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Marc Anderson, 30, was an All-American at Florida State. Bradley Crose, 22, was a devout Christian, proud to serve.
By DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN and KATHRYN WEXLER
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 6, 2002
Marc Anderson tried to be the best at everything he did.
He graduated with honors from Florida State University, where he was a track and field All-American and student-athlete of the year. When he joined the Army, he didn't just enlist. He became one of its elite soldiers, serving as a special operations Ranger in dangerous locations.
Bradley Crose was a deeply religious and patriotic young man who believed it was his duty to serve his country.
His father described him as a "warrior" and "a shining light."
The two Florida men were among seven U.S. soldiers killed in the snow-capped mountains of Afghanistan on Monday. It has been reported that a group of Rangers had been dropped off by helicopters into the battle area and were confronted by al-Qaida and Taliban fighters. Six died and at least 11 were wounded. Hours earlier, a Navy Seal died when he fell from a helicopter hit by enemy fire. It was the deadliest day for U.S. troops during the 5-month-old conflict.
For Anderson, the end came just three months before he was to leave the battlefield for good. He was 30.
"People will call him a hero," his brother Steve Anderson sobbed Tuesday. "I would rather have him home and not a hero."
Marc Anderson, who was teaching in Fort Myers when he enlisted in 1998, listed Brandon as his hometown because Steve Anderson owned a home there. His brother, who is suffering from cancer, has since moved to St. Petersburg.
Marc Anderson, who was based at Hunter Army Air Field in Georgia with the 75th Ranger Regiment, often visited his brother here and his parents in Jacksonville.
Anderson's parents, David and Judith Anderson, learned of their son's death when Army personnel knocked on their door late Monday.
"My wife went into the bedroom and said, "Dave, we've got company,' " David Anderson recalled Tuesday. "She said an Army chaplain and first sergeant are here. I just sat up and said, "Oh no.' "
The Andersons are unclear on the details surrounding their youngest son's death. Army personnel would not divulge operational details, David Anderson said.
David Anderson, who was an Army Ranger for 21 years and served in Vietnam, said his son realized the dangers but felt it was his duty to serve his country.
Anderson's oldest son, John, is a Marine and Steve was an infantryman.
"He always said, "Dad did his time, John is doing his time and Steve did his time,' " David Anderson said. " "I think I have to do mine.' "
Anderson and his brother Steve were particularly close. Though he was not allowed to share his location with anyone, Marc often found a satellite telephone to call his brother from the Middle East to check on his condition.
Their last conversation was a few weeks ago when Steve Anderson informed his brother that he was winning his battle with cancer.
"He was in tears, he was so happy to hear it," Steve Anderson said. "I told him, "Now you have to come home.' "
Leaving home and enlisting in the Army was a difficult decision for Anderson, his father said, because he loved teaching so much.
For Anderson, teaching seventh grade math at Fort Myers Middle School Academy wasn't something he did just to pay the bills. He loved working with children and wanted to make a difference in their lives, said David Childress, his friend and fellow teacher.
"He was a real dedicated person," said Childress, 32. "He was very sad to leave teaching."
Anderson often arrived at school early to help struggling students. He tutored them at their homes free of charge, Childress said.
And during the summer, Anderson and Childress took some students canoeing down the Peace River by Arcadia.
"We had some kids who had never done something like that and a few of them needed some role models," Childress said.
At FSU, Anderson was an All-American and ninth in school history in the shot put. He was awarded the Golden Torch, an honor bestowed upon the top student-athlete of the year.
His track and field coach at Florida State, Terry Long, remembered Anderson fondly.
"He was the classic guy you thought of when you said, "student-athlete,' " Long said. "He's one of the really class acts who ever came to the program."
Anderson had a 4.0 grade point average and graduated with a degree in mathematics education, his dad said.
Then he began teaching. But he was still paying off student loans from Case Western Reserve University, which he attended for two years, and FSU, where he graduated in 1995, his father said.
"On a teacher's salary, when they're taking $550 a month out to pay the student loan, you have nothing left," David Anderson said.
The Army has a program that pays off education debts in return for a three-year commitment. So Marc Anderson enlisted. But he had to be the best.
He joined the Rangers, a special operations group prepared for deployment anywhere in the world with 18 hours' notice. He was trained for land, sea and air missions.
"He was doing what he felt he needed to do," said his mother, Judith Anderson, who said that all the soldiers killed were good friends.
She said she would like the parents to consider burying their sons in the same location.
The father of Sgt. Bradley Crose described his son as a devout Christian proud to serve his county.
"All we know is, he died of direct enemy action," Ricky Crose said in a telephone interview.
The younger Crose, 22, was an Army Ranger stationed at Hunter Army Air Field in Savannah, Ga. He had been a Ranger for 31/2 years and was scheduled to be discharged in October.
Crose is asking that his son be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. "He deserves that honor. He was the most treasured thing I could give my country," said Crose, who lives in Orange Park, a Jacksonville suburb.
Although his son worried about fighting in Afghanistan, he was ready to use his training.
"Bradley wanted to go," he said.
Bradley Crose graduated from Orange Park High School in 1998 and joined the Army.
"I couldn't be more proud," Crose said. "I am hurting, but I'm ever so proud of him."
-- Times staff writers Brian Landman and Leanora Minai and researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report, which used information from the Associated Press.