Here Is A Great Article About My Brother, Sgt. Andrew R. Weiss

[maggiegault]

The Army promoted him posthumously. That sucks, because you never saw a man work harder for his promotion, too bad that the fucking Army couldn't give it to him when he was alive. Andy gave up all the things he liked to please them: cigarettes, snacks, all the things that made life a little more bearable in that hell hole. And for what?

If you cut and paste the link, it has a great photo of my brother and his family.

http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070511/NEWS/705110343/1152

Fallen soldier brought joy to family
By BOB SCOTT
[e-mail]

When Kate Weiss remembers her late husband, Andy, she breaks out in a big smile.

"Andy was really laid-back and funny," she said Thursday.

"He could carry the weight of the world on his shoulders as if it was a feather."

Sgt. Andrew Robert Weiss, 28, a West Lafayette High School graduate, died May 3 in Baghdad, Iraq, from injuries he sustained due to an improvised explosive device. He was on his second tour of duty in Iraq and was promoted posthumously from the rank of specialist.

His body is expected to arrive at 10:40 a.m. today at the Purdue Airport from Dover Air Force Base, Del. He will be taken to Soller-Baker Funeral Home on Twyckenham Boulevard in south Lafayette.

Weiss' mother, Judith Weiss of West Lafayette, said Thursday that her son was an admirable person.

"I'm exceedingly proud of the man that he turned out to be and the loving husband and father that he was," she said.

"He always brought joy to his late father and me."

Andy and Kate had their first date in September 1996. They both graduated in 1997 from high school -- she from Benton Central and he from West Lafayette. They were married in October 2000.

She said Andy was an aspiring writer, who had 10 diaries. He also was a devoted reader of the late authors Hunter S. Thompson and Jack Kerouac.

Their children are Lillian, 4, and Jacob, 1. Andy and Kate called their son "Jack" in honor of Kerouac. Kate said Andy also has a tattoo on his arm to honor Thompson's "gonzo" journalism style.

She said Andy traveled with Kerouac's popular book, On the Road.

"Andy was always a deep thinker, trying to figure out the meaning of life," she said.

"He was figuring himself out and growing constantly."

She said the other soldiers respected his intelligence.

"They called him something like 'The Professor.' He carried his books and tried to get the guys to read more," she said.

Kate said the final package she sent to Andy overseas included a "Gonzo" T-shirt, his favorite Chicago Cubs hat and some of Jack's hair.

"Lilly wrote her name, and Andy was thrilled," she said.

She said many of Andy's friends will come to the visitation and funeral. Some are coming from Germany, Hawaii and Florida.

"They are his battle buddies from his first deployment," Kate said.

She said she will "celebrate" Andy's life Sunday.

"Andy gave me the best decade of my life."

[malaise]

1. This is too sad

Deepest sympathy Maggiegault :cry: :cry:

[IChing]

2. Thanks for the informative article on your brother

Truly sorry for your loss

[renate]

3. what a beautiful family

That's a great picture of him... that Mona Lisa smile.

:hug:

[AnneD]

27. That's it...

a Mona Lisa smile. And your little niece will have it too. How very sad. Hugs to you all-esp your Mom and sister in law this weekend.

[trotsky]

4. Does the posthumous promotion at least mean a little more survivor's benefits...

for his family?

So very sad. I'm so sorry for your and your family's tragic loss.

[maggiegault]

9. Yes, it means considerably more money and benefits.

I just wish the rat bastards could have given him his promotion, you know, when he was still a living, breathing human being. He worked SO hard for it. You know, that is why he re-joined the infantry, as opposed to a desk job...those who do the more dangerous missions over there are very often the ones who get the promotions, and faster than if you had an office job at one of the camps.

[Monkeyman]

5. K&R

[Justitia]

6. What an incredibly kind face. I am so very sorry, maggiegault. I hate this war. -eom

[BurtWorm]

7. I can't imagine the pain you must enduring.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[bdamomma]

8. Maggie I saw your brother's picture posted on PBS News Hour last nite

I am so sorry.

[maggiegault]

10. OH DAMN, I MISSED IT.

[me b zola]

11. That is a lovely article, thanks for sharing

I am so very sorry for your loss. :hug:

[Kurovski]

12. K&R. (nt)

[Hissyspit]

13. Here's the photo:

[question everything]

16. This is really a heartache

to see such young life cut so short, and the lives of the family members..

[Richard Steele]

14. K&R

[progressoid]

15. ...

This is heart-wrenching...especially since it's just a fraction of the sorrow you and your family have to endure.

I wish I could do more than just type words...

[harrison]

17. He read Jack and Hunter and so they became his

friends in a way that great authors become our friends. Here is the last paragraph from On the Road.

So in America when the sun goes down and I sit on the old broken-down river pier watching the long, long skies over New Jersey and sense all that raw land that rolls in one unbelievable huge bulge over to the West Coast, and all that road going, all the people dreaming in the immensity of it, and in Iowa I know by now the children must be crying in the land where they let the children cry, and tonight the stars’ll be out, and don’t you know that God is Pooh Bear? the evening star must be drooping and shedding her sparkler dims on the prairie, which is just before the coming of complete night that blesses the earth, darkens all rivers, cups the peaks and folds the final shore in, and nobody, nobody knows what’s going to happen to anybody besides the forlorn rags of growing old, I think of Dean Moriarty, I even think of Old Dean Moriarty the father we never found, I think of Dean Moriarty.

