James W. Harvey II

A LIFE REMEMBERED

We speak the name.

Army Sgt. James W. Harvey II died June 20 in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small-arms fire. Soldier who lived in Toms River killed by enemy fire in Afghanistan By Stephanie Loder Asbury Park (N.J.) Press TOMS RIVER &mdash On the eve of President Obama&rsquos address to the nation announcing plans for troop withdrawals came news that a soldier from Toms River was killed when his Army unit was attacked in Afghanistan. Cpl. James W. Harvey II, 23, of Bayview Drive here, formerly of Clark, the youngest of four children, died June 20 in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Knox, Ky. The announcement of Harvey&rsquos death Tuesday came as Obama prepares to tell the nation tonight his plans for reducing U.S. troops in Afghanistan. There are about 100,000 now. Governor Chris Christie today ordered all State buildings to fly flags at half-staff on Friday to honor the service and sacrifice of Harvey. Harvey&rsquos father, also named James Harvey, a network administrator for an automobile corporation, said the troops should have been home from Afghanistan already. &ldquoI was just talking about this the other day at work. The troops need to come back,&rdquo he said. &ldquoWhen we went over there, it was to get the guy who plotted to take down the World Trade Center and we got him. Mission accomplished. Why are we still there?&rdquo Harvey&rsquos sister, Tracey, who is 25, said her brother treated her as if he were an older brother. &ldquoHe took care of me, and I took care of him,&rdquo said Tracey Harvey. &ldquoI didn&rsquot want him to go into the Army, but it was for selfish reasons. But I knew it would be good for him.&rdquo In addition to Tracey Harvey, Harvey is survived by two other sisters, Robin Faffaele, 29, and Christine Douglas, 35, and his mother, Susan. He would have celebrated his 24th birthday on July 21. Harvey&rsquos father said an Army captain and a chaplain arrived Monday to tell the family of their son&rsquos death. Details were still sketchy and the information about his death is still coming in, his father said. Harvey enlisted in the Army at the age of 21, went through basic training in Kentucky and was deployed to Andar province in January, his father said. &ldquoHe came home in May and he was very despondent. He had lost a couple of friends, and he took it very hard,&rdquo he said. &ldquoThe first thing he did was lower the flag, and then a few days later he put it back up.&rdquo His son asked his father twice to enlist after high school. Each time, Harvey told his son that even though he registered with the draft during the Vietnam War, he didn&rsquot see it as a good move. In January, Harvey, whose specialties included Airborne and Airborne Assault, relieved the 101st Airborne in January. Harvey communicated to his father through Facebook. &ldquoI talked to him last Wednesday. I told him I had not heard from him in a long time,&rdquo Harvey said of his son. &ldquoThen he said it was better for him to be off base than on base because of the insurgents attacking them. &ldquoWe would message and chat,&rdquo he said. James &mdash known to his family and friends as &ldquoJimmy&rdquo &mdash worked in his civilian job at Public Service Electric & Gas, his father said. He said his son worked in the Metro Division underground as a cable splicer helper and as a substation operator. He said officials told him they were looking to promote him into management. His father said he worried that his son was so anxious to become a soldier. &ldquoHe didn&rsquot seem to have a grasp of the consequences,&rdquo he said. James said he and his wife picked out cemetery plots and a funeral home for their son on Tuesday. &ldquoThis was something that we had not even done for ourselves,&rdquo he said. &ldquoWe moved here four years ago for our retirement, to enjoy things a little and enjoy our family. Not this.&rdquo He said the family will head to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware today where a plane carrying their son&rsquos body will land. Funeral services are still in the planning stages. He said the Army told him that his son will be awarded posthumously a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. &ldquoIt has hit us. My wife doesn&rsquot want to talk about it. I keep busy because if I don&rsquot, I sit there and I feel sorry for myself,&rdquo he said. &ldquoI just want people to remember him and maybe think about how we need to bring these soldiers home.&rdquo