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May 17, 2007

Father of slain soldier prays for Jimenez's safety

Mike LaBella

HAVERHILL | When Michael O'Neill heard about the capture of Alex Jimenez in Iraq, he began praying for a different fate than his son suffered.

Evan O'Neill, 19, of Haverhill, a member of the Army's 10th Mountain Division, was killed Sept. 29, 2003. O'Neill, a private first class, was trying to prevent an ambush of his platoon | and his efforts helped save the lives of 23 of his fellow soldiers.

"We're all praying he comes out of this OK," Michael O'Neill said yesterday of Jimenez, who serves in the 2nd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division, the same division Evan O'Neill served with. Evan was in the 1st Brigade.

"As soon as I hear the 10th Mountain Division was involved in anything, I'm paying close attention," Michael O'Neill said.

Jimenez, 25, an Army specialist, gained the attention of the nation this week after reports that he was among several soldiers captured by al-Qaida in an early morning ambush in Iraq on Saturday.

Michael O'Neill and his wife, Barbara O'Neill, of Haverhill were at Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School yesterday for a dedication of a memorial the school created to honor and remember their son | a 2002 Whittier graduate who was killed trying to prevent an ambush of his comrades by Taliban guerillas in Afghanistan.

After the ceremony, Michael O'Neill talked about the latest news from Iraq and how it hits close to home.

Evan O'Neill grew up in Haverhill with an appreciation of the military and of public service. His father was a decorated Army paratrooper during the Vietnam War and is a longtime Andover fire lieutenant.

John Doherty, retired veterans agent for Andover, talked about Evan during yesterday's memorial dedication.

Doherty told a crowd of more than 100 people who gathered in front of the school that Evan was greatly bothered by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, particularly because many of the victims were public safety officers like his father.

"His reaction was not a knee-jerk reaction, it was part of a plan," Doherty said. "Evan thought deeply about everything in life."

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