Capt. Benjamin Sammis, U.S.M.C (KIA)

SADNESS AT HOME

Second Mass. soldier is killed in Iraq

By Corey Dade, Globe Staff, 4/6/2003

Massachusetts lost its second native to the war early yesterday when a Marine Cobra helicopter went down somewhere over central Iraq, according to relatives of the pilot.

Captain Benjamin Sammis, 29, of Rehoboth, a second-generation Marine who flew helicopters and jets for the Corps, was killed in action, said Bruce Morris, speaking to the Associated Press on behalf of Sammis's family. By yesterday evening the US military officials had not yet listed Sammis, who was stationed in Camp Pendleton, Calif., among the dead.

''The incident is still under investigation,'' Morris said. ''The military has notified the family that he was killed.''

Calls to the home of Sammis's parents, Steve and Beth, were not answered but the family issued a statement, saying, ''We are devastated by our loss, as we are for all who have lost loved ones. We will be forever proud of him and the character he held so true.''

The first serviceman from the Bay State to die in combat in Iraq was Army Third Infantry Division Specialist Matthew Boule, 22, of Dracut, who was aboard an Army Black Hawk helicopter that crashed during a firefight Wednesday.

Sammis, whose father was a drill sergeant in the Marines, was among several troops deployed in Iraq from a small town that holds proudly to a tradition of military service among its residents, dating back to the World Wars. George Amaral, commander of the local American Legion post and a Korean War veteran, drove the school bus Sammis rode throughout his childhood.

''He was just a plain good kid, no problems whatsoever,'' Amaral said. ''He was a very smart kid. He knew where he was going.''

Relatives and friends say Sammis, an Eagle Scout as a boy, had dreamed of flying since he was 10. After graduating from Dighton-Rehoboth High School, Sammis attended The Citadel and followed that path to a military career. Aside from his parents, he leaves two brothers, Jeff and Adam, and his wife, Stacey, to whom he was married a year-and-a-half.

''Sometimes in life you are lucky enough to find and marry your best friend,'' Stacey Sammis said in a statement. ''Ben and I were that lucky. Ben is the most gentle, loving, and kind man. He loved flying and he loved his country. Please continue to support our troops.''

Arthur Tobin, whose son attended high school with Sammis, said: ''We certainly hope this is over soon and our boys come home and we don't have too many more like what happened to Ben.''.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy said he was saddened. ''My heart goes out to his wife, Stacey, and his parents, Steve and Beth, as well as his family and friends in Rehoboth,'' he said in a statement.

''I pray for a quick end to this conflict so no more Americans have to lose their lives in the fight for Iraqi freedom,'' he said.

Corey Dade can be reached at dade@globe.com.