Carter A. Gamble Jr. dies 'of wounds suffered from enemy small arms fire'

A soldier from Seymour died as a result of combat injuries while serving his second tour of duty in Iraq, the Defense Department and his family said.

Army Spc. Carter A. Gamble Jr., 24, died Sunday in Duraiya, military officials said.

Gamble was on patrol checking buildings to make sure they were unoccupied when someone inside shot him, said Jackson County Sheriff Marc Lahrman, who is Gamble's uncle.

Gamble spent most of his life in Georgia. He has a 2-year-old daughter, Deborah Lynn, and his wife, Peggy, is expecting a child in November, Lahrman said yesterday.

Gamble entered the military after graduating from high school and was sent to Iraq during the invasion, Lahrman said. But the experience was a "nightmare" for him and he eventually left the military, Lahrman said.

"You stick a gun in a 20-year-old's hand and invade another country, personally I can't imagine what that could have been like," his uncle said.

Gamble also was dealing with the death of his mother, from cancer, in 2001.

"That was always his grounding force," Lahrman said. "He could always talk to (his) mom."

After about two years out of the military, some of which he spent in Brownstown, Gamble decided to go back in, Lahrman said.

"After being out awhile and growing up some more, he figured out that it was for him," Lahrman said. "He was making plans for a military career."

His nephew had been in Iraq for six months on his second tour, Lahrman said.

Gamble was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Ga.

While Lahrman said he has always been skeptical of the war, his nephew's death has created even more confusion.

"I had a nephew killed in Iraq and I'm not sure why," Lahrman said. "How does someone explain to his 2-year-old daughter why she doesn't have a dad?"

From the Courier Journal