Two of the fallen

[scandal 951]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...9110603739.html

Kham Xiong was 'a superb role model to his peers'

Army PFC Kham Xiong, 23, came from a St. Paul, Minn., family with ties to military life that spanned hemispheres. His father, Chor Xiong, battled Communist insurgents in Laos during the Vietnam War, according to Minnesota Public Radio, and his younger brother Nelson is enlisted in the Marines.

In a phone interview, his 8th grade teacher, Tim McGowan, recalled Xiong's positive energy and his commitment to supporting his family.

"Kham was just a person of sound character, and his greatest attribute was his ability to make everybody smile," said McGowan, now a principal at Community of Peace Academy, a St. Paul charter school from which Xiong graduated in 2004. "He was a superb role model to his peers and siblings and children."

Xiong was among the first killed at Fort Hood as he waited in line to get a flu shot and a vision test, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

Xiong was one of 11 children, a hard-working man who called home every night and who recently moved with his wife and three young children (ages 10 months to 4 years) to a home near the Texas military base, according to the Pioneer Press. He was expected to deploy to Afghanistan within the next two months.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ft-...,0,515037.story

Fort Hood victim Francheska Velez mourned in Humboldt Park

Family and friends pay tribute to pregnant soldier slain at Army base

Francheska Velez was happy on the last day of her life.

Nine weeks into her pregnancy, the Army private called her cousin in Chicago on Thursday to tell her about her early bouts of morning sickness and how excited she was about the child growing inside of her.

Melissa Morton was the last family member to speak to Velez, 21, who was one of 13 people gunned down that day at the Fort Hood, Texas, Army base.

On Monday, dozens of family members, former classmates, teachers and neighbors gathered outside Velez's home in Chicago's West Humboldt Park neighborhood for an emotional candlelight memorial to the young woman nicknamed "Cheka."

"She was happy that she was pregnant. She was getting ready basically to start buying baby clothes," Morton said.

Outside the brick two-flat where Velez lived with her parents and brother, loved ones sitting on the wooden stairwell sobbed as they listened to music that spoke to their loss.

Nearby, prayer candles and a photo collage of the 2006 Kelvyn Park High School graduate was on display while friends remembered Velez as an exciting and gentle friend.

"I've never met a person who was always happy. She was always smiling, happy all of the time," said high school friend Melinda DeJesus, tears streaming down her face.

"No one could ever say a bad thing about Cheka. Cheka knew how to keep a secret. She knew how to talk to you. She would be there for you, she was like the perfect person."

"Her presence, her energy, her vibe, everything about her was just amazing. She was such a supporter, such a comforter, she was a giver," Ocasio said.

Those close to Velez focused on remembering her and not on the rampage that took her life, or her killer, whom authorities identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.

Velez had served in Iraq but was transferred to Fort Hood after she found out that she was pregnant. She was to return to Chicago in December.

In the midst of the tragedy, Friends and family said they had no doubt what kind of parent she would have been. "She would have given that kid everything that she didn't have," her cousin Jose Rodriguez said.

"Cheka loved a bug. She wouldn't even kill a bug. Cheka loved everybody, Cheka loved kids, and I know that she would have been the best mom," DeJesus said.

Funeral arrangements for Francheska Velez have yet to be made.

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