jeb6294
Well-known member
Just to give you a little background. There's a little town of about 900 people in Clermont County...technically I didn't live in town but that's where our school(s) were so most of us around there would consider that the town where we grew up.
I am currently deployed in Afghanistan. The other day at home there is a news report: "Clermont County man Jeb6294 who grew up in 'Small Town' was killed in Afghanistan this weekend in an IED attack."
My (real, it's not actually Jeb) first name is very common, but my last name, while not terribly outrageous, isn't exactly common. Apparently there is someone in our little po-dunk town that just happened to have the exact same name as me and just happened to be stationed in Afghanistan at the same time as me and just happened to get killed this past weekend. The odds for all of these factors to come out just right (same name, small town, small number of casualties relative to the number of people stationed over here) have got to be ridiculous.
Now, his last name wasn't spelled the same but it's pronounced the same so the of people at home who heard the news on TV or the radio were freaking out. The ones who saw the news in the paper got a shock but were able to figure it out because of the different spelling and the fact that they printed his age which is about 10 years younger than me. Fortunately my wife and parents were among those who saw the news in print first.
So, I got to spend the evening going on Facebook telling people that I am not dead...something I never really expected to be doing, but I am certainly thankful for that rather than the alternative.
I am currently deployed in Afghanistan. The other day at home there is a news report: "Clermont County man Jeb6294 who grew up in 'Small Town' was killed in Afghanistan this weekend in an IED attack."
My (real, it's not actually Jeb) first name is very common, but my last name, while not terribly outrageous, isn't exactly common. Apparently there is someone in our little po-dunk town that just happened to have the exact same name as me and just happened to be stationed in Afghanistan at the same time as me and just happened to get killed this past weekend. The odds for all of these factors to come out just right (same name, small town, small number of casualties relative to the number of people stationed over here) have got to be ridiculous.
Now, his last name wasn't spelled the same but it's pronounced the same so the of people at home who heard the news on TV or the radio were freaking out. The ones who saw the news in the paper got a shock but were able to figure it out because of the different spelling and the fact that they printed his age which is about 10 years younger than me. Fortunately my wife and parents were among those who saw the news in print first.
So, I got to spend the evening going on Facebook telling people that I am not dead...something I never really expected to be doing, but I am certainly thankful for that rather than the alternative.
