Fallen Classmate: First Lieutenant Derek S. Hines

DEREK S. HINES

1LT, Field Artillery

Newburyport, MA

Baylough, Afghanistan; KIA – Small Arms Fire

1LT Derek S. Hines, 25, died on September 1, 2005 in Baylough, Afghanistan.  His unit was conducting security operations and came under attack by enemy forces using small arms fire.  Even after he had been fatally shot, 1LT Hines continued to fire at the insurgents. He was assigned to the 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment.  Derek is survived by his parents Steve and Susan, and his younger siblings Michael, Ashley and Trevor.

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At age 25, First Lieutenant Derek S. Hines was killed in Afghanistan while his unit was conducting security operations and came under attack by enemy forces using small arms fire.  Even after he had been fatally shot, 1LT Hines continued to fire at the insurgents. He was assigned to the 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment.

Hines graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2003, where he succeed academically and athletically.  He played on the hockey team during his four years at West Point, becoming captain his senior year. He was well known by coaches, teammates and friends as a man who never let hardships get the best of him and as someone who used obstacles as motivation to succeed.

Hines’s characteristics of perseverance and strength carried him into his militaristic duties when he deployed to Afghanistan.  September 11, 2001 changed the world as people knew it, and war became a reality for all those his age who chose to serve their country.

On September 1, 2005, Hines was killed in action.  Hines will always be highly regarded by his peers, coaches, teachers and family.

In his eulogy, Hines’s father said, “The whole time he was there he never once complained.  Two weeks ago four men in his company were killed when their humvee was blown up in front of Derek’s and one of his soldiers was critically injured.  Derek’s only concern was to ask if we knew anyone living in Washington that could visit his soldier because his family couldn’t afford the plane fare.”

Hines’s father passed on to him the characteristics of courage, fortitude, humility, and bravery, and he will always be remembered for those qualities.