Army Pfc. William S. Blevins

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pfc. William S. Blevins, 21, of Sardinia, Ohio

Pfc. Blevins assigned to 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; died May 23, 2011 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Kristofferson B. Lorenzo, Pvt. Andrew M. Krippner and Pvt. Thomas C. Allers.

PFC Blevins was very involved in his local community as a youth, participating in a number of activities including 4-H and the Brown County Fair. He was passionate about sports and was a talented athlete. For a time, he also worked at his father's construction company.

PFC Blevins graduated from Eastern High School in 2008. He ran track and also competed in basketball and soccer. His numerous academic and extracurricular activities qualified him for National Honor Society.

At the University of Cincinnati, he studied criminal justice for awhile. Accepted at Ohio University in Athens, he applied for the ROTC program and joined the Army the following year.

Steve Blevins said his son was well-known and well-liked in the community, and had touched a number of lives when he worked for Steve Blevins Construction. "I was always proud of my son, no matter what he did. He was a perfect son," his father said. "Everybody loved him. And his smile, everybody remembers his smile."

PFC Blevins' body, along with the bodies of the men he was killed with, arrived at Dover AFB on Wednesday, May 25th. Although no funeral arrangements have been announced, there are at least two groups of volunteers who are planning to cover the expected funeral route with yellow ribbons in his honor.

Former schoolmate Bethany Yockey is helping to organize one of the yellow ribbon campaigns. "No one can forget his wonderful smiling face," Yockey said. "He was a wonderful, wonderful young man."

Yockey added that she and countless other individuals across Brown County will remember him fondly as a kind and brave and honorable young man.

"It is a great loss," she said, "but we can celebrate his life now and hopefully show how much we were proud of him."

PFC Blevins is survived by his parents, Trisha and Steve, and sister, Paige.

Army Pfc. William S. Blevins was killed in action on 5/23/11.