(Host) Montpelier is mourning the death this morning of Vermont National Guard member Sargent Jamie Gray. The 29-year-old from East Montpelier was killed Monday in Iraq when his armored vehicle drove by a roadside bomb.
The mayor of Montpelier, Mary Hooper, has a close connection with the family.
(Hooper) “We’re deeply, deeply saddened and I wanted to just offer our deepest sympathies and condolences to Jamie’s family. He wasn’t a resident of Montpelier, but we think of him as a member of our community and really feel diminished by our loss. His dad was the director of Public Works at City Hall. So Steve Gray – his dad – is a friend of mine and all of us in City Hall are sad and mourn Steve’s loss, which is so terribly personal. And so very public too.”
(Host) Mayor Hooper says the Grays are a very private family, and wants the city to honor the family’s requests in recognizing their son.
(Hooper) “They’re a very quiet family, a very private family. Steve was deeply proud of Jamie. There is a very nice picture of him above Steve’s desk at City Hall. But no, there wasn’t – he was very proud of his son, but he didn’t say an awful lot about it, other than to know he was worried. And proud.”
(Host) The Montpelier City Council meets Wednesday night. Mayor Hooper says she’ll talk about how the city will honor the fallen soldier at that time.