Images courtesy: U.S. Army/FacebookSgt. Donald Rocky Edgerton had just moved to the mountains of western North Carolina when he made a life-changing decision. At age 28, he would join the military, knowing that a deployment to Iraq was probably on the horizon. He was right. Yet after returning from the war zone, his sense of duty was even stronger. If called to deploy again, especially to the country where Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants planned terrorist attacks on America, he would jump at the opportunity.
"Ever since Sept. 11 he felt like he was out of place," [father] Don Edgerton said.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that Sgt. Edgerton found his true calling after becoming a soldier. His mother told reporter Nanci Bompey that her son felt a deep sense of responsibility for the safety of fellow troops in the 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, New York. Leaving them was not an option.
"He said 'no, mom. I love my men'," Patsy Edgerton said Monday night. "I'm staying with them. I have to take care of them.'"
According to the Pentagon, the decorated 33-year-old senior sniper was one of six U.S. servicemembers lost on Saturday in Afghanistan. Officials said he was killed when an improvised explosive device planted by terrorists detonated in Char Dara.
Edgerton loved white water rafting and deep sea fishing, both staples of life in Murphy, North Carolina. When he wasn't outside, he could occasionally be found having a Bud Light and watching his favorite sport, football, which he played in high school. Appropriately, on his Facebook page, the volunteer warrior listed the true story of Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, 'We Were Soldiers,' as one of his favorite films.
While everyone wishes Saturday's tragedy could have been avoided, the decision Edgerton made five years earlier while selling granite in North Carolina probably saved the life of at least one fellow soldier. In death, he shielded his brothers in arms from danger. In life, Sgt. Donald Rocky Edgerton was a motivated, patriotic individual who would do anything to protect his friends.
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