Remembering Adrian Hike: 'A little easier every day'
By Tim Gallagher Journal staff writer | Posted: Sunday, May 25, 2008
From left: Sgt. Adrian Hike, Sgt. First Class Michael Sampsell and Iraqi National Guardsman Fabib Aziz are shown near the Tigris River some 45 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq. Both Hike and Aziz have since been killed in action. (Photo submitted)
ODEBOLT, Iowa -- Kim and Robert Bird and their family talk openly about death. It helps them soldier on without their soldier, son Adrian Hike, a U.S. Army sergeant killed Nov. 12, 2007 while on patrol in Afghanistan.
"That urn contains the ashes from Adrian's leg," says Kim. "The Army sent what was left of his body home for the funeral. They found one of his legs quite a ways from the blast."
"We could have had his body exhumed and given him his leg," Robert says. "But we didn't want to do that."
Instead, each of Adrian's four brothers will one day receive a portion of the ashes from this urn, which for now sets beneath the cavalry hat their son and brother dearly loved.
"If you ain't Cav, you ain't shit!" Kim Bird exclaims with a wide smile. "Adrian loved saying that! He loved the cavalry! He said it was a rush."
Adrian Hike, 26, was killed when an improvised explosive device exploded as his vehicle moved over it during a patrol mission. That night, an Army officer and a chaplain knocked on the front door of Robert Bird's home at 411 Willow St. in Odebolt.
"They told me Adrian was missing, hurt or dead," Robert remembers. "The explosion happened at night and they couldn't find him. They really didn't know for sure."
Robert called Kim, who was residing with her mother in nearby Ralston, Iowa. The two had separated three weeks earlier. Kim took the phone and began screaming at her husband.
"Don't you tell me Adrian is dead! Don't you tell me my son is dead!"
They held the slightest hope that night that by some miracle Adrian survived and was missing. Twelve hours later, Robert's phone rang. It was 7:30 a.m. The officer said Adrian was gone.
Robert and Kim, both Army veterans, knew that was likely going to be the outcome.
"They don't send a chaplain and an officer to your home unless that's the case," says Robert.
The Birds remained separated as they planned and carried out their son's funeral and burial Nov. 24 at Carroll City Cemetery. Two weeks ago they reconciled and plan to visit Adrian's grave together Monday; a Memorial Day that, sadly, takes on added significance.
Kim will examine her son's headstone and giggle at the inscription on the back. "If you ain't Cav," it reads, "you ain't shit!"
And she'll weep. Monday will be difficult. The 12th of every month has been difficult. May 12 marked the six-month anniversary of his death. Adrian's birthday, July 21, will be most trying.
"It gets a little easier every day," she says while examining the medals and effects sent home in a wooden chest. There are two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, several campaign medals, Adrian's dog tags, his casket flag, the U.S. flag that covered his body in Afghanistan, two baseballs and his ball glove.
"No, I don't cry as easily any more," she says with a heavy sigh.
E-mail a blessing
A letter from Sgt. First Class Michael Sampsell of Seville, Ohio, proved therapeutic for the Birds.
Sampsell, 33, served with Adrian in Iraq in 2004-05 and again last year in Afghanistan. He was in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, when Adrian was killed and could not get to Carroll to pay his final respects.
Instead, he wrote his thoughts about the soldier he called his brother and sent the message to Kim shortly before Christmas. His e-mail told of an ambush the two men survived together for 16 hours. Sampsell also detailed Adrian's willingness to volunteer for dangerous missions and his fearlessness in a firefight.
"There doesn't seem to be much to happy or thankful about this Christmas," Sampsell concludes in his message. "But I wanted to write and let you know that I am thankful that I knew Adrian as well as I did. I am thankful that I could serve with Adrian for as long as I did and in two wars. But I am mostly thankful to you, Mrs. Bird, for raising such a wonderful human being, a man who stood up for what he believed in and for people that could not fight for themselves."
"I cried and cried and cried when I got Mike's e-mail," Kim says. "It took me forever to read it."
She'll keep it that long.
It helps the family talk about Adrian's death. And more important, his life.
Letter from a soldier about Sgt. Adrian Hike
This letter from Sgt. First Class Michael Sampsell was sent to Kim Bird, the mother of Sgt. Adrian Hike, following his death. Sampsell, who is from Pennsylvania, has three months left in his current tour of duty in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. Portions of his e-mail are reprinted with permission.
"Mrs. Bird,
My name is SFC Michael Sampsell and your son was one of my Soldiers. Adrian was my Soldier since his arrival at Anvil 1-4 Cavalry. I loved your son like a brother. We served together in Iraq from 2004-2005. He was assigned to my section and my Bradley Fighting Vehicle. He was an outstanding Soldier and absolutely fearless in a firefight. Adrian and I were in so many fights together, most of which I can't remember and the ones I do, I am trying to forget. When the chips were down there was no one in the world you would rather have backing you up than Adrian. I would go through a door with him any day.
