darkblueworld > 100 greatest military photos >  U S  Marine Corps Cpl  Ronnie Shertell, assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, plays with a small Iraqi child during a knock and cordon mission being conducted in Fallujah, Iraq
darkblueworld > 100 greatest military photos >  Silver Dragon Assasin by toxic angel
darkblueworld > 100 greatest military photos >  An unnamed Iraqi soldier wraps a kullif scarf around Capt  Matt Eberhart Sunday Dec  18, 2005 at Camp Kodiak, Iraq
darkblueworld > 100 greatest military photos >  ice sculptures
darkblueworld > 05/22/06 Orgun, Paktika provence, Afghanistan;  (L-R)Pfc. Charles Dobbs age 20 from Eugene, Oregon and Pfc. Keith Heckman age 20 from Coeurda'lene, Idaho, with 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division fire mortars at suspected targets in the mountains around FOB Orgun.
Photo/Rick Kozak/ Military Times
darkblueworld > 100 greatest military photos >  U S  Army Soldiers move to the UH-60 Black Hawk after searching the area for items of interest during an aerial response force mission, Iraq, March 31
darkblueworld > 100 greatest military photos >  No  13 Art Greenspon Vietnam, 1968
darkblueworld > 100 greatest military photos >  4bc309d7923b5b11db0460a24c56cad30_full
darkblueworld > Ruckersville native killed in action
By Liesel Nowak
Daily Progress staff writer
Sunday, July 23, 2006


By Liesel Nowak
Daily Progress staff writer
A Ruckersville family is mourning the loss of their son and brother, an Army medic who was killed Saturday morning in Iraq by a roadside bomb.
Adam Fargo, 22, died in Baghdad after his convoy struck an improvised explosive device, according to his father, Doug Fargo.
He and his wife, Libby, got the news late Saturday afternoon from an Army chaplain and two officers stationed out of Fort Belvoir in Alexandria. Adam is also survived by his older brother, Jason, and his younger sister, Sarah.
By Saturday night, the Fargos were surrounded by friends at their home on Cedar Grove Road where they were remembering Adam, who was a standout on the William Monroe High School soccer team.
“We are very proud of him and his service … he was a top soldier at the time,” his father said.
Adam, a medic with the 101st Airborne Division, was assigned to an engineer platoon that was responsible for keeping a thoroughfare clear of IEDs. His vehicle - the second in his convoy - struck one of the devices. Adam was the only fatality, though other soldiers were critically injured, Doug said.
His son wasn’t much of a letter-writer, Doug said, but he used a satellite phone to call home somewhere between every 10 days to three weeks. The last time Doug talked to his son was the night of July 18.
“He sounded very good,” Doug said. “I think he felt confident in his job. I know he was doing a good job because he was promoted to the rank of specialist.”
In May, Adam had also been awarded a combat medic badge, a coveted award in the Army. Doug said his son received the award for “going over and above his job,” probably the result of helping a fellow soldier.
Doug said that his son could not reveal many details about his duties.
“But I’m very proud,” he said. “I’m an Army veteran myself, and so were both his grandfathers.”
Adam is the second Iraq War fatality from the Charlottesville area.
Cpl. Bradley Arms, a member of the Marine Reserves and a Charlottesville native, died Nov. 19, 2004, in Fallujah. A graduate of the Covenant School, Arms was also a soccer player, earning the nickname “The Rock” for his defensive skills.
At least 2,558 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the war in March 2003, according to a recent Associated Press count.
Described as a “smart and athletic kid,” Adam Fargo joined the Army on Dec. 30, 2004, after deciding against college and working at local pizza joints, his father said.
“He decided he wanted to make something of himself, get some training and so on,” Doug said. “He didn’t really discuss this with me until he was close to deciding. He had already taken the steps and talked to recruiters. I told him that it was a hard life, but it was a good life. I was all for whatever decision that he was going to make. We laid out the pros and cons and he made the decision. I didn’t get the impression that he had any reservations.”
After months of training, Adam’s unit was deployed in November 2005. He came home in March for a three-week “mid-tour” break, his father said.
“Adam and my son graduated from high school together. He was a top soccer player,” said neighbor and friend Rodney Kibler. “He was just a great kid. Serving his country, you know.”
Doug said Adam talked about a future career in medicine after he returned from Iraq.
“Once he knew he was going to be a medic, he really latched on to that,” Doug said. “He wanted to take more classes, looked into getting a nursing degree. He might have had his sights set farther out. When he was younger, he talked about being a doctor.”

Contact Liesel Nowak at (434) 978-7274 or lnowak@dailyprogress.com.

This story can be found at: http://www.dailyprogress.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CDP/MGArticle/CDP_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189322970&path=
No 13 Art Greenspon Vietnam, 1968
100 greatest military photos >  No  13 Art Greenspon Vietnam, 1968
No 13 Art Greenspon Vietnam, 1968
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