Pfc. Timothy Hines

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Family's Memorial To Fallen Soldier Vandalized
Someone Sets Fire To American Flags, Car At Father-In-Law's House

POSTED: 9:17 am EDT July 24, 2005
UPDATED: 10:19 am EDT July 25, 2005

FAIRFIELD, Ohio -- Less than 24 hours after a Tri-state soldier was buried, someone pulled up 20 American flags from his father-in-law's front yard and set fire to them under a car in the driveway, News 5 reported.


The family of Pfc. Timothy Hines and neighbors can't understand why someone would do that.

"If it wasn't random vandalism, what statement were they trying to make?" said Jim Wessels, Hines' father-in-law.

The car, belonging to Wessel's daughter, was burned beyond repair.

Members of a local church stepped in and helped clean up, and 200 flags donated by family, friends and neighbors were put up around the yard.

"I was in the military also," Don Hodges told News 5. "I understand some of what he had to go through before he was killed. And I appreciate all that the veterans done for the country."

Police are keeping a close eye on the neighborhood and vowed to find the vandals.

"What has happened to this family is a tragedy; what occurred this morning is despicable," said Fairfield police Chief Mike thingyey. "We will take every step to identify the persons responsible and hold them accountable."

If you have any information, call CrimeStoppers at [phone].

Hines, 21, of Fairfield, died last week of injuries from a bomb explosion in Baghdad in June.

More than 400 family members and friends gathered for his funeral Friday. They watched a slideshow of his life from childhood to high school to his wedding.

Hines met his wife, Katy, at Cincinnati Christian School. They had a 2-year-old daughter, Lily, and Katy expects to give birth to their second child in about two weeks.

An anonymous donor gave Cincinnati Christian $130,000 to cover tuition for Hines' children.

"Tim was a fighter. He fought hard for his country, family and ultimately, his life. He was a loyal husband and father and an incredible American," a tearful Katy Hines said at the funeral. "There is a price for freedom and Tim paid the ultimate price. Now he is in the loving arms of God."

Hines was the gunner on a Humvee in a convoy when a bomb detonated on a highway on Father's Day. He suffered kidney and tissue damage and internal bleeding, and his right leg was amputated in a Baghdad hospital. He was having emergency surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., when he died.

Army Brig. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly presented Hines' mother a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star and the Good Conduct Medal. Family members also received a visit from President Bush at the medical center earlier this month.

Hines was buried at Spring Grove Cemetery with full military honors.

Copyright 2005 by ChannelCincinnati.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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www.channelcincinnati.com/news/4762625/detail.html

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Reward offered in Fairfield flag-burning investigation
Weekend arson angers neighbors, brings together community

By Jennifer Edwards
Enquirer staff writer

Many flags have been set out in front of the family home of fallen soldier Army Pfc. Timothy Hines Jr.


HOW TO HELP
A reward of up to $5,000 may be granted to anyone who gives authorities information leading to the identification of person(s) responsible for this fire.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Fairfield Police Department tip line at [phone] or the Fairfield Fire Department at [phone]

Donations may be made to the Timothy Hines Memorial Fund at any Fifth Third Bank, or to the Hines Family House project through Impact a Hero.

Information about that program can be found online at www.impactahero.com.

FAIRFIELD - The Fire Department here Monday announced a reward up to $5,000 for information that helps identify who burned 20 American flags from the lawn of the relatives of fallen U.S. Army Pfc. Timothy Hines Jr. over the weekend.

Less than 24 hours after the 21-year-old father was buried Friday, 20 flags were heaped in a pile early Saturday and torched under a Saturn parked in front of the Sando Drive home of Hines' mother-in-law and father-in-law.

Police and fire officials and Hines' father-in-law, Jim Wessel, said Monday they hope the arson, unheard of in this older, close-knit neighborhood, turns out to be a random act of vandalism, perhaps by teenagers, rather than an anti-war protest.

The fire at the Wessels' was set with some form of open flame; accelerants were not found on the flags, said Dennis Glenn, Fairfield's deputy fire chief.

