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Linda Fribley
Warsaw, Indiana
While attempting to secure two bridges near An Nasiriyah for safe transport, Lance Corporal David Fribley, 26, of Warsaw, Indiana was one of nine Marines killed March 23, 2003 in a rocket-propelled grenade attack when Iraqi troops faked surrender. Although he planned a career with the Marines after completing college, after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, “he knew he needed to defend his country and ensure our way of life for the next generation,” says his mother, Linda Fribley. While he was eligible for Officers’ Candidate School, he requested to go into combat first. With the full support of his family, he not only felt that he could be of more service overseas than at home, but “felt like it would be beneficial for his career to wear the boots of the soldiers first before going to school.” |
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News
- More than 150 people attended the dedication Sunday of the David Fribley Football Field at Richardson-DuBois Park.
The football field, built with donations and volunteer labor from the community, is now home to the Young Tigers Football team in the city about 40 miles west of Fort Wayne. Garry Fribley said he and his wife, Linda, have always encouraged their children to follow their dreams. "What David wanted to do was make the Iraqi people free," he said. "This was the right thing to do." Associated Press, 10/18/04
- Linda Fribley smiled as she talked about a private meeting she and her husband had with President Bush in an Indianapolis hotel room last spring. The president, she said, took responsibility for their son's death. "He said, 'I am the one who declared war.' We tried to take some of the responsibility off his shoulders. He's not the one who pulled the trigger and killed our son."
Aside from their second son, Linda and Gary Fribley have a daughter, Ann Bays. The couple continue to strongly support the war and the president.
That support, however, doesn't make their remaining son's decision to go to Iraq any easier. Steven is leaving in the coming days. It's an assignment he didn't have to take; since his only brother was killed in combat, he could have accepted a desk job in the United States.
It's an assignment his mother wishes he hadn't taken. "It's tough, especially for Mom," Linda Fribley said, referring to herself. "Mom is having a real hard time with this."
But Steven, who is now stationed at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, recently explained to his parents his reasons for going. As his brother did, he supports the war and was affected deeply by the 2001 terrorist attacks.
"I didn't join the military to sit behind a desk and stare at a computer screen," Linda said her son told her. "I absolutely refuse to take advantage of my brother's death to stay safe and sound in the United States." Indianapolis Star, 5/31/04
- "We miss him dearly," Garry [Fribley] says. "But our feelings haven't changed on how we view what we are doing as a country. Along with the Iraqis, our troops are protecting us, too.
"Because if we weren't fighting (terrorism) over there, we would be doing it over here," he adds. "I think we all need to realize that what we are doing is a long-term deal -- a commitment to our own safety."South Bend Tribune, 3/15/04
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