Master Sgt. Art Lilley aka NC_Zuk killed in Afghanistan (official information)

[Dashek]

I have a feeling there will be lots of Orange zuks in the next year or so.  The web wheeling community has shaken, he must have been a part of a hundred websites. 


Caleb

I am in the middle of a "different" kind of a build now.  Finally got some pics up you can find them at the link below.  It was going to be John Deer Green and yellow, but you know what color it will be now.

http://www.flickr.com/gp/9067757@N08/w05EvR

[GeneralChaos]

Just found out

Art should be on his way home they held the ramp ceremony here last night (12 hours ago) I tried everything to get in for it but was a no go. But I'm sure they gave him a good send off.

steve

[btrhlf_VA88ZUK]

More Media:

Not sure if this one had been posted yet or not. I just got it through google alerts this morning...
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/607068.html

Published: Jun 17, 2007 12:30 AM Modified: Jun 17, 2007 02:21 AM

Veteran soldier dies in combat
Stanley B. Chambers Jr., Staff Writer

When Elizabeth Lilley sent a package to her son serving in Afghanistan on Tuesday, she wrote a message on the outside: "If undeliverable, give it to any soldier."
Her son, U.S. Army Master Sgt. Arthur L. Lilley, 35, was killed Friday during a firefight in the Paktika Province, near Shkin, Afghanistan, military officials announced Saturday. Lilley, of Smithfield, Pa., was on combat patrol when he was killed by enemy small-arms fire. He was a Special Forces sergeant assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Ft. Bragg.

Lilley joined the Army in 1990, serving with the 101st Airborne Division in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He served in Italy before joining Special Forces in 1996, and he went to Ft. Bragg in 2000 as part of the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion. He was assigned to his current unit in August 2005.

Joining the military was "all he ever dreamed of, and I don't know why," his mother said. Lilley wanted to be an air traffic controller for the Air Force but was colorblind. So the Army became an option he never regretted, she said.

It was either the military way, God's way or nothing for Lilley, who was active at St. Andrews United Methodist Church in Fayetteville, his mother said. Lilley was a youth minister there while his wife, Christine, ran the church school. The high school sweethearts, who have two children, would have celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary in August.

Lilley's tour in Afghanistan was to be his last. Elizabeth Lilley last talked to her son a week ago. He was about to spend a lot of time in the field, but his tone was upbeat. He gave his parents a list of goodies to send, including dried fruit, trail mix, Slim Jims and his favorite -- Doritos.

For years, Elizabeth Lilley has sent her son packages, which take up to two weeks to deliver. She can't explain why she wrote what she did on this last one.

"I don't know why I did that," she said.

Lilley is survived by his wife; daughter, Mackenzie, 9; son, Cole, 7; parents, Arthur and Elizabeth Lilley of Smithfield, Pa.; one brother, two half-brothers, two half-sisters; grandmothers and grandfathers. A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. today at St. Andrews United Methodist Church in Fayetteville.

[POWERSTROKEN]

   Could someone please tell me when and where the service is being held Bubba and I are in Myrtle Beach and would like to attend.   My computer access is limited to my cell.  Thanks  Jim

[beekiller]

   Could someone please tell me when and where the service is being held Bubba and I are in Myrtle Beach and would like to attend.   My computer access is limited to my cell.  Thanks  Jim

Jim:

St. Andrews United Methodist Church
121 Loftin Dr
Fayetteville NC 28311
 

HTH.

[zukEmt]

Jim (powerstroken) called yesterday with the news.......................................zukiemom  and I spent last night  remembering Moab....and wheeling with Art and rock dog.................
I made and lost friends while in Iraq but.....dammit it never hurt like this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

REST EASY SOLDIER  and GOD'S SPEED
Go home with this family's prayers and thanks.....................
Our prayers and thanks to the family of this HERO as well.

Good-bye Art Lilly
I am honored to have known you
Proud to call you friend
and heartbroken from your departure
You are loved and will be missed
Rest In Peace NC-Zuk
 
 

[highlandercj-7]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This news just got to me. I am a fellow H.S. graduate of Art's. My cousin just sent me the news, as I am deployed rite now. I haven't talked to Art n a while, and I didn't realize he and I also shared a love of rock crawlin'. If I known he was a member here iI'd joined long ago just to keep in touch with him. Via con dios my friend and my condolances to his family. Here's a copy of his obituaries for those who knew him.
-- L Roderick TSgt USAF

Fayette native, soldier killed
By Cindy Ekas-Brown, Herald-Standard
06/17/2007
Updated 06/17/2007 11:18:19 AM EDT
Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly
Arthur F. Lilley was working at E.W. Bowman in Uniontown on Friday morning when he received the devastating news that his youngest son, U.S. Army Master Sgt. Arthur L. Lilley, had been killed by gunfire while fighting in Afghanistan. "You're always surprised when something like that happens," Lilley said during a telephone interview Saturday night. "I'm a welder/fitter at E.W. Bowman, and I was working on Friday morning when my daughter-in-law called me and told me what had happened. She told me that the military people were on their way to break the news to my wife.

