Army Spc. Abraham S. Wheeler III
Death: Aug 28, 2009
of Columbia S.C.; assigned to the 3rd Squadron 71st Cavalry Regiment 3rd Brigade Combat Team 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) Fort Drum N.Y.; Died Aug. 28 in Charkh Afghanistan of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Was looking forward to restoring Olds when he returned The Associated Press Abraham S. Wheeler III whom friends called “Rod” couldn’t wait to get home and finish restoring his 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. His father Abraham Wheeler Jr. was hoping to have it repainted by the time his son came home. But he won’t have that chance. “I’ve never had a feeling like that ever” the elder Wheeler said of the moment he learned of his son’s death. “My heart it felt like it had fallen down to my foot.” Wheeler joined the Army in 2007 two years after graduating from Ridge View High School where he was a 6-foot-2 260-pound defensive end on the football team. He was assigned to Fort Drum N.Y. The 22-year-old from Columbia S.C. was killed by a roadside bomb Aug. 28 in Logar province Afghanistan. His father said when he last spoke to his son on the phone the soldier said “things were getting a little hectic but he told me not to worry because he would be all right.” However the younger Wheeler knew the risks according to posts on his online Facebook page. “Man so many soldiers fallin all over this ... country” he wrote. “My heart goes out to them.” Wheeler is also survived by a brother.Operation Enduring Freedom