R.I.P. Tech. Sgt. Adam K. Ginett

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Adam K. Ginett

29, of Knightdale, N.C.; assigned to the 31st Civil Engineer Squadron, Aviano Air Base, Italy; died Jan. 19 near Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device.

(Taken from www.newsobserver.com of Jan. 23, 2010) COATS -- Air Force Tech Sgt. Adam K. Ginett had a reason for pursuing one of the most dangerous missions in the military, his mother said.

"He told me, 'Mom, I don't go out there on the battlefield with a gun and shoot any body. I find these bombs that are going to take someone else's life. I'm saving people's lives, not taking them,' " said Christina Kazacavage of Coats.

Ginett, a 1999 East Wake High School graduate, died Tuesday near Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan. He had been wounded when a buried improvised explosive device went off near him.

According to his grandfather, Jim Haslam of Cary, Ginett's unit was walking toward a location where a cache of IEDs was thought to be hidden. One other person was killed in the incident and three were wounded, Haslam said.

Ginett opted for explosive ordnance duty after he graduated from boot camp.

Though he had planned for a career in the military since he was in high school, he had other interests, too. He interned for four summers during high school with cartoonists at Walt Disney World in Florida, and he worked in Nancy Redman's pottery studio in Knightdale during his last year at East Wake.

Redman remembers him as an artistic friend of the family.

"He just had a big interest in art," she said.

Ginett was based at Aviano Air Base in Italy before deploying to Afghanistan in September. It was his second tour of duty there. He won the Bronze Star for his role in a firefight on his first tour in Afghanistan. He also served two tours in Iraq.

Ginett's body will return to North Carolina on Tuesday, his mother said. Visitation will take place Thursday at Thomas Funeral Home in Fuquay-Varina. Funeral Mass will be held Friday at St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Fuquay-Varina. He will be buried with military honors in Raleigh Memorial Park.