Land mine accident kills Tallahassee-native SEAL

TALLAHASSEE -- Matthew Bourgeois had been stationed in Afghanistan for more than two months, and only had a few more weeks to go.

Bourgeois, 35, a Navy SEAL, was ready to begin a new phase of his life, traveling less and spending more time with his wife and 7-month-old son who is just learning to crawl.

But the chief petty officer, who grew up in Tallahassee, was killed Thursday when a land mine exploded during a training mission in Afghanistan.

"He wanted to settle down," said his younger brother Thomas Bourgeois, 27, of Tallahassee. "He was just doing his job, counting the days until he could come home ... . He just had to make it a couple more weeks."

His wife, Michelle, received word about the accident Thursday morning in Virginia where the family lives and news quickly spread to his relatives in the Tallahassee area, including his brother, grandfather and uncle.

Bourgeois was the third Floridian, and second SEAL, killed in the war in Afghanistan.

"I was proud of what he was doing," his uncle, Carl Bourgeois, 58, said as he wiped away tears. "Sure, I was concerned, but, God, I figured he was going to come back."

Bourgeois was killed at 8:30 a.m. when he apparently stepped on a land mine while his unit was conducting training at the remote site near the U.S. base in Kandahar, the Department of Defense said. A second SEAL was injured but his wound was not considered life-threatening.

Matthew Bourgeois was a third-generation serviceman. As a boy, he asked his Uncle Carl what it was like to serve in the Vietnam War. His family wasn't surprised when he joined the Navy after graduating from Leon High School.

"He wanted to be like his granddaddy," said his grandfather, Tom Bourgeois, 85, who lives just outside of Tallahassee and spent three decades in the Navy. "He was tough. He could take care of himself."

Bourgeois loved to hunt and fish, and traveled to Georgia to hunt deer with his family when he could make the time. A framed photo of his son, Matthew Jr., wearing a bib that says "Daddy's Little Hunter," sits on a shelf in Bourgeois' grandfather's house.

Bourgeois, whose 14-year career included the Persian Gulf War, had spent time in Texas, California and in other commands, and settled down several years ago in Ocean View, Va., a community near the Norfolk naval base.

"I was worried and concerned," Thomas Bourgeois said. "But he knew it was his job and he believed in what he was doing. He was proud to go over. He was proud to be a Navy SEAL."

His parents, Tom Jr. and Mae, moved to Virginia within the last couple years to be closer to the family. His sister, Renee Hartzell, lives in Virginia and is married to a SEAL.

-- Times researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report.

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