Murchison soldier killed in Iraq

Pvt. 1st Class Allen "Fuzzy" Jaynes

The war in Iraq struck home early Sunday morning when Army officials knocked on Carrissa Pruitt's front door with news her son Army Pvt. 1st Class Allen Brenton Jaynes was killed while on patrol near Baghdad Saturday.

Although the details were sketchy, Mrs. Pruitt said Jaynes, 21, died when an improvised explosive device (IED) hit the Humvee he and three other soldiers were riding in. The three others were injured but survived the hit.

"There's nothing like opening that door and seeing two Army people standing there," she said. "They tried so hard to say it, but I wouldn't let them. I knew why they were there, but they have to say the words. I think the cowards (insurgents) hid behind the bushes and shot at him. They took the coward's way out."

Jaynes was among at least 24 American service members reportedly killed in military operations in Iraq Saturday, the deadliest day for U.S. forces in two years. Since the war began in March 2003, 37 U.S. deaths were reported on Jan. 26, 2005, and 28 on the third day of the U.S. invasion.

Mrs. Pruitt said the last time she spoke with her son was earlier this month.

"I heard from him before Thanksgiving quite a bit, but then nothing for six weeks until right after new years," she said. "He said they had been working a lot and when they weren't working they were sleeping."

Although phone calls were few and far between, Mrs. Pruitt said they often communicated through "my space" on the Internet.

Known to family and friends as "Fuzzy," Army Private 1st Class Jaynes was a 2005 graduate of Brownsboro High School. He joined the Army in October 2004 on the delayed entry program. In July 2005 he left for boot camp in Fort Knox, Kentucky. He then went on to be stationed in Fort Carson, Colorado where he received training as a cavalry scout. He returned to his Murchison home last September for two weeks before returning to Fort Carson to prepare for deployment to Iraq October 9.

Mrs. Pruitt said their conversations usually centered around family as well as his experience in Iraq. The oldest of three children, Jaynes is survived by his sister Stephanie, a junior at BHS, and a brother Bryan, a senior at Jordan High School in Alabama.

"He always wanted to know how Stephanie was doing in school," she said. "We always talked like we were going to talk again tomorrow."

Mrs. Pruitt said she, Allen and Stephanie moved to the area in 1998 from Alabama.

"He loved it here," she said. "He loved Texas. He loved the Horns. You'd think he was from here."

Following their move to Texas, Jaynes became well known among his friends and teachers for his sense of humor and upbeat personality. It was while he played football in 7th grade he picked up his nickname "Fuzzy" when he came to school with a buzz cut.

"Coach Randolph couldn't remember his name one day and called him Fuzzy, and it stuck all the way through high school," Mrs. Pruitt said.

Upon entering high school, Mrs. Pruitt said Jaynes became interested in theater and before long became a favorite among the drama students. He became involved in the technical aspect of theater and soon became a stage manager.

Jaynes will always be remembered as someone who was always fun to be around.

"He had a great sense of family, " Mrs. Pruitt said. "Even his extended family, the theater group. He loved them."

Jaynes' original plan was to join the Air Force, but ended up signing up with the Army, his mother said.

"He just always wanted to go," she said. "He went into the service knowing what he was doing. He died doing what he loved to do...defending his country. He was proud of what he was doing and saw a purpose in it."

Mrs. Pruitt called her son a great protector.

"He was protecting us," she said. "I can't count how many boyfriends he ran off of Stephanie's."

Following his tour of duty, Mrs. Pruitt said Jaynes planned to be a video game designer.

"We called him Mr. Nintendo," she said. "He's been playing video games since they came out."

While in Iraq, Jaynes bought two pairs of brightly colored sneakers and had them shipped home.

"He called and said, `Mom, I'm having some shoes shipped home,'" she said. "When they arrived, I said on his "my space" those are some of the ugliest shoes. But they suited him. I can just see him walking down the road with them on and him smoking his Newports."

Mrs. Pruitt said she doesn't see an end to the war in Iraq any time soon.

"How are they going to end this?" she said. "How are they going to send our babies home? I don't think there will ever be a solution to this because if there was they would have already fixed this."

Holding on to Jaynes' basic training ring that hangs on a chain around her neck Mrs. Pruitt said, "All day we've been saying somebody pinch us and wake us up from this nightmare. This can't be true."

Mrs. Pruitt said she is planning a Texas funeral for her soldier son.

"He's going to go out military style," she said. "But it's going to be a unique funeral. He's going to go out Fuzzy style."

Funeral arrangements are pending at Cooper Funeral Home in Athens. Mrs. Pruitt said it will take at least 10 days before Jaynes' body is returned home.