Jellico High graduate killed in tragic humvee accident in Iraq

When three-year-old Mikkah Siler talked with her father, Sgt. Alfred “Barton” Siler on May 24, she told him all about the garden she helped her mother plant that day, and all about the lettuce, tomatoes, and onions that went in the ground.
“She said, ‘Daddy, I planted us some sandwiches,’ that is one of the things that stays with us,'” said Mikkah’s mother, Jenny Siler, who lives in the Boston community of Whitley County.
At the time, there was no way for Barton Siler, or his daughter, or former wife to know that this would be the last time they would ever speak.
The next day, Siler, who was with his 278th Regimental Combat Team in Iraq, died when the Humvee he was riding in swerved to avoid a civilian and struck another vehicle. He was an eight year veteran of the Tennessee National Guard, and was the turret gunner on the Humvee that crashed.
“Barton made the ultimate sacrifice. He volunteered to go. It is a great loss. Heaven’s gain, but a great loss,” Jenny Siler said. “Barton was fighting for a just cause. There is a good cause out there for this.
“We may think that it is more political than anything, but there are kids growing up over there that shouldn’t have to grow up in the fighting and that kind of thing. We are over there for a reason. It may be political for the politicians in D.C., but over there, Americans have a heart, and we are over there for a reason.”
Jellico Mayor John Clifton, who was Jellico High School Principal when Barton was a student there, remembers him fondly.
“He was one of the finest young men,” Clifton said. “He was a great student. He had a tremendous attitude. He was a pleasure to have all four years. Even at that age he was very mature, and he was one of the most patriotic young men that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
“I was always proud of him. Right now it has been a sad time for me, but I will always be even more proud of him for the sacrifice he made for us and his country.”
Jenny Siler said she met her former husband in 1997 when both were serving in the Tennessee National Guard.
Jenny Siler said Barton Siler was called up for training last June, and that he shipped out for duty in Iraq on Dec. 15. Barton Siler was originally scheduled to come home June 1, but that his tour got extended another month.
Jenny Siler said that Barton Siler’s main job was listed as a gunner on the Humvee, but that he saw his true job as helping Iraqi children.
“If he had any kind of candy in his pocket, they would run up to him to get it. He was just really great with the kids over there. When he got over there, he realized that was his purpose for being there,” Jenny Siler said. “It wasn’t fighting terrorists. It was helping the kids.”
Jenny Siler said the military contacted Barton’s father on May 25, and that Barton’s brother called her hours later about 1 a.m. on May 26.
“The whole Siler family was shocked by it. It was just unreal,” she said.
Clifton said a veterans local honor guard and the Jellico High School JROTC had already planned a Memorial Day weekend ceremony for Saturday, May 28 when they got the news on May 26 that Siler had died, and decided to modify the ceremony in tribute to Siler.
“It was a very moving ceremony. There were more than a few moist eyes in the crowd, I can tell you,” Clifton noted.
Funeral services were held this past Saturday.
“Folks from all over the county lined the funeral procession route,” Clifton said. “They had out signs proclaiming him a hero. America flags from all indications were just everywhere. Folks just really showed their appreciation, and the feelings that they have in suffering such a loss.”
Clifton noted that the 278th is the guard unit that most guardsmen from Jellico are in, so it had very close ties to the community with several current and past members attending both ceremonies.
“I served in that unit several years myself. I had just left the unit when Barton came in,” Clifton said. “After it was deployed, we were fearful that we would get some bad news somewhere down the line. We were praying that we didn’t, but we were just very fearful. When it did happen none of us were prepared for it.”
Jenny Siler said one memory her daughter has is that Mikkah and her father had planned a trip to the beach when he got back from Iraq.
“He had planned, and that is what she expected. She would talk to him, she would ask, ‘When are we going to the beach daddy?'” Jenny Siler said. “Mikkah has got some memories, but there have been babies born that will never know who their daddy is. Our hearts go out to them.”