Navy SEAL Remembered by Cape Friends

Navy SEAL Team Six member is remembered as a driven, hard-working, out-going and modest solider and friend by Barnstable classmates and football team friends, according to several news reports.  

Friends said Houston is gone, but will not be forgotten.  

Houston perished along with 22 members of SEAL Team Six in the deadliest attack since the Afghan war began. His Chinook helicopter was shot down by the Taliban.

Houston served three tours in Afghanistan and in his 16 years of service he earned a Purple Heart and two Bronze Stars, according to reports from the Cape Cod Times and WBUR.

Houston was scheduled to fly into Dover Air Force Base last night and a service is planned for Thursday. Houston will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, according to Cape Cod Times. 

"On Monday, Houston's friends and former teammates from his days on the Barnstable High School football team were still grappling with the news and preparing to travel south for the funeral," a report by the Cape Cod Times said.

A WBUR report stated that an old friend, Joe Kennedy from Osterville said Houston knew he wanted to be a Navy SEAL even before Kennedy knew what a SEAL was. Kennedy said he was impressed with Houston's confidence and ability to know what he wanted in life.

Kevin MacConnell, a friend from elementary school, remembered a time when Houston would not give up trying to dunk a basketball in order to show he could do it, the WBUR story said.

"That was late afternoon. Houston took the ball and kept trying to dunk over and over, all through dinner and TV. Finally MacConnell’s dad went out to say he needed to get some sleep. The next day, though, Kevin was back," the WBUR story stated.

Houston was injured in a motorcycle accident senior year of high school and had to accept his diploma in a wheel chair. However, once he recovered he followed his dream and joined the Navy, eventually to become exactly what he wanted, a SEAL, according to the WBUR report.

Friend Jarrod Paquette remembered Houston saying, "While his friends were enjoying another sandy summer on the Cape, Kevin died in a faraway region of arid shale and pitched mountainsides. Paquette said it gives him comfort knowing that Kevin died doing what he always wanted to do," the WBUR report stated.

In a press release from the Navy, official's condolences were offered.

"My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of the Americans who were lost earlier today in Afghanistan," President Barack Obama said. "Their deaths are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families, including all who have served in Afghanistan.

"We also mourn the Afghans who died alongside our troops in pursuit of a more peaceful and hopeful future for their country," the president added.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta also expressed his sorrow for the loss, the release said.

"I am deeply saddened by the loss of many outstanding Americans in uniform and of their Afghan counterparts earlier today in Afghanistan," he said. "Their courage was exemplary, as was their determination to make this a safer world for their countries and for their fellow citizens.

"We will stay the course to complete that mission, for which they and all who have served and lost their lives in Afghanistan have made the ultimate sacrifice," he continued. "They and their families are in my thoughts, in my prayers and in my heart."

Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, ISAF commander, added his condolences, the release said. 

"No words describe the sorrow we feel in the wake of this tragic loss," the general said. "All of those killed in this operation were true heroes who had already given so much in the defense of freedom. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten. 

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who are now waiting for their loved ones to return home," he continued. "We will do everything in our power to support them in this time of need.

"We also mourn the loss of our heroic Afghan partners who fight with us shoulder to shoulder, every day," Allen added.