Army Pfc. Neighbor was assigned to Company C, 3rd Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Neighbor was off work from guard duty resting in a bus when a rocket-propelled grenade round was fired from men in the street. He died as a result of his wounds. Gavin was a 2001 graduate of New Lexington High School, wanted to make the military his career and eventually hoped to join the elite Army Rangers. He once said he was never going settle down but he proposed to his girlfriend before leaving for the Middle East. Gavin Neighbor was known as Gary Wagner but he legally changed his name two weeks before leaving Ohio. On his own, he took the name of the man he called "Dad" most of his life -- his stepfather, Willie Neighbor. While in Iraq, he wrote and called occasionally with simple requests - Kool-Aid, chips and Copenhagen. Gavin was everything from outgoing and lovable to headstrong and determined. "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" It was Gavin's tiny, comical voice coming from the pack of the soldiers climbing a California mountain at sunrise. The light-hearted joke broke through the grueling grunts of a punished platoon and turned the whole mood around from a punishment to a morale building exercise. Gavin was a "Javelin Jumper" meaning he carried about 40 extra pounds tied to his leg during jumps as part of the anti-tank missile system.
Army Pfc. Neighbor was assigned to Company C, 3rd Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Neighbor was off work from guard duty resting in a bus when a rocket-propelled grenade round was fired from men in the street. He died as a result of his wounds. Gavin was a 2001 graduate of New Lexington High School, wanted to make the military his career and eventually hoped to join the elite Army Rangers. He once said he was never going settle down but he proposed to his girlfriend before leaving for the Middle East. Gavin Neighbor was known as Gary Wagner but he legally changed his name two weeks before leaving Ohio. On his own, he took the name of the man he called "Dad" most of his life -- his stepfather, Willie Neighbor. While in Iraq, he wrote and called occasionally with simple requests - Kool-Aid, chips and Copenhagen. Gavin was everything from outgoing and lovable to headstrong and determined. "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" It was Gavin's tiny, comical voice coming from the pack of the soldiers climbing a California mountain at sunrise. The light-hearted joke broke through the grueling grunts of a punished platoon and turned the whole mood around from a punishment to a morale building exercise. Gavin was a "Javelin Jumper" meaning he carried about 40 extra pounds tied to his leg during jumps as part of the anti-tank missile system.
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