A One-Two Punch

Goose Creek recovers from back to back loss of soldiers, friends

Jennifer Iler
November 26, 2012
Last Edited: February 22, 2014

            Two Goose Creek High School graduates and United States Army servicemen died this year, stunning the Goose Creek Gator Battalion cadets. Both Private First Class Julian Colvin, 21, and Specialist Francisco Serrano, 21, participated in GCHS's JROTC and served in the United States Army after graduation. Goose Creek is a community right next to the Joint Base Naval Weapons Station. The high school is only a few minutes away from the base, so military sacrifices are a usual part of the community. Losing two very young men, however, was exceptionally hard.       

               “I was extremely upset,” said Julianna O’Shields, a Booster Club Member for the Gator Battalion. “To hear that one of our cadets had lost their life defending our freedom, hit very hard.” Her son, Sean O’Shields, graduated with Colvin from GCHS in 2010, and also participated in the JROTC program as the school’s cadet battalion commander. He’s leaving for his first deployment to Afghanistan in a couple of weeks.


          "We've been putting all these kids in the military for all these years and I'm starting to think that it's not the right thing," said Lt. Col. John McInerney, Senior Army Instructor for the Gator Battalion.

            Colvin (shown right) joined the military out of Birmingham, Al. in 2011. He went to basic training in March. Afterwards, he went to Ft. Benning to Airborne School. Colvin was killed by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) while conducting a dismounted patrol in Afghanistan in July.

            “I still saw him as the little kid I used to play with,” said Alfred Colvin III, Julian’s brother, who also participated at GCHS’s JROTC program. “I couldn’t believe it. I can’t begin to tell you where it has led my life.”

          "He was a favorite of the children around the camp," said Lt. Col. McInerney. "He'd use extra money to buy candy and share with the kids."

          Alfred says Julian loved children and was a camp counselor at Camp North Star in Birmingham, Al. He also volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club and at the Naval Weapons Station’s Teen Center.

            Sergeant E5 JaChristopher Thompson graduated with Colvin in 2010 and was also a member of the Gator Battalion as the cadet battalion executive officer. He said, “[Julian] was the most respectful and humble person. Always smiling. He is a true hero and I wish I could be half the person he was.”

            Serrano (shown right) served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. He was home on leave when he died in a motorcycle accident.

            “Just because he didn’t die in combat doesn’t mean we weren’t going to include him [on Veteran’s Day],” said McInerney.

           The first cadet the Gator Battalion lost was Private First Class Dustin Yancey in 2007. His sister Kimberly was still in the JROTC program when her brother died, so it had a large impact on all of the kids.  Yancey was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. Since Colvin died in July, many of the students at Goose Creek and members of the Gator Battalion didn’t feel the full impact until the Veteran’s Day assembly, said McInerney.

            About half of the Gator Battalion is ruled out of joining the military due to medical conditions, such as asthma and heart murmurs. The other half will typically enlist after graduation or college, if they enlist at all. A select few will get ROTC scholarships, but it doesn’t happen very often.

         “The JROTC is not a funnel program for the service; the mission is to make better citizens,” said McInerney.

          The cadets of Gator Battalion have used the loss as a wake-up call. Senior Joshua Binnarr is worried about the possible sacrifice as he gets ready to attend Basic in June. Another GCHS graduate and four year ROTC scholarship recipient at the University of South Carolina, AJ Needler, said that he’s prepared to die doing what he loves and lives for. The heavy military presence in Goose Creek is also reflected at the school itself. McInerney said, “Those flags we hang out in front of the school - If they’re not up correctly, or up on time, the principal will get quite a few phone calls.” 


            “Mr. Huskey is a veteran. Most of the teachers are veterans.” he said.

            This year the Gator Battalion is made up of 380 cadets. It usually is made up of 450, but the new seven-block schedule required the program to drop a class. Last year, the GCHS JROTC was the largest battalion in S.C.

          Lt. Col. McInerney said the community has been very fortunate to have lost so few soldiers compared to the number of soldiers they’ve put into the military.