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Son of Minn. State Lawmaker Killed in Iraq
By MARTIGA LOHN, Associated Press Writer
Sat May 28, 5:50 AM ET
The son of a Minnesota state senator was killed in Iraq when his helicopter was shot down, officials said. It was the second tour in Iraq for Chief Warrant Officer Matt Lourey, 41, who flew helicopters with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division — though his mother, Sen. Becky Lourey, and other relatives opposed the war and had tried to talk him out of it.
"He didn't want to die, but nonetheless he signed up for military service and he understood what that meant," said his brother, Tony Lourey.
Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, a brigadier general in the National Guard, where he also serves as a chaplain, said he was notified Friday morning by a military official of Lourey's death Thursday, and was asked to give word to his mother.
She had already found out from a relative, and left the Capitol abruptly to go home to Kerrick, about 50 miles south of Duluth.
"Every time a helicopter crash would occur, Becky would come to see me," Johnson said. "We would talk and pray and were hopeful it was not her son."
Becky Lourey ran for governor in 2002 and has been mentioned as a possible gubernatorial candidate next year. Most legislative meetings were called off after the news.
In an e-mail statement, Becky Lourey and her husband, Eugene, said they were overwhelmed with grief and sadness. "We are proud of our son and everything he stood for," they said. "This war has touched all of us as a state, a nation, and a world community. Now, it has touched our own family at home."
Matt Lourey had a wife, Lisa, and lived in the Washington, D.C., area. He grew up in Kerrick, graduated from Askov High School and joined the Marines, said his sister-in-law, Marlana Benzie-Lourey.
When he didn't get a chance to fly for the Marines, he got out and trained as a private bush pilot in Ely before joining the Army as an officer. Benzie-Lourey said he had flown Kiowa Warrior reconnaissance helicopters for years in Bosnia and other places before going to Iraq.
"We were just hoping when it was a Kiowa that went down, maybe it wasn't Matt," she said. "He was just really confident and good at what he did."
Gov. Tim Pawlenty reflected on the news during his weekly radio show.
"Obviously our hearts and prayers and sympathy go out to Senator Lourey and her family," he said. "Another tragic example of the price that people pay for the duty and honor of our country's request of them. As a state, our thoughts and prayers are with this family at a very, very trying time."
By MARTIGA LOHN, Associated Press Writer
Sat May 28, 5:50 AM ET
The son of a Minnesota state senator was killed in Iraq when his helicopter was shot down, officials said. It was the second tour in Iraq for Chief Warrant Officer Matt Lourey, 41, who flew helicopters with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division — though his mother, Sen. Becky Lourey, and other relatives opposed the war and had tried to talk him out of it.
"He didn't want to die, but nonetheless he signed up for military service and he understood what that meant," said his brother, Tony Lourey.
Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, a brigadier general in the National Guard, where he also serves as a chaplain, said he was notified Friday morning by a military official of Lourey's death Thursday, and was asked to give word to his mother.
She had already found out from a relative, and left the Capitol abruptly to go home to Kerrick, about 50 miles south of Duluth.
"Every time a helicopter crash would occur, Becky would come to see me," Johnson said. "We would talk and pray and were hopeful it was not her son."
Becky Lourey ran for governor in 2002 and has been mentioned as a possible gubernatorial candidate next year. Most legislative meetings were called off after the news.
In an e-mail statement, Becky Lourey and her husband, Eugene, said they were overwhelmed with grief and sadness. "We are proud of our son and everything he stood for," they said. "This war has touched all of us as a state, a nation, and a world community. Now, it has touched our own family at home."
Matt Lourey had a wife, Lisa, and lived in the Washington, D.C., area. He grew up in Kerrick, graduated from Askov High School and joined the Marines, said his sister-in-law, Marlana Benzie-Lourey.
When he didn't get a chance to fly for the Marines, he got out and trained as a private bush pilot in Ely before joining the Army as an officer. Benzie-Lourey said he had flown Kiowa Warrior reconnaissance helicopters for years in Bosnia and other places before going to Iraq.
"We were just hoping when it was a Kiowa that went down, maybe it wasn't Matt," she said. "He was just really confident and good at what he did."
Gov. Tim Pawlenty reflected on the news during his weekly radio show.
"Obviously our hearts and prayers and sympathy go out to Senator Lourey and her family," he said. "Another tragic example of the price that people pay for the duty and honor of our country's request of them. As a state, our thoughts and prayers are with this family at a very, very trying time."