R.I.P. Spc. Aaron S. Aamot

Name: Army Spc. Aaron S. Aamot

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Age: 22

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From: Custer, Wash.

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Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

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Incident: Army Spc. Aaron S. Aamot died Nov. 5 in Jelewar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

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Died: November 05, 2009

(Taken from www.thenewstribune.com)A 2006 Ferndale High School graduate was killed in Afghanistan Thursday, Nov. 5, when the Stryker vehicle he was driving went over a buried explosive, according to his family.

Spc. Aaron Aamot, 22, was in the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment and was part of the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division based in Fort Lewis. He had been serving in Afghanistan since mid-July on his first deployment in the war.

Another soldier also was killed in the explosion from the improvised device buried in the road just northwest of Kandahar, said Aamot's brother, Matt Aamot.

The U.S. Department of Defense has not yet released information about Aaron Aamot's death.

Aamot's parents, Mark and Julie Aamot, were notified Thursday evening that their son was killed in action.

Aaron Aamot grew up in Custer, the fifth of eight siblings. He joined the military shortly after graduating from high school. Matt Aamot, 33, believed his brother saw the military as a stepping stone into a career in law enforcement, which he hoped to pursue when he got out of service in the next year.

Aamot had been home on leave from Oct. 11 to Oct. 25, and for that his family is thankful.

"The best thing is we were able to see him a couple weeks ago," Matt Aamot said. "Everyone is taking it hard, but we're Christians, so it's a temporary interlude until we see him again. Our faith will help us out."

The family planned to go to Dover, Del., Friday night to bring their son's body back home. A memorial service is being planned for next week.

"I'm pretty heartbroken, but I'm proud of his service," said Matt Aamot, who also served in the military. "We weren't in a combat zone, but I served in Bosnia in 1996. Aaron was trying to do same thing we were doing there: bring folks peace and freedom they'd never experienced. So that comforts me a little bit."

The grief was still setting in for Matt Aamot, who found it hard to believe his little brother was gone.

"I still think of him as a kid, even though he's 22," he said. "He was a real fun kid. He was great with his nephews and nieces, just easygoing. He was a nice brother. I'm honored to have been his brother."

The two shared interests in the military, as well as 4-H Club and FFA. Aaron raised pheasant and bobwhite quail and he had his own golden raspberry field on his parents' small farm.

"4-H was a big part of his life. Raising and showing chickens at the fair was a big deal for him," he said. "He kind of took after me."

Matt also remembered his brother's skill at baking, particularly blackberry pies. He enjoyed Civil War re-enactments, fighting on the Union side, of course. And he loved remote control anything - cars, tanks, trucks, the works.

"I'll miss having my brother around," Matt said. "He was one of those rough-and-tumble, happy-go-lucky kids."

Ferndale High School agriculture instructor and FFA advisor Mitch Davis was shocked and saddened to hear of Aamot's death Friday.

"He was a good kid, a hard worker, a real trustworthy kid," said Davis, who taught Aamot in shop class. "He was willing to give a helping hand to anybody who needed it. He was one of those guys that if you said something, he'd go do it and he'd do a good job at it, so you wouldn't have to worry."

Aaron Aamot is also survived by brothers Daniel, Benjamin, Ethan, Dale and Joshua, as well as his sister, Nellie Huisman.

Aamot is believed to be the first Whatcom County resident killed in action in Afghanistan. Cpl. Jonathan Santos, who died serving in 2004, is the only Whatcom County resident to have been killed during the war in Iraq.