Jason R. Hamill killed by I.E.D.

Salem — A 1993 East Lyme High School graduate serving in Iraq was killed Sunday in Baghdad, days before his unit was scheduled to return home.

Army Capt. Jason Hamill, 31, had finished a tour of nearly a year when he was killed Sunday morning, according to his family. Hamill and two other soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb while riding in an armored vehicle, according to Hamill's father.

Hamill, one of a set of fraternal triplets that includes a brother, Jeffrey, and a sister, Stephanie, grew up in Salem. His parents, Richard and Sharon, still live in Salem. Hamill also has an older sister, Tonya Taday.

Jason Hamill, a University of Connecticut graduate, was on active duty and lived in Killeen, Texas, with his wife, Karen, whom he married in July 2005. Stephanie Hamill said an aunt who lives in Dallas introduced Jason to his future wife.

Hamill served with the 4th Infantry Division based at Fort Hood, Texas. His family said they understood the unit was packed and ready to return, perhaps as early as Thursday or Friday.

“His wife was really looking forward to it,” Stephanie Hamill said by phone Monday. “We were going to have,” she said, pausing while choking back tears, “a big birthday party.”

The triplets' birthday is Jan. 5.

Stephanie Hamill said her brother had also served in Kosovo and Afghanistan. She last saw him early in November 2005, shortly before he left for Iraq. The family had a “faux Thanksgiving,” she said, because Jason wouldn't be home on the actual holiday. Everyone stayed at their parents' house that night, she said.

Stephanie Hamill said her brother didn't open up about his feelings on being sent to Iraq. She said he would “joke that he wasn't going to tell me anything more than happy-happy.”

“He didn't like to talk about his work with us,” she said, adding that he did enjoy talking about the people he met. “I think what really surprised me was that he was really interested in the people. He would read about the religion and what to expect and he wanted to understand them. He wasn't there just to occupy; he just wanted to understand why they were doing what they were doing. That was important to him.”

Stephanie Hamill said Jason's wife, Karen, a computer programmer, designed a Web site that included updates on the 4th Infantry. She also attached copies of her husband's unit's magazine. Husband and wife had set up Web cams to talk to each other, and Karen had taken photos of Jason through the Web cam.

A woman who answered the phone at Karen Hamill's house Monday said she was too upset to talk.

Stephanie Hamill said the couple met up this summer for a first anniversary trip, traveling to Italy and Germany while Jason was on leave.

Friends who knew him since elementary school said Jason Hamill would do just about anything to make his friends laugh. One New Year's Eve, when it was only about 10 degrees outside, Paul DeCoster offered Hamill $25 to jump into Gardner Lake. He did it, even though he was shivering all night. DeCoster, of Uncasville, said he and his friends told him they would have offered him more money.

“He said, 'That's OK, I would've done it for free,' ” DeCoster said. “That's the kind of guy he was.”

When Hamill was younger, he and his nearly-identical brother would switch classes and try to fool the teachers. In high school, Hamill played the drums and wrestled.

Friends said Hamill talked about coming back to Connecticut.

Sean O'Brien of Colchester remembered asking Hamill: “Why did you sign up for this?”

“He said he didn't train to sit behind a desk,” O'Brien said. “He loved his job and loved the country and felt he needed to fight for it.”

O'Brien had surprised Hamill with a visit to Texas two years ago. When O'Brien walked in, Hamill just looked up and asked, “What are you doing here?”

“He was hard to rattle,” O'Brien said. “He took everything in stride.”

Which is probably why O'Brien never thought he'd get the news that arrived Monday night.

“He and I talked before he left, and I wasn't too worried about him getting shot or anything,” O'Brien said. “I don't think it's hit anybody yet.”

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