Fort Hood victim has Augusta roots

By Mashaun D. Simon

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Justin DeCrow always wanted to be a soldier.

So much so that he joined the Army just months after marrying his wife and high school sweetheart in the spring of 1996.

Staff Sergeant DeCrow, 32, was among the victims killed when one of his own opened fire on the military base killing 13 at Fort Hood in Texas.

“We enjoyed 14 years of a wonderful marriage,” his wife, Marikay, said in a statement adding that he loved his family. “His infectious charm and wit always put others at ease. He will be greatly missed.”

DeCrow, a satellite communications operator-maintainer, his wife and their 13 year old daughter, Kylah, lived in Evans, Gs., northwest of Augusta.

A graduate of Plymouth High School in Plymouth, Ind., DeCrow was assigned to Augusta's Fort Gordon in 2000 to train for his job.

He was stationed in Korea from September 2008 to August of this year and left for Fort Hood a month later, in September. He was to be deployed to Iraq soon.

His wife had hoped they would reunite at their home in Evans when another post opened up at Fort Gordon.

“He was on a base,” she told the Associated Press in a phone interview. “They should be safe there. They should be safe.”

His father, Daniel DeCrow, of Fulton, Ind., said he talked to his son last week.

He said he carries in his heart pride for his son.

“As usual, the last words out of my mouth to him were that I was proud of him," he told the AP. "That's what I said to him every time — that I loved him and I was proud of what he was doing.”

-- Reports from the Associated Press contributed to this article.