"We are hoping that anyone stupid enough to do something like this will be stupid enough to talk about it and someone else will come forward," said Lt. Ken Colburn, spokesman for the Fairfield Police Department.

Wessel said he didn't want to think about the possibility the arson could be a war protest targeting his family. And even if it was, it clearly went too far, he said.

"People can burn the flag, but they don't have the right to burn my flag," said the soft-spoken Wessel, 44. "People have the right to protest, but they don't have the right to destroy my property."

The fire destroyed Sara Wessel's car, worth $5,000 to $6,000, he said. She is Hines' sister-in-law and Wessel's oldest daughter. She was staying with the family at their home since they returned last week from Washington, where they were visiting Hines at Walter Reed Army Center.

Hines died last week from injuries suffered when a roadside bomb exploded June 19 in Baghdad. He was buried Friday at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati with full military honors. He leaves behind a pregnant widow, who expects to give birth in about two weeks, and a 2-year-old daughter.

The family was asleep when the fire broke out about 5:30 a.m. Saturday. By Saturday afternoon, in a move that filled the grieving family with some joy after weeks of darkness, the flags were replaced with more than 200.

Family, friends, neighbors, Fairfield firefighters and American Legion Post 138 in Hamilton filled the Sando Drive front yard and lined the street with them.

Sunday, two Northern Kentucky men installed a flagpole in the Wessels' flower bed.

The men, who did not want to be identified and only told neighbors their first names, gave the Wessels a second flag in case someone torches the first one.

"I don't know them but they just felt like they wanted to do that for me," Wessel said, adding that his family is overwhelmed and grateful at the outpouring of support.

Neighbors remained angry and confused Monday over the act but reiterated it has united the community. One neighbor gave the family $100 toward the $500 insurance deductible on Sara Wessel's Saturn, which was fully insured.

"These people have gone through so much," said another neighbor, Joanne Herman. "How anyone could have done this is beyond me. This has been a really good neighborhood. I would hate to think that something like this would start."

E-mail [e-mail].

news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050726/NEWS01/507260361/1056/news01

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Reward Offered For Flag Burners

POSTED: 11:16 am EDT July 26, 2005
UPDATED: 7:11 am EDT July 27, 2005

FAIRFIELD, Ohio -- Authorities are offering a $5,000 reward to help find the vandals who trashed a family's tribute to a fallen Tri-state soldier and set fire to a car, News 5's John London reported.

Fairfield police said there was enough support to set up a second reward fund, but they don't think it will be needed. They are confident that someone will come forward with information.

Someone took 20 American flags from the front yard of Pfc. Timothy Hines' father-in-law, put them under his daughter's car in the driveway and set them on fire Saturday morning.

The car was burned beyond repair, London reported.

A local church replaced the flags with hundreds more and residents from across the Tri-state stopped to share their thoughts. A Hamilton man expressed that he was blown away by what happened.

Officials said they think the vandalism was the work of juveniles, not someone trying to make a political statement.

Jim Wessel, Hines' father-in-law, said the family was trying to focus on the unity instead of the crime.

Police have sent evidence to a lab and received some tips, but they don't have enough to make any arrests.

If you have any information, call CrimeStoppers at [phone]

www.channelcincinnati.com/news/4770080/detail.html

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Teens Accused Of Vandalizing Memorial
Police: Boys Did Not Know Flags Were Memorial

POSTED: 5:01 pm EDT July 28, 2005
UPDATED: 6:09 pm EDT July 28, 2005

FAIRFIELD, Ohio -- Police arrested and charged two teens in connection with the vandalism of a fallen soldier's memorial Thursday, News 5's Brian Hamrick reported.

The boys, 13 and 15 years old, were accused of pulling up 20 American flags from Pfc. Timothy Hines' father-in-law's front yard and setting them on fire under a car in the driveway last Saturday.

Police said the boys admitted their involvement in the fire. They were charged with one count of arson each.

Investigators said the boys were not aware that the flags were displayed as a memorial and they felt remorse for their actions, Hamrick reported.

According to police, the boys also admitted their involvement in other acts of vandalism in the area. For those crimes, they were charged with two counts each of criminal mischief.