"I remember a time when Adrian and I were sent to establish a blocking position in support of a raid to be conducted by Special Forces. Basically, we would insure anyone escaping from the target location did not get by us. It was just the two of us going in and we were going in about 16 hours early. We would be dropped off about 5 miles from our objective and then sneak in on foot. We would be set up and hopefully undetected long before the raid kicked off.
"The mission was on a voluntary basis. Adrian was the first to volunteer and since he was going I said I would go with him. He was my Soldier, but more importantly, he was my friend. And that's what friends do. At least, that's what friends in uniform do.
"We got dropped off and then found a daytime hide position to await the cover of darkness. Once it was dark enough, we began moving toward our objective. We closed to within 600 meters of our desired position when we came across a fence. We cut our way through it and discovered that we were now in a completely closed area. Meaning there was a fence behind us, to our right, and to our left. The only way we could go was forward and if we ran into trouble it would be difficult to get out of there.
"So we Soldiered on for another 50 meters and ran right into a group of insurgents. Probably at least 10. They were about 40 feet from us. They saw us at the same time we saw them. Pandemonium ensued as you can imagine. Adrian and I opened fire immediately and three of them went down. I launched a grenade from the M203 which is mounted under the barrel of the M4 rifle. It didn't detonate as the grenade did not travel far enough to arm itself. Adrian and I began to 'leap-frog' back in the direction we came from, but knew we would be killed trying to get back through the fence. We found a small depression in the ground next to some trees and decided it was the most defendable position in the area. So we took it. We could barely fit both of us in there but I think if we tried hard enough, we could have both fit our entire bodies in our helmets.
"I reported the ambush to our headquarters element on the FOB and they sent Bradleys and Tanks to come get us. The problem we would discover later was that there was no way to get those vehicles to us. The terrain and overgrowth made it impossible. Additionally, they and we did not want them to push any Soldiers on foot to our position for fear of a friendly fire incident. So we waited knowing we were probably going to die there. The group of insurgents had grown to about 20 by now. They could hear all the U.S. vehicles driving around like we could. But like us, they knew those vehicles couldn't help us. So they continued to look for us. Sometimes they came within feet of us. We didn't want to shoot for fear of giving our position away. We had our bayonets out hoping we did not have to use them. The insurgents fired bullets everywhere trying to get us to fire back so they could find us. They hit the trees around us but we held fast.
"We stayed in that position for 16 hours until we had Apache and Kiowa Attack Helicopters come to our aid. Adrian and I got up and walked out of the area. Not from the direction we came but forward and through a village that no doubt every one of those insurgents lived in. We did it to show them we weren't scared. We did it to show them that we were still there long after they gave up the search. But mostly I guess we did it because we wanted to prove to ourselves that we could. And we wanted to move forward, not back.
"Through all of that, I don't remember being scared. I know I was, I just don't remember. What I do remember is having to tell Adrian that we were probably not going to get out of there. But I didn't say any words, I just looked at him and he me and he said. 'Yeah, I know it.' And then we agreed that we wouldn't make it easy for them. That's a Soldier. Plain and simple. That was your son, Adrian. That's the dedication that, until now, I was the only one that saw it. But now you know. And I want you to tell everyone who will listen, that story. That's the kind of man he was. That's the son YOU raised.
America will never know how lucky she was to have had a person of Adrian's caliber, bravery and steadfast dedication stand up in her defense. He represented less than one percent of the U.S. population. While the other 99 percent looked on as our country was attacked and thanked God that none of the rubble destroyed their SUVs, Adrian stood up and did something about it. And in doing so, he learned what I learned. That when in combat, you don't fight for your country, you fight for the guy next to you and that guy fights for you. That's what Adrian and I did that day. Adrian knew I would give my life for him and I knew he would give his for me. You don't talk about it. That's just the way it is...
"I think of Adrian all the time and all the times we had together, good and bad. I know that my family and I will miss him for the rest of our lives.
"I am sorry to have written you such a long email. I hope you are still awake. I just wanted you to know something about Adrian that you may not have known...
"There doesn't seem to be much to be happy or thankful about this Christmas. But I wanted to write and let you know that I am thankful that I knew Adrian as well as I did. I am thankful that I could serve with Adrian for as long as I did and in two wars. But I am mostly thankful to you Mrs. Bird, for raising such a wonderful human being, a man who stood up for what he believed in and fought for people that could not fight for themselves. Adrian made America special. Adrian and all the others like him who make the defense of others their personal commitment. He was our brother and we will never forget him."