"I left work and went home immediately to tell my wife, Elizabeth (Betty), what had happened. I didn't want her to be alone when the military came to our house. My wife was very upset when I told her the news," he added.

Lilley, 35, a Smithfield native, was killed Friday in Shkin, Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense.

Lilley had been assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) out of Fort Bragg, N.C. He died Friday of wounds sustained from enemy small arms fire during combat operations in the Paktika Province near Shkin, Aghanistan, according to a biographical sketch from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Public Affairs Office.

His father said his son joined the military in 1990, shortly after he graduated from Tri-Valley High School, which is now Albert Gallatin Area Senior High School.

The younger Lilley fought in Desert Storm and also was in Iraq last year.

"He's got about 25 combat badges," his father said. "We're very proud of him.

"He loved what he was doing. He enjoyed it," he added. "You always worry, but it's what he wanted to do."

It was a tradition for men in the Lilley family to join the Army. Lilley's father joined the Army and fought in Vietnam from 1965-67.

"The Army runs in the family," Lilley said. "My brother and I fought in Vietnam. Art and his brother, Mike, also joined the service. It's a family tradition."

Because military service is a family tradition, his father said he wasn't surprised when Arthur began talking about joining the Army when he was a high school student.

"He knew what he wanted to do. He wasn't afraid. He wanted to serve his country," his father said. "I was in Vietnam from 1965-67. I know what it's like. I told him, 'If that is your choice, I will back you 100 percent.'

"He was an excellent son," he added. "He played sports in high school. I guess you could say that he was an average student. He raced motocross, and he liked BMX bicycle racing. His recent hobby was reconditioning SUVs and using them for rock climbing. He belonged to a club. They traveled all over. He was in Utah recently. It was a dangerous sport, but he loved it."

After joining the Army in 1990, Arthur L. Lilley married his high school sweetheart, Christine Rozak of Masontown, in 1991. The couple has two children, Mackenzie, 9, and Cole, 7.

"The kids are doing great from what I understand," Arthur L. Lilley said. "They won't be in until Wednesday when the military brings them home. They are bringing my son's body and his family home at the same time. That's what the military does."

When his son joined the military, his father said he began at the bottom and worked his way up.

"We're very proud of him because an Army master sergeant is almost as high as you can go without being a commissioned officer," his father said. "He was in the special forces. It's a special type of branch that they train for special attachments.

"He just went over to Afghanistan on March 9," he added. "He was stationed at Fort Bragg for quite a few years. His whole company went on a mission. He was in charge of the platoon. He was engaged in combat, and he took a couple of bullets."

Lilley enlisted as an infantryman in 1990. He first assignment was with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), where he served in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

He then transferred to 1st Battalion (Airborne), 508 Infantry Regiment, 173rd Infantry Brigade, Camp Ederle, Italy, in September 1992, where he served for just over two years.

In 1995, he volunteered to become a Special Forces Soldier.

According to his military biography, Lilley graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course in 1996 and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, as a Special Forces engineer sergeant. In 2000, after serving four years in 7th Special Forces Group, he was assigned to the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he served as an engineer sergeant and then first sergeant.

In August 2005, Lilley was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group and served there as an Operational Detachment - Alpha team sergeant until his death.

Lilley is survived by his wife, Christine, daughter, Mackenzie, and son, Cole, of Spring Lake, N.C.; his parents, Arthur and Elizabeth Lilley of Smithfield; his brother, Michael Lilley and his wife, Katya; his half-brothers, Bruce Sanford and his wife, Mary, and James Sanford and his wife, Beth; half-sisters, Sandra Horton and her husband, Rick, and Jessica Barnett; his grandmother, Evelyn Barrett; and his grandparents, Arthur and Edith Lilley, Ralph and Louise Barrett and Jerry and Sondra Tate, according to his biography.

