A Colorado native who planned to retire in eight months following his tour of duty in Afghanistan was killed Monday during a skirmish outside Camp Stone in Herat.
Air Force Master Sgt. Randy Gillespie, 44, of Coaldale was training members of the Afghan army when he and four Afghan soldiers were shot and killed, said Maj. John Elolf, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command Air Force. Nine others were wounded.
Roger Gillespie, 45, said his brother supported America’s role in the Middle East and was worried by talk of an early withdrawal of U.S. troops.
“He really believed in his mission. He really thought we were making a difference,” said Gillespie, a registered nurse and supervisor at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo. “He said freedom isn’t free.”
Randy Gillespie’s wife, Lisa, echoed her brother-in-law.
“He felt if he wasn’t fighting there, it was going to come here,” she said.
Gillespie was serving his second tour in Afghanistan. It was the 16th time in his 24-year career that he had been deployed, his brother said.
“When other guys didn’t want to go, he would volunteer so they wouldn’t have to,” he said.
The Gillespie family had just adopted a 6-year-old girl, Amanda. He also is survived by his three sons, Cory, 19, Chris, 17, and Ethan, 10.
All their sons were close to their father, Lisa Gillespie, 43, said. The couple had just celebrated their birthdays and wedding anniversary – all fell on the same day, June 23.
“He was more than just a provider,” she said, calling him a “hands on” husband and father who always made time for his family.
Gillespie was a part of the 56th Logistics Readiness Squadron, stationed at Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix. Although his specialization was with fuel, before his second tour in Afghanistan, he went to Fort Riley, Kan., for combat training, Roger Gillespie said.
He loved what he was doing and he loved the Afghan people, Lisa Gillespie said.
Gillespie grew up in Colorado Springs with three brothers, Rick, 48, Ron, 47, and Roger, but their family relocated to Coaldale, about 80 miles east of Pueblo, when he was in seventh grade. He graduated from Cotopaxi Consolidated School and enlisted with the Air Force.
In addition to his wife and children, he is survived by his brothers, who reside in the Colorado Springs and Pueblo areas; his mother, Jo Ann, of Pueblo; and his father, Edwin, of Coaldale.
Brig. Gen. Tom Jones, commander of Gillespie’s fighter wing, offered his condolences to the family.
“Master Sgt. Gillespie will be remembered here as a beloved husband and father, patriot, warrior, friend and a proud American who volunteered to serve in his nation’s Air Force,” he said in a statement. “He served with courage and commitment and believed in duty, honor and country.”
The family hopes to hold services on the Luke airbase and the Air Force Academy Chapel in the coming weeks.
Staff writer Sara Crocker can be reached at 303-954-1661 or scrocker@denverpost.com.
