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Garner died doing 'job he loved'
Family: We will cherish memories of soldier killed in Afghanistan
Photo Courtesy of the Army Times
Garner was a company commander of a battalion based in Germany.
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Published: July 10, 2009
The family of Army Capt. Mark Garner of Elkin described him yesterday as a man who loved his family, his country and his military life.
"As difficult as this is to accept, it is made easier by the thought that Mark was happy and content as a soldier," the family said in its first public statement. "Mark died doing the job he loved, and we will cherish fond memories of him forever."
Garner, 30, was a passenger Monday in an M-1151 Humvee with a convoy of Navy ordnance-disposal specialists when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device, killing him and another passenger, his family said. Other sailors in the vehicle were injured.
"We will cherish fond memories of him forever," his family said in e-mail that was sent by his wife, Nickayla Myers-Garner. "There are no words to express how much Mark will be missed by his family and friends and the others who had the privilege to know him."
The explosion occurred in the Arghandab District of southern Afghanistan.
Garner is one of two area service members to die this week in Afghanistan.
Lance Cpl. Roger Hager, 20, of Gibsonville died Wednesday in Helmond Province, FOX8/WGHP reported. Hager was riding in a convoy when an IED hit his vehicle. Hager was a 2008 graduate of Western Alamance High School in Elon.
Garner was a company commander in the 1st Battalion of the 4th Infantry Regiment based in Hohenfels, Germany. His unit is part of the Joint Multinational Readiness Center and the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg.
Garner was a native of State Road, and a graduate of Elkin High School and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
His unit's mission in Afghanistan was to support the U.N. International Security Assistance Force as part of Task Force Zabul, under the operational control of the Romanian Army, his family said.
His body was returned to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday during a transfer ceremony attended by the soldiers' families. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also attended the ceremony.
Funeral arrangements have not been completed, but a memorial service is being planned at First Baptist Church in Elkin.
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx said in a statement she delivered Wednesday on the House floor that Garner's death "leaves a hole in the hearts" of his family members, Elkin and the 82nd Airborne community.
"He will long be remembered as a man who knew the meaning of service, sacrifice and the call of duty of his family and his country," Foxx said. "We mourn his passing, and we pledge our dedication to the family he left behind."
Garner loved his parents, Beth and Don, and his sisters, Jo and Rachel, his family said. He enjoyed running and spending time with his fellow soldiers, his family said. In the past 12 years, he visited 52 countries, including China, Bulgaria and Albania.
■ John Hinton can be reached at 727-7299 or at jhinton@wsjournal.com.
■ Journal reporter Michelle Johnson contributed to this article.
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