Funeral arrangements will be under the direction of the Whitmarsh Funeral Home in Fairchance

[camjeff]

So sorry to hear about NC_Zuks passing. The first time we met was at the first Zuwharrie event I ever attended was in October 2004. I feel lucky to have had the chance to get to know him better at the Spring 06 Zuwharrie event...we sat for hours talking & laughing while waiting for the rain to stop. Im definitely going to miss him a lot. God Bless him & his family. Please accept my sincere sympathy.... Your friend, Camjeff

More Media:

Not sure if this one had been posted yet or not. I just got it through google alerts this morning...
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/607068.html

Published: Jun 17, 2007 12:30 AM Modified: Jun 17, 2007 02:21 AM

Veteran soldier dies in combat
Stanley B. Chambers Jr., Staff Writer

When Elizabeth Lilley sent a package to her son serving in Afghanistan on Tuesday, she wrote a message on the outside: "If undeliverable, give it to any soldier."
Her son, U.S. Army Master Sgt. Arthur L. Lilley, 35, was killed Friday during a firefight in the Paktika Province, near Shkin, Afghanistan, military officials announced Saturday. Lilley, of Smithfield, Pa., was on combat patrol when he was killed by enemy small-arms fire. He was a Special Forces sergeant assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Ft. Bragg.

Lilley joined the Army in 1990, serving with the 101st Airborne Division in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He served in Italy before joining Special Forces in 1996, and he went to Ft. Bragg in 2000 as part of the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion. He was assigned to his current unit in August 2005.

Joining the military was "all he ever dreamed of, and I don't know why," his mother said. Lilley wanted to be an air traffic controller for the Air Force but was colorblind. So the Army became an option he never regretted, she said.

It was either the military way, God's way or nothing for Lilley, who was active at St. Andrews United Methodist Church in Fayetteville, his mother said. Lilley was a youth minister there while his wife, Christine, ran the church school. The high school sweethearts, who have two children, would have celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary in August.

Lilley's tour in Afghanistan was to be his last. Elizabeth Lilley last talked to her son a week ago. He was about to spend a lot of time in the field, but his tone was upbeat. He gave his parents a list of goodies to send, including dried fruit, trail mix, Slim Jims and his favorite -- Doritos.

For years, Elizabeth Lilley has sent her son packages, which take up to two weeks to deliver. She can't explain why she wrote what she did on this last one.

"I don't know why I did that," she said.

Lilley is survived by his wife; daughter, Mackenzie, 9; son, Cole, 7; parents, Arthur and Elizabeth Lilley of Smithfield, Pa.; one brother, two half-brothers, two half-sisters; grandmothers and grandfathers. A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. today at St. Andrews United Methodist Church in Fayetteville.

[Crow Horse]

I am so sorry that I never had the privledge of meeting him.  Hearing the news of his passing really took me down hard.  I can't explain it or for that matter even understand exactly why other than his presence on this earthly plane went far beyond the physical and his medicine touched all regardless of if one had met him or not.  He leaves a huge void that we all should strive to fill......

I can't begin to express how sad I am.............

To his family and friends, we wouldlike to extend our deepest sympathies......

[notaleg13b]

This is heartbreaking news. We all know someone during our lifetime that has a huge and positive impact on us. Art was one of those people to me and so many others. I had once asked Art in a Zu message if he new another SF soldier that I new who had been killed in Iraq, November of 2005. Art said in his response that "We all know it can happen, but it is a risk we take. We cant worry about it happening, we just do our job." In Webster's dictionary, next to the word patriot, there should be a photo of Art.

[JP]

I just heard the unimaginable news. I sit here with a heavy heart, tears in my eyes and a constant pain in my stomach. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. It’s one of these rare times I truly am lost for words. God bless the Lilley Family.

[MTN goat]

Our prayers are with his family. Art you were a good person.
R.I.P Art

[87stomper]

The Zuwharrie.com banner took me by such surprise.  I did not personally know Art other than through this website, but seemed he was always an upstanding board member.

Our prayers go out to Art's family and friends.  So sorry for your loss.

May His healing hand bring peace and comfort to your hearts and minds.  God bless you.

Thank you for making the ultimate sacrifice for our country, Art.  The same should be said for all our soldiers....Thank you.

Rob

[zorproducts]

Art,
you will always be remembered by me as the hero you are. See you in heaven. We will borrow God's super modified Samurai to do some great wheeling.
Myron

[Dashek]

http://kdka.com/local/local_story_168173421.html  The local news with video