May We Never Forget
Pfc. James E. Prevete,
22 years old, from Whitestone, New York. 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. Died when his military vehicle encountered whiteout conditions and the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle in Habbaniya, Iraq, on October 10, 2004. Parents names: Vincent and Jean; Sister, Laura.
From the Daily News:
Queens G.I.'s kin get the saddest visit
BY ADAM LISBERG
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
When James Prevete's father glimpsed a man in Army dress greens walking up his Queens driveway Sunday morning, he thought for just a moment that his son was back from the war.
"He said, 'Jim is home! Jim is home!'" a neighbor recalled yesterday.
But it was a grim-faced soldier bearing bad news: James Prevete was dead at 22, killed in a vehicle crash in Iraq just eight months after he joined the Army.
"It was a dream of his for a long time," said one of his best friends, David Pelaez, 20, a Marine. "He knew what he was doing. You don't join the military without some awareness of what's going on over there. He had a sense of duty."
Prevete died Sunday in Habbaniya, about 50 miles west of Baghdad, "when his military vehicle encountered whiteout conditions and the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle," a military statement said.
His grieving parents declined to speak about their loss yesterday, but shocked neighbors on their quiet Whitestone block spoke of an athletic, devout and gregarious son who played basketball in the street for hours at a time.
"He was a good son, he was a good brother," said one neighbor. "He died for us."
"It's very sad," said Pat Trougakos, who lives across the street. "It's just so hard to believe that this could happen."
Prevete attended the parish school and later was a football standout at St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, where he graduated in 2000, said his priest, the Rev. James Fraser of the nearby Holy Trinity Church.
"He had a profound belief in our cause to allow other nations to experience the freedoms that we have often taken for granted," Fraser said. "He lived and died as a person of high moral standards who placed his entire trust in his God."
Prevete briefly attended Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, as well as Queens College, Fraser said, but found his true calling in the Army, which drew on the same sense of discipline and achievement that made him such a dedicated football player.
Prevete's mother, Jean, is a librarian in the parish school, Fraser said, and his sister Laura, a senior at St. Francis Prep, works in the parish rectory.
A young woman who said she was Prevete's fiancée spent much of yesterday with the family but declined to comment.
His father Vincent, a retired banking executive, is in poor health and uses a wheelchair - so his son would help him get to church and back.
"He came to Mass every Sunday with his father," Fraser said. "Truly, he is our hero."
Funeral arrangements were incomplete yesterday.
From the New York Post:
QNS. GI DIES IN SANDSTORM
By NEIL GRAVES
October 12, 2004 -- A Queens man, who was stationed in the relative safety of South Korea last summer, was killed Sunday just weeks after his regiment was sent to Iraq, the military said yesterday.
James Prevete, 22, of Whitestone, an Army private with the 506th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Division's 2nd Brigade, was killed when "his vehicle encountered whiteout conditions and the driver apparently lost control," a Defense Department statement said.
A source said "whiteout" was military-speak for sandstorm. There were no details on the conditions of the other soldiers involved.
Prevete's division arrived in Kuwait in early August from Camp Greaves in Korea before heading to Iraq.
Lt. Col. Jeremy Martin, an Army spokesman, said, "When they left stateside to go to Korea, they had no inkling they could possibly be deployed to Iraq."
Prevete was killed in Habbaniya — in the middle of the so-called Sunni Triangle. Due west of Baghdad, Habbaniya is halfway between Fallujah and Ramadi, two of the toughest strongholds held by the rebels.
"We've lost three or four soldiers who went over from Korea," Martin said.
The incidents leading to Prevete's death are still under investigation, the Army said.
To The Prevete Family, Family and Friends:
I didn't know Jim, but I didn't have to know him to know what an incredible human being he was. Laura would tell me all the time what a great brother he was and how great they got along. I thought that to be truly amazing that a brother and sister, with a five year age difference could be the best of friends. She was scared of him going off to war, but still so proud. When she told me he enlisted she had this glimmer in her eyes, knowing that Jim was going to make a difference, and he most definitely did. By enlisting himself, Jim proved to be a courageous and selfless individual, ready to fight for his country at all costs. The chance of not returning home was always a possibility, but that didn't stand in his way. Jim is a hero, a true American hero that will always be honored and in our hearts. I am so sorry for all of you who knew Jim, please accept my sincere condolences and good wishes. I hope with each passing day comes a little bit of peace to help you get through. Rest in Peace James Prevete.
