died four months after being sent to Afghanistan, when his vehicle rolled over.
"There's only one reason they send two uniformed guys to your house," said Mike Cross, the father of the 20-year-old soldier. "It's the worst news I can imagine ever getting."
"He was taking chow to his fellow soldiers on patrol," Cross said. "He came around a mountain corner and there were some kids herding sheep on the road. And he swerved to miss them and rolled down the mountain." The crash killed Peter Cross. Nobody else was hurt.
"He always loved playing with kids," said Heather Hill, the soldier's stepsister. She said that Peter spent nearly ever summer during high school on missionary trips abroad. "It's hard. Everytime I see a picture of him, my heart starts beating. It doesn't seem real."
Peter's father called him selfless. "He was always thinking about others," Mike Cross said.
Hill said that Peter traveled to Fiji, Finland, Africa, Camaroon, Yuganda and Honduras, and wanted to be a missionary after his work in the miltiary. But in her eyes, that is exactly what he was died doing. "He was a missionary. He was helping fight for our country," she said. "And, he was a hero."
Peter Cross will be buried at Greenwood Memorial Park. His funeral is set for Friday morning at the Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth.
As Mike Cross prepares to lay his son to rest, he has a simple request for those who will be celebrating the nation's independence this weekend. "Be thankful," he said, "for those young men who are willing to put their lives on the line to fight our country."
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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