Fallen soldier’s focus was on his family
BY ROBERT MEDLEY AND RANDY ELLIS
Staff Writers rmedley@opubco.com
MOORE — A platoon leader from Moore has become the seventh Oklahoma serviceman to die in Afghanistan in a little over two weeks, marking the deadliest such period for Oklahoma soldiers since the Afghan War began nearly a decade ago. Oklahoma Army National Guard 1st Lt. Damon Leehan was killed Sunday when an improvised explosive device struck the vehicle in which he was riding, the Department of Defense confirmed Tuesday.
Three other soldiers were injured in the incident, and their families have been notified by military officials. The unit was conducting operations in the Alingar District of Laghman province at the time.
Although Oklahoma Guardsmen have participated in multiple deployments since the 9/11 terrorist attack, state guard casualties were low until recently when about 2,200 troops with that brigade deployed to Afghanistan about two months ago and the military began assigning more Oklahoma Guardsmen to direct combat missions, Maj. Gen. Myles Deering, the state’s adjutant general, said in a recent interview.
When Leehan died, Oklahoma lost “an outstanding citizen-soldier who was committed to defending our nation and protecting our way of life,” Deering said.
‘Always about his kids’
The loss was even greater for Leehan’s family, said Tiffany Nance, the soldier’s sister-in-law.
“The grief is so raw and so real and overwhelming,” said Nance, 39, of Pryor. “We are just trying to come together and be a unit. It is awful. Our hearts go out to other servicemen and women who have gone through this.”
Leehan, 30, is survived by his wife, Audrey Leehan, 29, and two children, Emma, 4, and Ethan, 1, Nance said. The Leehans were expecting to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary Sept. 17.
“My favorite personal memory of Damon is watching him with his kids,” Nance said. “He was always about his kids. ... If one of them would even make a squeak, he would be running over there, tending to that child, swimming with them, playing with them outside, playing ball. If one of his children ever tugged his pant leg and said, ‘Daddy,’ he never turned away and said, ‘I’m busy right now.’ ... The father and the husband that he was are my favorite things about Damon. He was a man in a million.”
Nance said the Leehan family had dolls made with their dad’s image on them for each of the children.
“They won’t sleep without their daddy doll,” she said.
Before his deployment, they also made a diaper bag out of one of his old military uniforms, complete with patches and cloth name tags.
“This is what carries the supplies to care for his kids every day,” she said, holding up the bag.
Nance and her sisters come from a military family. Their father is the late-Brig. Gen. Ed Stevens, former commander of the 137th Airlift Wing, Will Rogers Air National Guard Base.
That hasn’t made it any easier for family members, she said.
“We have to keep reminding each other to breathe,” she said. “It’s not something we ever saw coming. We didn’t think it was possible.”
Nance spoke in behalf of the family at the home of a sister in Edmond. She said Audrey was on her way to Dover, Del., on Tuesday. Her husband’s body is due to arrive there Wednesday, officials said. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Loved by colleagues
Leehan joined the Army National Guard in 1998 at age 18, fresh out of high school, Nance said.
In civilian life, Leehan was an X-ray technician at Southwest Integris Medical Center and he served a previous 13-month tour in Afghanistan as an Army National Guard medic. He returned to Afghanistan less than two months ago, this time as an infantry officer, she said.
Leehan served as a platoon leader with Company A, 1st Battalion, 179 Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team based in Edmond, military officials said.
Nance said family members were told that Leehan was so loved by the men in his company that they all stepped forward and volunteered to give blood when initially told he had been wounded.
Southwest Integris coworkers were taking Leehan’s death hard.
Fellow X-ray technician Bill Nance, 58, of Norman, (no relation to Tiffany Nance) said he has known Leehan since Leehan started working there 10 years ago.
“He was like a son to me,” he said, breaking into tears and pausing Tuesday. “He always talked to me about things and confided in me. We were very close.
“He was a best friend. He was always smiling and never took life too seriously. He wouldn’t get upset about things.”
Leehan played soccer and football at Edmond North High School.
Tiffany Nance said the family is asking for prayers and is setting up a trust fund to which the public can donate to provide for the education of Leehan’s two children and the dayto-day needs. She said details will be published on Leehan’s memorial Facebook page, www.facebook.com/pages/In-Memory-of-1LT-Damon-Leehan/156103527803249.