Friends, family remember Timothy Burke

Six lines, lower-case letters, and all the way from Iraq, the e-mail popped up in Melanie Hemphill's in-box last Sunday.

It was from U.S. Army Spc. Timothy Burke, her former boyfriend from high school, who was stationed in Iraq for nearly a year.

It read: ``. . . sorry it took so long for me to write u back we've been real busy and i barely get time to do anything . . . tell everyone i said what up and when i get back to the states i should b takin leave sometime soon after and i wil b stoppin by . . .''

Hemphill wrote back on Monday. She expected a reply from Burke in a few days. Burke's family, which lives in Hollywood, expected him home in December.

Burke, a 2001 graduate of South Broward High School in Hollywood, was killed Wednesday in an attack in Taji, Iraq, said his mother, Sharon Paulette.

''He would want people to remember that he died for his country,'' said Hemphill, 20, who graduated from South Broward in 2004. She met Burke when she was a freshman and he was a senior. She's now a junior at Florida International University.

Lean and muscular, Burke was the youngest of three sons. He was deployed to Iraq in December with B Troop, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry. He turned 24 on Sept. 30.

Burke was looking forward to returning to Hollywood, where he was raised. He wanted to work as a military recruiter, then a as a firefighter with either Hollywood or Fort Lauderdale, Hemphill said.

The military was his way toward achieving his goal of firefighting, said those who knew him. Burke enlisted in 2004.

He e-mailed Hemphill several times a week. Even though they were no longer sweethearts, they had spent three years together and were still close.

''Like hell on earth'' is how he described Iraq.

Burke knew the dangers of fighting in Iraq, said those who knew him. The area around Taji, north of Baghdad, is the site of frequent kidnappings and violence associated with Iraq's Sunni insurgency and tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

Burke carried his rosary beads and he got a tattoo of a cross. It said ``protect me.''

''He loved fighting for his country, but he was scared to die,'' Hemphill said. ``Every day he prayed he would make it another day.''

According to the Department of Defense, 2,729 American soldiers have been killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom and 336 have been killed in Afghanistan. At least 120 service members from Florida have been killed since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

The Department of Defense hadn't officially confirmed Burke's death as of Friday, and his family declined to talk.

Burke is the fourth member of the military from South Florida to be killed in combat in Iraq just in the past month.

`A REAL GENTLEMAN'

''He was a real gentleman, protective and courageous,'' said Hemphill's father, James.

Hemphill's mother, Lily, enlarged a photo of Burke in uniform taken on Christmas Eve 2004 standing in the doorway of their home. She bought a frame Friday and planned to take it to the Burke family.

Matt Burke teaches physical education and is an offensive line football coach at South Broward High. Burke's cousin, Brad Fatout, teaches math at South Broward.

Matt Burke would show the teachers at South Broward photos of his brother in Iraq.

Members of the Burke and Fatout families have attended South Broward High for decades.

''He was truly a Bulldog,'' said South Broward High football coach Allen Held, referring to the school's identity and mascot. ``Always positive, always had a smile on his face -- that's the way he will be remembered.''

Sharon Paulette, Burke's mother, called Matt at school Wednesday to tell him about his brother's death, Held said. By Thursday, much of South Broward High knew about the tragedy, including Hemphill's sister.

''No, he's not, shut up!'' Hemphill remembered saying when her sister Christine called to tell her Burke died.

HIS SCHOOL `FAMILY`

''He would have made a good husband and father someday,'' she said Friday.

Held, who has known Burke for nearly two decades, said the football team plans to wear stickers on their helmets with Burke's initials.

South Broward High's principal, Alan Strauss, said the school is considering doing something in Burke's memory at one of the team's three remaining home games.

Burke played football and wrestled at South Broward High. He hit the weight room hard in high school and bulked up, Held said.

After Burke graduated, he returned and helped track coach Willie Jones with the team of about 25 runners until 2004. Hemphill was a member of the team.

Burke encouraged the runners with their workouts and diet, Jones said.

''He was a hero before he became a hero,'' Jones said. ``He was part of this Bulldog family and will continue to be. He had integrity.''

From the Miami Herald

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