Mother of 19-year-old fallen soldier speaks out

On Thursday, The Unknown Soldiers covered the life and death of Pvt. John Dion, 19, who was killed in Ashoque, Afghanistan, alongside fellow soldiers, by bombs and small arms fire.

Dion attended high school in Oklahoma, and his immediate family recently moved to central Georgia. Reporter Phillip Ramati picks up the story for The Telegraph in Macon, where the soldier's grieving mother courageously spoke about her family's pain.

“We’re real thankful for the community support,” she said.

Though Dion didn’t come from a military background, he and some of his high school friends decided to join the military.

“I was against it,” [Patricia] Elsner said. “But I knew the boy. He wants to help people. He was always very protectful. I knew I wasn’t going to dissuade him. It was his decision, and I was respectful of his decision.”

Dion, who excelled as an advanced scout in Afghanistan despite only being there for just over a month, will be buried on Saturday, with full military honors, at Andersonville National Cemetery.

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