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Army Spc. Curtis R. Spivey, 25, Chula Vista; Dies Of Explosion Injuries
By Tony Perry
Los Angeles Times
April 14, 2007
Even after an attack on his Humvee left him paralyzed, Army Spc. Curtis R. Spivey never regretted serving in Iraq. 'I enjoyed
deploying. I enjoyed serving my country,' he said last month while undergoing daily therapy in the spinal-cord injury unit
at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in La Jolla. Like many injured veterans, Spivey, 25, had gone through a period of anger
and depression. But he had seemingly worked through those issues and was upbeat. He talked of going back to college, maybe
getting a degree in some area of criminal justice.
'I'm definitely not going to sit at home,' he said. But his plans were not to be. While he was an inpatient at the VA
hospital, a blood vessel in Spivey's brain ruptured and doctors were unable to stop the internal bleeding.
He died April 2, just short of seven months after a bomb exploded beneath his Humvee south of Baghdad. After graduating
from high school in 2000 in the San Diego-area city of Chula Vista, he joined the Marine Corps. His father had spent a career
in the Navy's enlisted ranks.
'The military seemed like the right thing for me,' Spivey said. 'I couldn't wait to get in.' He served as a guard at a
Navy base in Washington, did two tours in Iraq with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and then left the service at the end
of his hitch. Civilian life was not for him, however, and he joined the Army almost immediately.
At the time of his injury Sept. 16, he was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team,
4th Infantry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas. The blast threw Spivey, a turret gunner, nearly 50 feet from the vehicle. Spinal
injuries are rare in Iraq, because of improvements in body armor and armoring of vehicles. But when they occur, they are among
the most severe and hard to repair of injuries, doctors say. Although other soldiers in the Humvee were burned, none were
injured as severely as Spivey. He suffered a brain injury and a broken back and was paralyzed from the mid-chest down.
'I got the worst of it,' he said. 'Everyone else can walk.' His therapy was meant to keep his muscles from withering and
locking. For spinal-cord patients, therapy is a lifetime chore. So-called phantom pain is constant. 'I've had a lot of hallucinations,'
Spivey said last month. 'I have nightmares, daymares like I'm back in Iraq. Sometimes a door slamming can set me off.' Through
his weeks at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and then at the La Jolla hospital, he kept in close touch
with his Army buddies. He had been at the La Jolla medical center since early November. 'He never complained about the pain,
but you could hear it in his voice,' said Lt. David Bowers, his platoon leader in Iraq. 'Sometimes he was just too tired to
even talk.' If he never lost faith in his fellow soldiers, Spivey had come to believe that the U.S. mission in Iraq was no
longer worthwhile.
'We should have been out of there a long time ago,' he said. 'We set up their government; now it's up to them. It's their
country.' His memories of his days at Walter Reed were withering. 'They're the rudest, most unprofessional people you can
imagine,' he said. 'Only two of the nurses were any good. Things are a lot better here. Occasionally we have arguments, but
mostly it's my fault.' The unexpectedness of Spivey's death so many months after his injury redoubled the sense of loss felt
by those who knew him best. 'He had started to talk about the future and was optimistic again,' Bowers said. 'That's how we
remembered him: always looking at the positive.' Spivey was buried last week at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery on San Diego's
Point Loma. Family, friends and members of Spivey's platoon attended. He is survived by his wife, Aida; their 2-year-old daughter,
Marianna; his father, Joseph L. Spivey Sr.; his mother, Tania L. Spivey; his stepmother, Bernadine D. Spivey; three sisters,
Vicki DeLagrave, Marissa Macedo and Rebecca Macedo; and his brother, Michael. A second brother, Joey, died last year. Spivey's
wife and daughter live in San Diego; Marissa Macedo lives in Portland, Ore.; and the rest of the family lives in Chula Vista.
In his interview, Spivey talked of his love for his daughter and how he was determined that his injuries not keep him from
being 'absolutely the best father I can be,' both as a provider and a source of emotional support. 'I've got a lot to live
for,' he said. * tony.perry@latimes.com
Stabbing Attack Leaves Man Injured
Victim Taken To Hospital With Multiple Stab Wounds
SAN DIEGO -- Authorities held one man in custody Monday and sought two others in connection with a stabbing attack that wounded
a 21-year-old man in Oak Park over the weekend.
Danny Ray Clipper III is being held on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's
Department.
Clipper, 21, is one of three men suspected of attacking the victim, who may have been stabbed as many as five times Sunday.The
violence broke out shortly before noon when the victim went to the 2300 block of Balsa Street to get a backpack he'd left
at a party on Saturday, according to San Diego police.
It was then that "some type of altercation happened" and he was stabbed, police Sgt. Rodney Vandiver said.
The attackers fled in a black Volkswagen Jetta, and the victim was taken to a hospital. His condition was not immediately
reported.
Clipper was later located in the 4200 block of 45th Street and arrested.
The suspect is being held at the San Diego Central Jail on $15,000 bail.
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