Very Respectfully,
Michael A. Sampsell
Kunar Province, Afghanistan
"That urn contains the ashes from Adrian's leg," says Kim. "The Army sent what was left of his body home for the funeral. They found one of his legs quite a ways from the blast."
"We could have had his body exhumed and given him his leg," Robert says. "But we didn't want to do that."
Instead, each of Adrian's four brothers will one day receive a portion of the ashes from this urn, which for now sets beneath the cavalry hat their son and brother dearly loved.
"If you ain't Cav, you ain't shit!" Kim Bird exclaims with a wide smile. "Adrian loved saying that! He loved the cavalry! He said it was a rush."
Adrian Hike, 26, was killed when an improvised explosive device exploded as his vehicle moved over it during a patrol mission. That night, an Army officer and a chaplain knocked on the front door of Robert Bird's home at 411 Willow St. in Odebolt.
"They told me Adrian was missing, hurt or dead," Robert remembers. "The explosion happened at night and they couldn't find him. They really didn't know for sure."
Robert called Kim, who was residing with her mother in nearby Ralston, Iowa. The two had separated three weeks earlier. Kim took the phone and began screaming at her husband.
"Don't you tell me Adrian is dead! Don't you tell me my son is dead!"
They held the slightest hope that night that by some miracle Adrian survived and was missing. Twelve hours later, Robert's phone rang. It was 7:30 a.m. The officer said Adrian was gone.
Robert and Kim, both Army veterans, knew that was likely going to be the outcome.
"They don't send a chaplain and an officer to your home unless that's the case," says Robert.
The Birds remained separated as they planned and carried out their son's funeral and burial Nov. 24 at Carroll City Cemetery. Two weeks ago they reconciled and plan to visit Adrian's grave together Monday; a Memorial Day that, sadly, takes on added significance.
Kim will examine her son's headstone and giggle at the inscription on the back. "If you ain't Cav," it reads, "you ain't shit!"
And she'll weep. Monday will be difficult. The 12th of every month has been difficult. May 12 marked the six-month anniversary of his death. Adrian's birthday, July 21, will be most trying.
"It gets a little easier every day," she says while examining the medals and effects sent home in a wooden chest. There are two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, several campaign medals, Adrian's dog tags, his casket flag, the U.S. flag that covered his body in Afghanistan, two baseballs and his ball glove.
"No, I don't cry as easily any more," she says with a heavy sigh.
E-mail a blessing
A letter from Sgt. First Class Michael Sampsell of Seville, Ohio, proved therapeutic for the Birds.
Sampsell, 33, served with Adrian in Iraq in 2004-05 and again last year in Afghanistan. He was in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, when Adrian was killed and could not get to Carroll to pay his final respects.
Instead, he wrote his thoughts about the soldier he called his brother and sent the message to Kim shortly before Christmas. His e-mail told of an ambush the two men survived together for 16 hours. Sampsell also detailed Adrian's willingness to volunteer for dangerous missions and his fearlessness in a firefight.
"There doesn't seem to be much to happy or thankful about this Christmas," Sampsell concludes in his message. "But I wanted to write and let you know that I am thankful that I knew Adrian as well as I did. I am thankful that I could serve with Adrian for as long as I did and in two wars. But I am mostly thankful to you, Mrs. Bird, for raising such a wonderful human being, a man who stood up for what he believed in and for people that could not fight for themselves."
"I cried and cried and cried when I got Mike's e-mail," Kim says. "It took me forever to read it."
She'll keep it that long.
It helps the family talk about Adrian's death. And more important, his life.
Letter from a soldier about Sgt. Adrian Hike
This letter from Sgt. First Class Michael Sampsell was sent to Kim Bird, the mother of Sgt. Adrian Hike, following his death. Sampsell, who is from Pennsylvania, has three months left in his current tour of duty in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. Portions of his e-mail are reprinted with permission.
"Mrs. Bird,
My name is SFC Michael Sampsell and your son was one of my Soldiers. Adrian was my Soldier since his arrival at Anvil 1-4 Cavalry. I loved your son like a brother. We served together in Iraq from 2004-2005. He was assigned to my section and my Bradley Fighting Vehicle. He was an outstanding Soldier and absolutely fearless in a firefight. Adrian and I were in so many fights together, most of which I can't remember and the ones I do, I am trying to forget. When the chips were down there was no one in the world you would rather have backing you up than Adrian. I would go through a door with him any day.
"I remember a time when Adrian and I were sent to establish a blocking position in support of a raid to be conducted by Special Forces. Basically, we would insure anyone escaping from the target location did not get by us. It was just the two of us going in and we were going in about 16 hours early. We would be dropped off about 5 miles from our objective and then sneak in on foot. We would be set up and hopefully undetected long before the raid kicked off.
