DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Sergeant Paul E. Dumont, Jr., 23, of Williamsburg, Virginia, died August 19, 2009, at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 149th Transportation Company, 10th Transportation Battalion, Fort Eustis, Virginia.
Soldier killed in Afghanistan
Specialist Paul Dumont of Williamsburg died Wednesday in Afghanistan.
Paul Dumont loved family and Army
By Cortney Langley
Saturday, August 22, 2009
His sisters say that when Specialist Paul E. Dumont Jr., 23, was home from a tour in Afghanistan two weeks ago, he was obsessed with off-roading and the Jeep Wrangler he wanted to buy.
“That’s all he talked about,” said his sister, Stefanie Dumont, in an interview Friday at her parents’ Kristiansand home.
Paul, a 2004 Jamestown High graduate, died Wednesday at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan of injuries sustained in a non-combat incident. Not even the family knew the details of his death.
“I’ve gotten calls from 100 people,” said his best friend, Wayne Meador.
The Dumonts settled in James City County in 1998, after Paul Sr. retired from the Army and a career in logistics and supply.
The middle of seven children and the first boy, Paul Jr. idolized his father. When he was 5 or 6, his sisters recalled, his mother sewed a tiny Army uniform for him for Halloween, recycling his father’s nametape. Paul wore the uniform around the house, playing Army men, often with his sister’s Barbie dolls.
He inherited his father’s easy and cheerful disposition, constantly joking. If there was one frustration, his oldest sister, Jessica Oatman said, it was the same thing that made him lovable: he was always joking.
“He could lift you out of a bad mood very fast,” Stefanie said.
He did a hilarious impression of Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura, slicking his dark hair into Ventura’s signature bouffant.
“He didn’t like to be inside,” Meador recalled. In high school, the two built bonfires at Meador’s home on the James River and went camping at the Outer Banks and on Shoe Creek near Lynchburg with friends and the girl who would become his wife.
At Jamestown High, “His favorite class was lunch,” said another sister, Michelle Wolfe. He was a class clown, but had a mechanical aptitude that had him tinkering with cars and his Suzuki motorcycle.
“I lived with him for a while, and I’d come home and it’d be all torn apart in the middle of the room,” Stefanie recalled.
He was a big country music fan. The ringtone on his cell phone was “Chicken Fried” by the Zac Brown Band. “Every time I hear that song, I think of him,” Stefanie said.
The song, like Paul, is about family. From childhood to his most recent visit, he was always trying to gather the whole family for game or movie nights or barbecues.
He was protective of his mother and was looked up to by twin brothers Brian and Brad, as well as his youngest brother, 7-year-old Adam.
“We got in trouble together,” Jessica said. “He got them in trouble.”
He would often take the boys paintballing, go-kart racing or motorcycle riding. “There’s still a paintball stain on the back of the house,” Michelle said.
His favorite beer was Bud Light and “I don’t think I ever saw him eat a vegetable,” Meador said.
Paul knew early on that he wanted to follow his father’s career. Right after high school he enlisted in the Army, completing Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Knox, Ky.
“He bled red, white and blue,” Michelle said. He had a tattoo on his back of an American flag.
He was stationed at Fort Eustis as a member of the 149th Transportation Co., 10th Transportation Battalion. By then, his father was working there as a civilian. The pair would often eat lunch together.
Paul deployed to Iraq for a year, returning in October 2006. “He loved his county and loved what he did,” Meador said.
Paul was awarded the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon and the Driver’s Mechanic Badge.
He and his wife, Candice, married in August of last year. The two had been friends in high school, but the romance didn’t blossom until later. “Paul would always flirt with Candice and we thought it was weird,” said Tyler Brown, another close friend.
The couple was just alike. They had matching camouflage baseball hats. At the wedding they tricked the guests by breaking into a choreographed dance routine for their first dance.
“It was so funny,” Stefanie said. “When they did MC Hammer, that was my favorite, with his lanky legs.”
The couple celebrated their first anniversary August 6 while Paul was home. Officially, the anniversary was August 9.
The sisters said the Army contacted the family Wednesday. Paul Dumont’s parents remained in Delaware Friday, waiting to retrieve their son at Dover Air Force Base. Funeral arrangements are pending.
“He’s going to be missed by everyone who knew him,” Michelle said.
