Randy Gillespie, 44, of Coaldale, CO, was killed Monday in Herat, Afghanistan, 75 miles from the Iranian border.

He and an interpreter reportedly were shot by a small group, believed to be Iranian militants, a few hundred feet outside the walls of the U.S. military base there.

Gillespie was deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and was training the new Afgan national army, his father Edwin said.

His wife and four children live in the Phoenix area and his father, Edwin, lives in Coaldale, CO.

Randy is the youngest of three brothers. Randys Father said that Randy and his brother both went into the service in 1983, and Randy was in his second duty tour in Afghanistan.

Lisa, Randys wife said that he told her of the many letters he got from people (most of them teachers) and they would send him care packages and letters of encouragement. Whole classrooms would make Randy their "project". His passion was always to help the kids. It didn't matter if he was in Iraq or Afghanistan. More recently he was heavily involved in helping to build a school there in Herat for the kids and desperatly needed school supplies to stock them. He loved and believed in what he was doing, never forget that!

Roger, brother of Randy flew to greet his brothers casket and escort him home, said Randy's Father Edwin.

The family would like a funeral service in Phoenix around the 21st of July, 2007

Please note the time change for this service.....
And a second service will be held at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO on Saturday, July 28, 2007 at NOON, with burial at Coaldale, CO Cemetary following the service, at approximately 4pm.

Fighter Country Partnership, a community support organization for men and women of Luke Air Force Base, is establishing a sub-account for the Gillespie Family under the Arizona Servicemen Memorial Fund - a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation.

For more FCP information contact Steve Yamamori at (623) 882-2191, or 500 North Estrella Parkway, Suite B2, PMB #479, Goodyear, AZ 85338 or by e-mail, syamamori@fightercountry.org.

Click Here - To sign the Guest Book for Randy