An Army soldier from eastern Iowa was killed in Iraq on Friday. 29-year-old Staff Sergeant Donald Griffith Junior of Mechanicsville reportedly died in a car bomb attack. Diana Griffith, the dead soldier’s mother, says her son continually tried to comfort her about his safety. She says “He always told me, ‘Don’t worry about me, because I’m okay. All you’ll do is have a nervous breakdown if all you do is worry.'” Diana Griffith says now that the worst has happened, she wants everyone to know about the continued deaths of Americans in Iraq. Griffith says “People tell you it’s getting better. Well, for my son… I can’t believe it’s getting better or my son would still be alive.” Amanda Weber is a sister of the death soldier. Weber says she got an e-mail from her brother on Friday morning, hours before he was killed. Weber says the e-mail was ironic as “He was telling me in the e-mail, ‘It’s pretty positive over here right now…haven’t been shot at for over two weeks. So, I guess that’s a good sign, isn’t it?'” Weber says her brother always had a positive attitude and she admired his courage. Weber says “My brother was the most kind-hearted, most gentle, loving, caring person anybody could ever ask for. We’ve lost one of the best people on earth.” Griffith joined the Army nine years ago. He left for Iraq in September. Mechanicsville has placed all of the city’s flags at half-mast. Griffith was about a week away from his ninth wedding anniversary.
