There's a video and pictures of Adam on CBS4 website. I couldn't upload it to my page. Too many knocks on the doors this week. If you can, help the families. When will the madness end? May Peace be inside all of us.....
Dad Writes Letter To Ease Pain Of Loosing Son CBS4 And Miami Herald Exclusive Suriving Brother Is Also A US Marine
Art Barron
Reporting
(CBS4 News) DAVIE Having two sons in the US Marines always filled Davie resident Leigh Cann with pride, but Cann always feared he might one day get the devastating news of loosing one of them.
Thursday that news became a reality after one of his sons died in Iraq and became the subject of a heartfelt letter written to friends and coworkers to ease his pain.
Sergeant Adam Leigh Cann, 23, died trying to protect his comrades and civilians at a police recruitment enter in Ramadi, Iraq. Sergeant Cann, part of the millitary police, sensed trouble when his police canine Bruno became agitated at the possible scent of explosives nearby. According to fellow Marines, Cann did not wait to take action, standing between the man that would become a suicide bomber and the 80 others he intended to kill.
Cann, four other soldiers, and the 80 other victims he tried to protect died.
CBS4's Art Barron spoke to Cann's father and stepmother in Davie who say their son was a leader.
Here is the entire letter the father shared with CBS4 News:
Subject
I love my Marines, now one of mine is gone
I'm numb. I was awakened at 10:30 last night out of a sound sleep to my
door bell. I looked out the window and saw three Marines in their full
dress Greens. I had thought about this situation in the past, and I knew
then, that things were bad.
My son Sgt. Adam Leigh Cann, and his faithful K9 Bruno, were killed
yesterday morning at 1440 hours (7:40 am our time ) in Ramadi, Iraq. He
was at a police recruiting center in Ramadi Iraq, where there were
approximately 1000 Iraqi's in line trying to get ajob, when this SOB MF
walked up with about 17-18 pounds of explosives in a vest with grenades
and ball bearings containedwithin it. 80 were killed including 5
Marines (one being my son and possibly his roommate Jesse (with a
pregnant wife at home) from Camp
Pendleton California, who just arrived in Ramadi a couple of days ago.
I always feared this day and hoped that I would never ever face it. I
have talked to my other son Sgt. Justin Cann (who is back from a recent
tour),in San Diego. He's devastated to say the least. This is what they
do, protecting our cause, being Marines.
To the recipients of this e-mail, I thank you for showing your concerns
and statements.I also apologize for not copying others that I sincerely
care for within my current emotion.
I'll miss my boy, for the rest of my life. He was the best; always
laughing, always responsible, striving to excel, always loving his
family, serving his country.
CBS 4 - South Florida's Source for Breaking News, Weather, and Sports: Dad Writes Letter To Ease Pain Of Loosing Son
Leigh Cann had known for just four hours that his son Adam was dead when, at 2:30 a.m. Friday, unable to sleep, he started writing.
''I'll miss my boy, for the rest of my life. He was the best; always laughing, always responsible, striving to excel, always loving his family, serving his country,'' Cann wrote.
Marine Sgt. Adam Leigh Cann was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq on Thursday, his family said -- one of an estimated 58 people killed in the Ramadi bombing. The bomber had infiltrated a line of police recruits in the city north of Baghdad. A second U.S. soldier also died in the attack. Dozens more were wounded. They included Adam's roommate and another friend, his father said.
He doubted they knew yet that Adam was dead.
Adam was 23, just three weeks from his 24th birthday when he died.
Almost 24 hours later, Leigh Cann still couldn't sleep on Friday. He and Adam's stepmother, Carol, who both work at the Florida Department of Transportation offices in Miami, spent the day at home in Davie.
They fielded phone calls all day from friends, family and lawmakers offeringcondolences. Leigh Cann stopped checking his e-mails. There were too many.
Leigh Cann wore a green and gold sweat shirt for Camp Pendleton, where Adam had been based. A picture of Adam in his Marine uniform hung over one patio door, a picture of Adam's older brother Justin, also a Marine, above the second.
