Cape Cod man, N.H. native, killed in Iraq dismantling munitions

[Ian David]

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- A Cape Cod man who dismantled explosives in Iraq for an environmental management, consulting and technical services company was killed on the job Thursday, his sister said.

Donald Neil, 44, of Barnstable, Mass., was handling ammunition on a military base outside Baghdad, said his sister, Lisa Couture. The ammunition detonated, and Neil died instantly. The blast also injured two others, she said.

Neil, a Berlin, N.H. native, had been working for Tetra Tech Inc., of Pasadena, Calif. It was his second tour in Iraq as a civilian. He had previously served in the U.S. Army for more than 20 years.

Couture said her brother was scheduled to return home last month, but decided to stay several more months after receiving a job promotion.

"He felt that he could help out because he knew his job and (the troops) could be safer with him there, rather than with him sitting home doing nothing," she said. "He used to say, 'The more I can blow it up, the less that can shoot at us."'

Neil graduated from Berlin High School in 1979. After his Army service, he took civilian jobs involving ordinance and blasting, Couture said.

Neil is survived by his wife, Cynthia, and two children, Mary, 14, and Thomas, 12, as well as many family members still living in the Berlin area, Couture said. He will be buried in Berlin alongside his parents.

"The kids are pretty devastated," she said.

More:
http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO45604/

[theoldman]

1. This for you young people.

After WWII (The Big War) there were many unexploded bombs in Germany and England. Many heroic people died trying to defuse them.

[merh]

2. He doesn't count as a casulty

He wasn't a member of the military.

Nothing to see here, move along.