Death of pilot brings war home to Cape

Southeast Missourian

The war on terror has shown its ugly face to Cape Girardeau.

Bill and Jenny Harkey of Cape Girardeau left Thursday for San Diego to be with their pregnant daughter, who has become a widow. Friends of the family now have a more personal view of the war.

The Harkeys' son-in-law, Marine Capt. Daniel McCollum, was among seven who died Wednesday when their plane crashed into the side of a mountain in Pakistan.

Military officials said Thursday there was no indication that enemy fire had brought down the KC-130 refueling and transport plane, and the cause of the crash would take time to determine. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said efforts to recover the bodies were hampered by the difficult terrain.

Linda Coleman, who attends the LaCroix United Methodist Church with the Harkeys, found out about their son-in-law late Wednesday.

"It happens to somebody else, not somebody you know," said Coleman, who took a church membership class with Jennifer when she lived in Cape Girardeau. "You read about it in the paper, but it comes closer to home when you actually know the party involved.

"It's so sad because their daughter just got married and was so happy. She just found out she was pregnant and now she's going to have a baby without a father. But she knew that he did what he was called to do and I'm sure she was very proud of him."

Chris Nall, the church's music leader and friend of the Harkeys, said it has affected everyone at the church.

"Everybody likes Bill, and you know what, it does hit home," Nall said. "What it's done is made us think differently about certain things."

The McCollums were married in May, and Jennifer is due to have the baby on July 4.

"We covet your prayers for Jennifer and for their child," Bill Harkey said in an e-mail sent to friends and family. "We thank you for all the phone calls, visits, e-mails and love that has been showered upon us."

Because the McCollums lived so far away, few if anyone in Cape Girardeau ever met Daniel.

"I heard nothing but good things about him, from the time they started dating until they got married," Coleman said. "I'm sure he's the kind of young man every parent would want their daughter to marry."

A community praying

The Rev. Ron Watts said given the location of the death, it may take a while for arrangements to be made.

"They are very involved in the church and we will certainly reach out to them," Watts said. "We've had a lot of people praying for them. They'll be surrounded by a Christian community."

The Harkey family was one of seven mourning losses Thursday.

The mother of Gunnery Sgt. Stephen L. Bryson, of Montgomery, Ala., said her only child had called her on Tuesday, his 36th birthday, to say he was thinking of her. The family has a military tradition; Bryson's uncle, Raymond Bryson, died in a plane crash while serving in the Mississippi National Guard.

Flags were lowered at the tiny high school in Wilbur, Wash., to honor 1999 graduate Nathan P. Hays, an Eagle Scout and classic car buff. The 21-year-old sergeant had been proud to return to his hometown of 1,000 people in uniform to talk with students about life in the Marine Corps.

Sgt. Jeannette L. Winters, 25, is the first U.S. servicewoman to die in combat since the 1991 Gulf War. Her family in Gary, Ind., recalled her as a committed athlete and fun-loving pianist who was determined to push herself to great accomplishments. Her father, who hadn't seen Winters in two years, took up a guitar and played a ballad he had hoped would be a duet.

'Buzzing' hometown

In Coos Bay, Ore., Cub Scouts honored Bryan Bertrand, the corporal with whom they had been exchanging letters. The former all-state football player was remembered as a hero.

Capt. Matthew Bancroft was so proud of his hometown of Redding that he couldn't resist "buzzing" by the remote Northern California area in a KC-130 refueling jet after he earned his pilot's wings.

"He was tall, straight and proud. That's my son," Bob Bancroft said.

The seven were part of a close-knit squadron of some 300 Marines, known as "the Raiders," who took pride in their critical role of fueling jets in the sky and ferrying troops and supplies to battle.

"Everyone knows exactly who everyone is in that squadron," said Capt. Kent Kroeker, a close friend of Bancroft. "We fly with each other all the time. It's one big team."

Kroeker struggled for words outside Bancroft's home. From inside the house came the cry of the pilot's 9-month-old daughter, and the roar of jets from Miramar thundered in the distance. "It's just really, really hard," he said. "He was a great pilot and a great man."

Across town, Jennifer Germosen, 25, accompanied by a fellow Marine wife, tried to make sense of the loss of her husband, Staff Sgt. Scott Germosen, 37.

Patting her daughter's back, she said: "I have to figure out how to tell her she doesn't have a daddy. I just don't know."

Germosen first enlisted when he was 17. Later, he got a bachelor's degree in psychology and worked as deputy sheriff and undercover officer for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

But he missed the Marines and he re-enlisted in 1996. Three months ago, his wife said, he re-upped for another four years and planned to stay.

"He was a lifer," she said.

The Associated Press

contributed to this story.