[wicket]

21. Ok, I'm bawling now

:cry: :cry:

Thank-you for posting that. :hug:

[myrna minx]

18. K&R. n/t

[Old Smokey]

19. So sad

[wicket]

20. Your brother and your family are all in my thoughts and prayers

:hug:

:cry:

[deadparrot]

22. I'm so sorry, maggiegault.

I wish the best to you and your family. You brother seemed like a fantastic guy. :cry:

[mzmolly]

23. Such a sad sad loss.

I am so sorry, once again.

[sonias]

24. Oh my, that just reduced me to tears

Your brother was a wonderful man. I am so sorry for your loss. I am so sorry that his family will never see him again. His two beautiful children, his wife Kate who obviously loved him very much. And you his sister.

This is just a horrible loss. You should be very proud of your brother. In his very short life he obviously created a lot of love.

My condolences to your whole family.

:cry:

Sonia

[mediawatch]

25. so sorry for your loss

so angry with my country

[DemReadingDU]

26. Thank you for sharing, I'm so sorry for your loss

[babylonsister]

28. My condolences again, maggiegault. Thank you for sharing. nt

[northofdenali]

29. Shedding more tears for another unconscionable loss -

your brother sounds like he would be a terrific friend and just all-round great guy. I am so sorry for your loss.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

30. So sorry again to hear of your loss.

Your brother also had very good taste in writers. May he rest in peace.

[buddysmellgood]

31. I'm just so sorry.

[pinto]

32. Thanks for the post maggiegault.

[motocicleta]

33. "Lilly wrote her name, and Andy was thrilled"

As the father of a four year old, I know some small degree of what Andy felt when he received that package. My heart breaks for your family, Laura.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

34. I'm so sorry. What a beautiful family!

[madrchsod]

35. he`s in good company now.

two old men and the kid tripping across the universe......

not one more

[uppityperson]

36. k&r, Thank you for the article and my condolences again.

[tandot]

37. Thank for telling us about your brother, Laura.

We checked out your website. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. We wish there would be anything we could do to make your pain go away.

Take care :grouphug:

[shaniqua6392]

38. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

:cry:

[Philosoraptor]

39. Thanks for sharing this Maggie

[live love laugh]

40. I'm so sorry n/t

[Buzz Clik]

41. West Lafayette, Lafayette paid their respects yesterday.

Here's the story of the funeral procession when Andy was brought home yesterday:

Fallen soldier comes home
By BOB SCOTT

Hundreds of people stood along a procession route Friday morning to show their respect for fallen soldier Sgt. Andrew R. Weiss and his family after his body was flown home to West Lafayette.

About 20 preschool children stood near the intersection of Fourth and Columbia streets as the procession, heading from Purdue Airport to a southern Lafayette funeral home, circled the Tippecanoe County Courthouse. The children, from Tippecanoe County Child Care Downtown, wore handmade paper flags pinned to the fronts of their shirts.

"It is important for the children to realize that people are fighting and dying for us," said teacher Kathy Farrell. "They might not understand, but they do know about respect for the flag."

A jet carrying the body of Weiss landed at 10:35 a.m. Friday at Purdue Airport and entered a hangar. The Army National Guard Honor Guard was present as the casket was carefully transferred to a waiting hearse. Weiss family members watched the reverent process.

The body was taken to Soller-Baker Lafayette Chapel on Twyckenham Boulevard in south Lafayette.

From the airport, the procession headed to Lafayette through the Purdue University campus on Airport Road and State Street.

"I believe in what they are doing over in Iraq," said Delton Stuck, an active duty Coast Guardsman who stood on Airport Road. "We have to show our support."

more

[DFW]

42. All the wonderful words and memories

Can only be of small consolation, even if they're all you have left.

All the patriotic mumbo jumbo can't make up for the loss of
a husband, brother, father, son.

I think all the words I have seen here come a lot closer to
what you feel. I know they come closer to what I feel.

[blueworld]

43. He's a hero to be proud of, maggiegault

My deep condolences to you and all your family, particularly his children. Like everyone else, I don't have adequate words for a situation like this, but as the grief becomes a little more bearable over the years, please remember that what makes your beautiful brother a true hero is not simply his courage in fighting for us all, or taking on heavy responsibility but all the things he believed in his heart.

Thanks for posting the link. You're all in my prayers.

[ljm2002]

44. What a wonderful article...

...your brother sounds like a great person. What a tragedy. His children will never know him growing up, and that is the biggest tragedy of all.

[Aanya]

45. Our thoughts, prayers and love will hopefully give you and your family strength to get through this

I wish there was something we could do to ease your pain. I appreciate how difficult this is for all of you, and thank you for sharing! You have been in my thoughts every single day since May 3!

[Philosoraptor]

46. .................