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Father who lost 2 sons urges support for wars

CLOVIS, Calif. — A father who lost a second son last week in the Iraq war declined Thursday to speak out against the conflict, and said the support his family has received since the death of Army Cpl. Nathan Hubbard strengthened his backing for U.S. efforts to combat global terrorism.

“The nation’s at war,” said Jeff Hubbard, the soldier’s father, a retired police officer. “We just want people to support the nation and what it’s trying to get accomplished by making the world a better place.”

Hubbard, 21, died Aug. 22 in a helicopter crash. He enlisted at age 19 while still grieving for his older brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Hubbard, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Ramadi in 2004.

A third brother, Army Spc. Jason Hubbard, 33, was part of the team that recovered Nathan’s body from the crash site. After Nathan’s death, Jason was sent home from his unit and was ordered not to redeploy to a hostile fire zone.

Both brothers were in the same platoon on a scouting mission observing a treacherous stretch of road south of Kirkuk, Iraq, the day of the crash, the surviving son said. Jason’s team left the area in a Black Hawk first; another soldier aboard that helicopter saw from the air the second aircraft had crashed.

“We kind of went into a holding pattern over this downed bird,” Jason Hubbard told reporters, his voice steady. “It was at that point where I began to really fear that was the other helicopter that picked up our team.”

His team was then assigned to return to the desert and secure the crash site, which meant removing weapons, equipment and the bodies of their comrades from the wreckage.

“I couldn’t participate in that,” said Jason, wearing his dress uniform. “I knew Nathan was in there. I tried several times to kind of gather myself, but I just, I couldn’t.”

On Wednesday, a flag-draped casket carrying Nathan Hubbard’s remains arrived at Fresno-Yosemite International Airport, where an honor guard carried it to a waiting hearse. His parents, Jeff and Peggy Hubbard, led a procession of cars to a Clovis funeral home, where hundreds of local residents lined up in the summer heat to pay their respects.

Jeff Hubbard lost his composure for a moment Thursday as he asked mourners who knew his youngest son to remember him as a thoughtful athlete who graced the lives of those around him.

“He was not an intense guy,” his father said. “Everything about him was soft. He wanted to help people.”

After Jared’s death, the couple was conflicted when their two surviving sons announced they wanted to enlist, in part to heal from the loss of their brother. They were proud, but they wanted to make sure the sons were doing it for the right reasons and understood the risks, he said.

Nathan’s mother and sister Heidi, 31, did not participate in the interview.

Since learning of their youngest son’s death, the family has been through moments of physical and emotional devastation, Jeff Hubbard said, but they were trying to “rejoin the human race” even as they grieved.

Throughout the week, friends and acquaintances have organized candlelight vigils, delivered meals and posted prayers on Nathan’s MySpace page, hoping to ease their pain at losing a son all recalled as a lighthearted spirit.

“The military tries to change people a little bit, and make them a certain way to fit their mold,” Jason said. “He wouldn’t break. He was still Nate.”