The boys were released into the custody of their parents.

Hines' family and neighbors couldn't understand why someone would do that, but Hines' father-in-law thanked the Fairfield Police and Fire departments for their support and quick action.

"We feel that this crime was a random act of violence," said Jim Wessel, Hines' father-in-law. "We are confident that the juvenile justice system will handle this in an appropriate manner."

www.channelcincinnati.com/news/4782860/detail.html

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Boys Enter Pleas For Vandalizing Soldier's Memorial
Sentencing Set For October

POSTED: 6:32 pm EDT August 11, 2005

FAIRFIELD, Ohio -- Two teens entered true pleas Thursday for the vandalism of a fallen soldier's memorial, News 5 reported.

The boys, 13 and 15 years old, pulled up 20 American flags from Pfc. Timothy Hines' father-in-law's front yard and set them on fire under a car.

The boys were charged with one count of arson each. They will be on home incarceration until sentencing in October.

Both were ordered not to contact the victim and to go to school.

Investigators said the boys were not aware that the flags were displayed as a memorial and they felt remorse for their actions.

According to police, the boys also admitted their involvement in other acts of vandalism in the area. For those crimes, they were charged with two counts each of criminal mischief

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Outreach for Hines family comes from afar
People contacting the Echo wanting to help


Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Every time Sandi Snyder hears about someone from the military dying in the Iraq war, it reminds her of the son she lost to the war.

Snyder lives in Berkeley Springs, W.V., and is one of almost a dozen people who have e-mailed the Fairfield Echo asking how they can help the family of Pfc. Tim Hines Jr., who died July 14 in Washington, D.C., from wounds he suffered in Iraq.

“My husband and I pray daily for our ‘military family’ around the world,” Snyder wrote. “We are a Navy family; a daughter and three sons were in the Navy. We have lost one of those sons, so the loss is always fresh, it never goes away and it will never heal. We lose our son over again, every time we hear of a fallen soldier.”

Hines was mortally wounded on Father’s Day when the convoy he was attacked by a road-side bomb on a Baghdad highway. He died almost a month later at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and left behind his pregnant wife, Katy, who is due any day with son Noah, and 2-year-old daughter Lily.

Katy and Lily are with her parents, Jim and Kathi Wessel, on Sando Drive.

Hines was buried July 22 at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, and was awarded at the funeral service the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Army Good Conduct Medal for his actions in Iraq.

Audri Cid, like Snyder, is a member of Soldier’s Angels, an organization started in June 2003 by the mother of a fallen soldier in the Iraq war. Cid, of Westfield, Mass., heard about Hines’ story from a friend in Ohio, who read it in the papers. She wants to help the family because “this is what Soldier’s Angels is all about, showing our troops and their families that we support them no matter what. May we always remember Tim.”

She is trying to get a “living legend” tree donated to Hines’ family. This story is compelling to her because her husband and father have been lost.

“Most compelling of all, a soldier was so moved to protect my freedom as an American, and to keep the land I love safe, that he gave everything he had to give to keep his promise,” Cid wrote. “He fought for what he believed in and was a true hero.”

Starr Thieme, of Yuma, Ariz., heard about Hines’ story from her son, Sfc. Danny Weakley. He escorted Hines’ body to Fairfield from Washington, D.C.

“Our whole family is moved about the military sending an escort home with every soldier if they die,” Thieme wrote. “My heart goes out to Tim’s family and I cannot get the picture of Danny taking Tim home out of my mind.”

Lavine Kirkley, of Naperville, Ill., has a son in Ramadi, Iraq. She doesn’t hear from her 22-year-old son often, so she checks icasualties.org/oif three times a day.

“I guess I think I get up to the minute news from this Web site,” she wrote. “Also, it gives me a chance to put names in my prayers for the fallen soldiers and injured.”

She read Hines story and “it just touched my heart to want to do something more.

“Our government only helps so much and we need to be there to help each other just as Tim stepped up to the plate to do his part to keep Americans safer at home,” Kirkley said.