"The mission was on a voluntary basis. Adrian was the first to volunteer and since he was going I said I would go with him. He was my Soldier, but more importantly, he was my friend. And that's what friends do. At least, that's what friends in uniform do.
"We got dropped off and then found a daytime hide position to await the cover of darkness. Once it was dark enough, we began moving toward our objective. We closed to within 600 meters of our desired position when we came across a fence. We cut our way through it and discovered that we were now in a completely closed area. Meaning there was a fence behind us, to our right, and to our left. The only way we could go was forward and if we ran into trouble it would be difficult to get out of there.
"So we Soldiered on for another 50 meters and ran right into a group of insurgents. Probably at least 10. They were about 40 feet from us. They saw us at the same time we saw them. Pandemonium ensued as you can imagine. Adrian and I opened fire immediately and three of them went down. I launched a grenade from the M203 which is mounted under the barrel of the M4 rifle. It didn't detonate as the grenade did not travel far enough to arm itself. Adrian and I began to 'leap-frog' back in the direction we came from, but knew we would be killed trying to get back through the fence. We found a small depression in the ground next to some trees and decided it was the most defendable position in the area. So we took it. We could barely fit both of us in there but I think if we tried hard enough, we could have both fit our entire bodies in our helmets.
"I reported the ambush to our headquarters element on the FOB and they sent Bradleys and Tanks to come get us. The problem we would discover later was that there was no way to get those vehicles to us. The terrain and overgrowth made it impossible. Additionally, they and we did not want them to push any Soldiers on foot to our position for fear of a friendly fire incident. So we waited knowing we were probably going to die there. The group of insurgents had grown to about 20 by now. They could hear all the U.S. vehicles driving around like we could. But like us, they knew those vehicles couldn't help us. So they continued to look for us. Sometimes they came within feet of us. We didn't want to shoot for fear of giving our position away. We had our bayonets out hoping we did not have to use them. The insurgents fired bullets everywhere trying to get us to fire back so they could find us. They hit the trees around us but we held fast.
"We stayed in that position for 16 hours until we had Apache and Kiowa Attack Helicopters come to our aid. Adrian and I got up and walked out of the area. Not from the direction we came but forward and through a village that no doubt every one of those insurgents lived in. We did it to show them we weren't scared. We did it to show them that we were still there long after they gave up the search. But mostly I guess we did it because we wanted to prove to ourselves that we could. And we wanted to move forward, not back.
"Through all of that, I don't remember being scared. I know I was, I just don't remember. What I do remember is having to tell Adrian that we were probably not going to get out of there. But I didn't say any words, I just looked at him and he me and he said. 'Yeah, I know it.' And then we agreed that we wouldn't make it easy for them. That's a Soldier. Plain and simple. That was your son, Adrian. That's the dedication that, until now, I was the only one that saw it. But now you know. And I want you to tell everyone who will listen, that story. That's the kind of man he was. That's the son YOU raised.
America will never know how lucky she was to have had a person of Adrian's caliber, bravery and steadfast dedication stand up in her defense. He represented less than one percent of the U.S. population. While the other 99 percent looked on as our country was attacked and thanked God that none of the rubble destroyed their SUVs, Adrian stood up and did something about it. And in doing so, he learned what I learned. That when in combat, you don't fight for your country, you fight for the guy next to you and that guy fights for you. That's what Adrian and I did that day. Adrian knew I would give my life for him and I knew he would give his for me. You don't talk about it. That's just the way it is...
"I think of Adrian all the time and all the times we had together, good and bad. I know that my family and I will miss him for the rest of our lives.
"I am sorry to have written you such a long email. I hope you are still awake. I just wanted you to know something about Adrian that you may not have known...
"There doesn't seem to be much to be happy or thankful about this Christmas. But I wanted to write and let you know that I am thankful that I knew Adrian as well as I did. I am thankful that I could serve with Adrian for as long as I did and in two wars. But I am mostly thankful to you Mrs. Bird, for raising such a wonderful human being, a man who stood up for what he believed in and fought for people that could not fight for themselves. Adrian made America special. Adrian and all the others like him who make the defense of others their personal commitment. He was our brother and we will never forget him."
Very Respectfully,
Michael A. Sampsell
Kunar Province, Afghanistan
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Michael Sampsell wrote on May 27, 2008 3:19 PM:
Karen Louise Paulsen wrote on May 26, 2008 6:58 PM:
Karen Paulsen
Legion Rider and Patriot Guard "
Hey GColorado Patriot Guards wrote on May 25, 2008 6:53 AM: