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Published November 11, 2009 07:00 am - Michele and Tim Wright find comfort in a letter their son, Army 1st Lt. David T. Wright II wrote to them just in case he never returned home.
"If you are reading this then I was unable to make it home," Wright wrote in the letter.


Missing a hero


By Meghan McCormick

Michele and Tim Wright find comfort in a letter their son, Army 1st Lt. David T. Wright II wrote to them just in case he never returned home.

"If you are reading this then I was unable to make it home," Wright wrote in the letter. "But that's Okay because I'm in a better place now. A place where there is no war and no fighting. A place where I am at peace."

The Wrights received their last letter from David or "Timmy" as he was known to his family, accompanied with his personal belongings on Oct. 14, exactly one month after he died in Afghanistan.

It was Sept. 14, when Wright, 26, of Moore, led his platoon on a mission close to the Kandahar and Helmand border. The group knew the high level of risk associated with this particular task. Danger was imminent.

Once Wright and his soldiers completed the job, it was time to head back to camp. Wright was riding in a combat vehicle when it hit a deep, buried improvised explosive device, according to Wright's parents.

"There was absolutely no way to know it was there," Michele Wright said.

Wright had deployed to Afghanistan in July with the II Platoon Bravo Company, 5th Brigade, II Infantry Division; Striker Brigade/Combat Team out of Fort Lewis, Wash.

The University of Oklahoma is expected to pay tribute to Wright and other fallen soldiers with a moment of silence at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium before the Nov. 14 football game against Texas A--M.

"I can't wait for them to show the video of his platoon before the game," Michele Wright said.

She said her son's last letter was a letter that soldiers are suggested to write to their loved ones, should they not return home.

"This is no one's fault, I made this choice freely and I am proud of what I accomplished. You were supportive of me and that gave me strength," Michele Wright read aloud as tears filled her eyes.

"I know that in my final days I made a difference in this world, and that justifies my sacrifice," the letter stated.

Michele Wright said Sept. 14 was a typical day until about 4:15 p.m. She had just pulled into the Norman Regional Hospital parking lot and was headed back to her office.

"I could see Tim walking across the parking lot," she said.

"What are you doing here?" she remembered asking. "He starts shaking his head."



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