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PFC Zachary Gullett, 20
(WCPO/WCPO.com)
Gullett a 2004 Hillsboro grad
(WCPO/WCPO.com)
Connie Gullett, mother
(WCPO/WCPO.com)
Iraq war announcements on newspaper's front page
(WCPO/WCPO.com)
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Updated @ 11:12 p.m.
A Hillsboro family waits to hear what caused their son's death in Iraq.
Private First Class Zachary Gullett collapsed and died while exercising yesterday morning in Diwaniya.
He had just returned to Iraq one week ago after visiting family and friends at home.
Gullett survived an explosion while working as a gunner on his tank in March.
His mother says he was hit in the head with a brick, but Army officials gave him the all clear to return to duty.
Original Story Posted:
A Tri-State soldier collapses and dies while serving our country in Iraq.
The family of 20-year-old Private First Class Zachary Gullett dropped him off at the airport a week ago Wednesday.
Zachary Gullett's mother thought her son was lucky.
He had just survived an explosion where he was struck in the head by a brick while on a mission in Iraq.
The family isn't sure if that accident eventually led to his death.
Zachary Gullett had been in Iraq for just over a year when he surprised his family Easter weekend.
"He came to my job and surprised me. He was supposed to come home in the evening, but he got home during the day," said Gullett's mother, Connie Gullett. "He called his brother to pick him up from the airport. We had a good visit."
There were a few things the Pfc. Army officer wanted to do while visiting family and friends in Hillsboro and that was to eat some Kentucky Fried Chicken and get a tattoo. "
It was a flag with an eagle's head on it," said his mother of her son's new tattoo.
Gullett grew up with two older brothers. He graduated from Hillsboro High School in 2004.
Gullett's mother says her son was running through his morning exercises when he collapsed in Diwaniya, Iraq just south of Baghdad yesterday.
He was a gunner with his military police unit. He wanted to work as a police officer after serving his country.
"He decided to join the military because if he joined the military, if he came out, in the State of Ohio, you could be state highway patrol and that's what he wanted to do. He wanted to be a state highway patrolman," said his mother.
Gullett's mother says he had no regrets about joining the military, even after he was struck in the head by brick during an explosion in Iraq in March.
She says a perfect stranger at Cincinnati's Northern Kentucky International Airport gave her son a final gift for his sacrifice.
"He says, 'Can you come over here to the ticket counter with me? I want to give you my first class ticket and change seats with you.' Zachary said, 'You don't have to do that.' He said, 'I have my seat.' And the gentleman told him, 'No, I want to do that because I want to thank you for your service to our country. I'm very proud of all of our soldiers. It's the least I can do,'" Connie Gullett explained.
Zachary Gullett's mother says that stranger made her son's day. He was beaming when he boarded the plane.