Locally, scores of people have contributed to support Hines’ family and in-laws. When two teens burned 20 to 30 American flags under a car belonging to Hines’ sister-in-law, Sara Wessel, two Union, Ky., men put up a 20-foot flag pole and gave the Wessel family two flags.

The Cheviot chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart will present two plaques to Hines’ family.

Donations to the Pfc. Timothy Hines Fund can be made at any Fifth-Third Bank branch. Donations can also be made to the Timothy Hines Memorial Scholarship at the Fairfield Community Foundation. For more information, call 829-6355.

Contact Michael D. Pitman at [phone] or [e-mail].

www.fairfield-echo.com/hp/content/news/stories/2005/08/03/fe0804hinesresponse.html

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Two teens in court for flag burning
Display was at home of deceased soldier’s family

By Michael D. Pitman Fairfield Echo

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

David Krause was elated when he heard Fairfield police arrested two teens they believe are involved with the arson at his neighbor’s home, the in-laws of a fallen Iraqi war soldier.

The teenage boys, 15 and 13, were arrested last week after police said they admitted setting 20 to 30 American flags on fire beneath Sara Wessel’s vehicle in the early morning hours of July 23, the day after her borther-in-law, Pfc. Tim Hines, was buried. Fairfield police Lt. Ken Colburn said the boys did not know the significance of the display.

The boys had a preliminary hearing Wednesday morning in Butler County Juvenile Court. They each face one felony county for arson and two misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief for vandalism in two other incidents the same morning.

The Wessel and Hines families heard a car horn around 5:30 a.m. July 23 and saw flames shoot out of the vehicle’s windows. No one was injured in the incident.

Krause said the neighbors on Sando Drive and the immediately surrounding streets were upset about the arson, and he is amazed how strong the family has been.

“They had been a rock. We went along with what ever they wanted. Nothing seemed to knock them down,” said Krause, who lives next door to the Wessel’s corner home. “I talk with him once a day, at least to say hello.”

Lorna Martin lives across the street and a couple houses down from the Wessels. She said everything on the quiet street has been normal despite the overwhelming community support.

“If I was ever in their situation, I would hope for the same support,” Martin said. “I was relieved to find out it was teenagers that didn’t know the family. I’m sure the family is relieved to know so they can get on with grieving. With all the aftermath, they never had the chance.”

In the wake of the fire, neighbors, members of the Hamilton Veterans of Foreign Wars post and strangers donated scores of flags to the Wessels and their neighbors.

Two Union, Ky., men put up a 20-foot flag pole and gave the family two flags, Wessel said earlier this week.

Hines, 21, died July 14 from injuries suffered while serving in Iraq. He was mortally wounded on Father’s Day when a road-side bomb exploded as the three-vehicle convoy he was in drove by along a Baghdad highway. He died almost a month later at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He is survived by his wife, Katy, who is expecting son Noah any day, and 2-year-old daughter, Lily. The family of Hines’ widow lives at the home involved in the arson.

Colburn would not say what led to the arrest.

Contact Michael D. Pitman at [phone] or [e-mail]

www.fairfield-echo.com/hp/content/news/stories/2005/08/03/fe0804hinesarson.html

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Fallen Soldier's Widow Gives Birth

POSTED: 9:56 pm EDT August 16, 2005
UPDATED: 11:06 pm EDT August 16, 2005

FAIRFIELD, Ohio -- A few weeks after his father died from war wounds and teenagers vandalized a family memorial, a baby brought joy back to the Hines family Tuesday.

Katy Hines gave birth to Noah Timothy James Hines. The 7-pound boy and his mother are doing fine, a family friend told News 5.

Pfc. Timothy Hines died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center last month from injuries he suffered during a roadside bomb attack in Iraq on Father's Day.

A few days later, someone pulled up dozens of American flags from the yard of Hines' father-in-law and set them on fire under car in the driveway. The car, which belonged to Hines' sister-in-law, was destroyed. Two juveniles were arrested.

The locally based Impact a Hero organization is building a house for Katy Hines and her two children. Impact a Hero provides emotional and financial support to families of troops killed and wounded in action.

You can donate online at impactahero.com.



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