Army Sgt. Kyle J. Harrington

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Kyle J. Harrington, 24, of Swansea, Mass.

Sgt. Harrington was assigned to the 542nd Maintenance Company, 80th Ordnance Battalion, 593rd Sustainment Brigade, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Jan. 24, 2009 in Basra, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-hostile accident in his unit motor pool.

Mass. native was father of 2
The Associated Press

FORT LEWIS, Wash. — Relatives of an Army soldier based at Fort Lewis soldier say he has died in a forklift accident in Iraq.

He’s identified as 24-year-old Sgt. Kyle J. Harrington of Swansea, Mass., who was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. He was assigned to repair Humvees and other light vehicles as a member of the 593rd Sustainment Brigade at Joint Base Balad.

Harrington’s wife, Faith, told The News Tribune of Tacoma she was told at Fort Lewis that he was fatally hit by a forklift Jan. 24. He leaves two children, 5-year-old Joshua and 2-year-old Kaylee.

Harrington’s mother-in-law, Debra Ryan, a newsroom assistant at The Standard-Times in New Bedford, Mass., says she also was notified Jan. 24.

Brother, sister never had ‘sad moment’
The Associated Press

When thinking of her brother, Elizabeth Harrington said the emotions come in waves, but the memories are all golden.

“I can’t be sad when I think of my brother,” she said of Kyle J. Harrington. “I can’t think of one sad moment me and my brother ever had with each other.”

Harrington, 24, of Swansea, Mass., died Jan. 24 in Basra, Iraq, of injuries from a non-hostile accident. He was a 2003 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Lewis.

Brian McCann, his former principal, said he remembered Harrington as a “spirited young man” who was very committed to his future wife and friends.

“Once he joined the Army, he just became a man,” his sister said. “He went from my teenage brother to a man overnight.”

They had dreams together. They were going to buy two houses in New Hampshire, near each other.

“I was going to have him walk me down the aisle when I got married,” she said. “I wanted my brother to give me away.”

He also is survived by his wife, Faith, and two children, Joshua, 5, and Kaylee, 2.

“He was an amazing dad and one of a kind,” his wife said.

Army Sgt. Kyle J. Harrington was killed in a non-combat incident on 01/24/09.