''The minute he walked through door was always like a high school reunion. People just came out of the woodwork,'' said Adam's stepbrother, Jason Burnside. ``He was quick with a joke, always laughing, quoting movie lines. We miss him.''
Adam joined the military after graduating from South Plantation High School in 2000, Leigh said.
He was on his second Iraqi tour in his second enlistment with the military. He already had served one tour in Afghanistan and another in Iraq.
But he wanted to go back. Adam signed up again, Leigh Cann said.
Adam's second Iraqi tour started near the borders of Jordan and Syria, but Adam asked to be moved deeper into Iraq. Adam wanted to be closer to the action, Leigh Cann said.
Adam served with a K-9 unit used for security, like detecting bombs and narcotics, Leigh said. Adam also was in charge of five other K-9 units spread between five bases, Leigh Cann said.
About six weeks ago he moved to Ramadi, Leigh Cann said.
They talked to him last on Christmas Day. In between calls, Adam sent e-mails. His family followed the news for updates.
In his last message, Adam told his family he wanted to go to a few Miami Dolphins games. Adam loved the Dolphins, taking his posters and other fan gear all the way to Camp Pendleton in California, Leigh Cann said.
Adam's tour was scheduled to end in March.
''It was my greatest fear,'' Leigh Cann said. ``But I didn't think it was possible.''
Miami Herald staff writer Larry Lebowitz and AP contributed to this report.
MiamiHerald.com | 01/07/2006 | Dad's 'greatest fear': Davie Marine, 23, killed
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Bloody Thursday for US Military in Iraq
Reuters
Friday 06 January
Baghdad - Thursday was one of the bloodiest days for US forces in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, with 11 soldiers dying in a fresh spasm of violence that also killed 130 Iraqis, the US military said on Friday.
Roadside bombs, favored by the insurgents but feared by US soldiers for their devastating effectiveness, accounted for seven of the American deaths.
US commanders have expressed concern in recent months at the growing use of more powerful and sophisticated bombs.
US President George W. Bush and his Republican party face pressure at home over the rising American death toll, but the president said on Wednesday a cut in troops would be based on the situation on the ground and decisions by military commanders, not a timetable imposed from Washington.
The United States hopes the formation of a coalition government encompassing leaders of Iraqi's Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni Arab groups after last month's election will help undermine the Sunni Arab-led insurgency and pave the way for a troop withdrawal.
Thursday's deaths take the number of US fatalities since the start of the war to oust Saddam Hussein to 2,193, according to Reuters figures.
It was the highest daily US death toll since December 1, when 11 US soldiers were also killed, and was also the deadliest day in Iraq overall for four months.
In Thursday's worst incident for the Americans, five soldiers died in Baghdad when a roadside bomb hit their patrol. Two more were killed in a similar incident elsewhere in Baghdad.
Al Qaeda in Iraq said it was behind one bombing in north Baghdad which it said destroyed a US military vehicle and killed its crew, according to a posting on an Islamist Web site.
"Your brothers shall continue their jihad (holy war) in fighting the enemies of God ... until victory or martyrdom," said the Web site statement attributed to al Qaeda.
In Fallujah, a Sunni Arab stronghold, two Marines were killed by small-arms fire in separate attacks, the US military said in a statement on Friday.
Two US soldiers and scores of Iraqi police recruits were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the western city of Ramadi as 1,000 men queued to be security-screened at a glass and ceramics works used as a temporary recruiting center.
Hospital sources said 70 people died and 65 wounded.
Thursday's suicide bombers killed 123 people and wounded more than 200 in all in attacks near a Shi'ite holy shrine and the Ramadi recruiting station.
Bush said on Wednesday a reduction of US troops planned after the December election was under way and would result in a net decrease of several thousand troops below the pre-election level of 138,000.
He has refused to set a schedule, saying that would only embolden the enemy, and that a pullout would be dictated by the progress of Iraqi forces in taking over security.
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