A Valdosta man was one of three sailors from Whidbey Island Air Station, Wash., — all members of a bomb-disposal unit — killed Friday in Iraq, the Department of Defense announced Monday.

The three are the first Whidbey sailors killed in the Iraq war.

They were identified as Petty Officer 1st Class Joseph Adam McSween, 26, of Valdosta; Chief Petty Officer Gregory J. Billiter, 36, of Whidbey Island; and Petty Officer 2nd Class Curtis R. Hall, 24, of Burley, Idaho.

John Klimko, McSween’s youth pastor at Central Ave. Church of Christ in Valdosta, described the sailor as the kind of man who loved to help others and who got along with everyone.

“He studied and was really interested in the ministry,” the pastor said. “He conducted services for the shut-in and did yard work for the elderly.”

As a high school student, McSween often prayed, preached and led singing during church services. His faith was always important to him, Klimko said.

McSween is survived by his wife, Erin, and daughters Lily, 5, and Gwyneth, 2, of Oak Harbor, Wash. McSween, the son of Bob and Florence McSween, had two brothers, Robert and Kyle, and a sister, Angela. He attended Valdosta High School and graduated from Georgia Christian. McSween went to York Christian College in York, Neb., on a track scholarship.

While McSween was in college, Navy recruiters approached him. Fascinated by the military and the idea of working with explosives, McSween also couldn’t resist the Navy’s offer to pay for further education.

“He really believed in protecting and defending our country,” Klimko said.

McSween attended Oak Harbor Church of Christ, where he was friends with State Rep. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor. “Adam believed in community, and he was actively involved in it and in the church,” Bailey told The Herald Newspaper of Everett, Wash.

McSween, Billiter and Hall were assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit 11. Explosive ordnance disposal personnel are highly trained technicians who are experts in identifying explosive materials and rendering them safe. After two months of recruit training, disposal experts go through more than a year of training on explosives as well as SCUBA diving and parachuting.



• Krista J. Kapralos of The Herald in Everette, Wash., contributed to this story.