Arkansas Soldier Killed in Iraq
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
The conflict in Iraq has hit home again here in the Ark-La-Tex. A solider from Fouke, Arkansas was killed over the weekend. Friends and family gathered Tuesday morning to remember the man who died so others could be free.
Josh Turner flips through pictures of his former classmate Kenneth Jenkins. "I can`t believe it. It doesn`t seem real," Turner says while holding back tears. On Saturday, the Army staff sergeant was killed when his humvee was ambushed in Baghdad. "You`re not really prepared to hear something like that," says life long friend Justin Jones. Jones and Jenkins grew up together in the small community in southern Miller county.
Those that knew him best say Jenkins was a soldier at heart. He joined the Army after graduating from Fouke high school. It was just a matter of time before he found himself in Iraq. Jenkins spent a year there and was wrapping up his second tour of duty when the unthinkable happened. He may have been stationed half way around the world in a war zone, but Jenkins found time to keep in touch with friends. A day before his death Jenkins emailed Jessica Stribble. "I just read it over and over. He was asking about my daughter who was hospitalized recently," Stribble says. Jenkins leaves behind a wife. His funeral is set for Saturday in Killeen.
