Published: January 11, 2008 12:55 am      

FSU graduate killed in Afghanistan

FAIRMONT — A 1994 Fairmont State graduate who was hoping to make the military his career was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan Monday.

Maj. Michael Green, 36, who was a member of the Army Special Forces command, was killed by a roadside bomb. Word was received in Pascagoula, Miss., by his twin sister, Michelle Green LeBatard, of Gautier. Miss., earlier in the week.

His sister said Green was in Afghanistan to train militia recruits on detecting and disarming roadside bombs.

An Associated Press report from Afghanistan said that two coalition soldiers died Monday when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in the Kot district of the Nangarhar province. The Army had not officially identified Green as a casualty,

In addition to the two deaths, a third soldier was injured in the attack.

According to the AP story, the soldiers were responding to a call from local police, who had discovered a bomb. As the soldiers responded to the first bomb, a second bomb exploded, the story said.

Green’s home was now on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

“He loved the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” his sister said. “He lived all over the world, Egypt, Germany, Kansas, but the Coast was his home.”

“Since he was a little kid, he always wanted to be in the Army,” she said. “He wanted to help other people and serve his country. It was his goal in life.”

Green graduated from Buckhannon-Upshur High School in 1989, where he ran track and cross country. He attended Fairmont State, where he was a member of the school’s ROTC unit.

He had attended Pascagoula High School in Mississippi through his junior year.

He was a fan of Pascagoula native Jimmy Buffett and would fly across the nation to catch Buffett’s shows.

Following graduation from Fairmont State, Green was commissioned into the Army.

“He wanted to make it his career,” his sister said.

Green was a member of the Green Berets, but had not seen duty in either Afghanistan or Iraq. Instead, he was assigned to training troops at Camp Shelby to prepare them to go overseas.

“He felt like he was being slighted,” she said. “He did not want to just send men out, but wanted to serve beside them. He felt there was something that needed to be done. He was trained to do what he did and he wanted to do it.”

In addition to his sister, Green is survived by his parents, Hacy Green Sr. and Jane Green; two brothers, Hacy Green Jr. and Scott (and Elizabeth) Green; three nephews and two nieces.