Jeremy Mulhair remembered

DES MOINES, Iowa -- An Iowa family is coping with the loss of their soldier.

Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy Mulhair, 35, was killed Thursday in Iraq.

Members of Mulhair's family said he lived for the military and it was the only thing he ever wanted to do even though his family tried to convince him otherwise.

One phone call can turn a family's life upside-down.

"The minute she started hollering 'No, no.' I knew," said Mulhair's father, Jeremy.

It was the news Mulhair's father and sister dreaded. Their soldier's vehicle had come under attack in Iraq and Mulhair was killed.

"It was unreal. This was his second tour over there. He'd been over there since October," said Mulhair's sister, Dixie.

Mulhair is survived by his wife and three children, including a 9-month-old girl.

"They've been his life. He always wanted kids and he finally had his family and he was planning on having another one when he got back from Iraq," Heisner said.

Jerry Mulhair said he hopes others will learn from what happened to his son.

"He taught a good lesson over there --- to be more careful and maybe they learn something from this -- his guys," Jerry Mulhair said.

Jerry Mulhair is a Vietnam War veteran and said the military was always a part of his son.

"When he was a little kid he always wanted Army stuff to play with. … Everything was Army and then he went into ROTC in high school," he said.

Jerry Mulhair said he is still glad his son was a soldier.

"Well, yeah, because that's what he wanted. I tried talking him out of it, but he wouldn't listen. But that's what he wanted," his father said.

Mulhair's wife and children are in Fort Hood, Texas, where he was stationed.

His father said they will likely move back to Kimballton, Iowa, where the family lived or in Omaha, Neb., where Mulhair grew up.

So far, they have not made any funeral arrangements.

From KCCI 8

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