With all of my Heart,
Tracy
School mourns fallen Qns. G.I.
BY ADAM LISBERG
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
James Prevete in high school yearbook
The last time James Prevete visited his old high school in Queens, he wore his Army dress uniform and proudly showed his teachers just how far he had come.
Yesterday, those teachers at St. Francis Prep mourned the 22-year-old soldier's death in Iraq while classmates rallied around his sister Laura, a senior who put on a brave face and went back to class.
Prevete was killed Sunday in a highway crash in Habbaniya, about 50 miles west of Baghdad, when a driver lost control because of poor visibility, the Army said.
He left behind stunned friends and relatives in Whitestone, including his father, Vincent, and his mother, Jean.
Joe Licata, a teacher at the school in Fresh Meadows, remembered the 2000 graduate yesterday as a popular student, a respectful son and a star on the football team who would study plays before games while his buddies were goofing around.
"After every good play - say when he made a great tackle or he caused a fumble - he would raise his right hand to his mother in the stands," Licata said. "Most players don't even want their parents there when they play, much less to acknowledge them on the field."
His mother "was so nervous about him being there," said Eleanor Menna, principal of Holy Trinity, the parish elementary school that Prevete attended through eighth grade.
Holy Trinity and St. Francis both would like to memorialize Prevete in some way, school officials said, but will wait to consult with his family before making any plans.
Funeral arrangements for Prevete are incomplete. His relatives remained in seclusion yesterday, consoled by a stream of friends, classmates and relatives who came to their home.
from NY1:
Family Mourns Queens Soldier Killed In Iraq
OCTOBER 13TH, 2004
The Queens parents of a soldier killed in Iraq over the weekend are remaining in seclusion, but other family members talked about their grief Wednesday. NY1 borough reporter Ruschell West has more.
The signs are posted in the window of their home and on their cars. The message is to support the troops. But it was the Prevetes who needed support after learning their 22-year-old son James was killed over the weekend in Iraq.
"We're together and that's important," said Laura Prevete, James' sister. "A lot of people are helping us out."
The Army says the private first class was killed when the driver of the vehicle he was riding in lost control in the whiteout conditions of a sandstorm. Prevete's family got the news early Sunday morning.
"I woke up and I heard my mom screaming and my dad's sick so I thought something had happened to him, but I walked into the living room and I saw two soldiers standing there and I just don't know what to think," said Laura Prevete. "I still don't believe it really happened."
It's especially hard for the family to believe because James had only been a soldier for less than a year. He signed up for duty on August 14th, 2003, a little more than three months after the president declared an end to major combat missions in Iraq.
He went to boot camp in November, was shipped to Korea last March, then to Iraq a month and a half ago.
His loved ones say he didn't think he was going to die, but left goodbye letters for his family in case he didn't make it home.
"He left the letters for me and Diana before he left for Korea," said Laura Prevete. "I though he was going to come home in a year and burn them cause he never needed them to actually be read."
Diana is his fiancée. She describes Prevete as very patriotic, as someone who went to Iraq to serve his country.
"He said to me that he's going to go because he doesn't believe that it's fair that there's people dying for him to live free, and he wants to fight for the people here," said Diana Sartori.
Prevete's old football coach at St. Francis Prep School saw the soldier before he went to Korea.
"I was very proud to see him walking around to be expressing his pride in himself by showing all of the students here that he was in the army," said Joseph Licata. "Trying to show them more or less that he was standing up for his country."
Officials at St. Francis are now in the process of planning a permanent memorial in Prevete's honor.
The soldier will be buried on Monday in Queens.
– Ruschell West
"It was a dream of his for a long time," said one of his best friends, David Pelaez, 20, a Marine. "He knew what he was doing. You don't join the military without some awareness of what's going on over there. He had a sense of duty."
"The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgement, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.
Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent. Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind. I Love You! Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do. When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrong-doing on your part or an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.
When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway); and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant. Thank you for being a part of my life. May God hold you in the palm of His hand and Angels watch over you."
--George Carlin
