Lee McCubbins wasn't a close friend, but a friend nevertheless. I first met him in 7th grade as I lined up in front of him on the football field. He was the center and I was the nose guard of arch rivals so we got to know each other very well. Then the next year, we joined forces and played on the same team in junior high school and became pretty good friends.
Later in life, we would cross paths again as he started going to my church. He had studied animal science at Virginia Tech, but somehow ended up in law enforcement, a field that I tried to enter before trucking, but it wasn't meant to be. He served the citizens of Danville, VA for 15 years as a police officer before deciding to contribute to our nation's global war on terrrorism. A man with Lee's skills in SWAT and K9 were in high demand overseas and he found work as a K9 handler with a security company contracted by the U.S. State Dept. He worked in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan; not places that a travel agent would ever try to send you.
Here is Lee's last Facebook post on Christmas Eve. I removed a reference to a family member out of respect during this trying time.
Almost Christmas here....want to take a moment and wish all the guys on the ground here at Kajaki and my family a Merry Christmas!! To the guys on leave enjoy your families my friends!! Merry Christmas to my friends wearing Blue and Brown, stay safe!!!! 21 days!!!!!
On Christmas Day, Lee phoned his family to wish them a Merry Christmas according to the interview
found here. A few hours later, Lee was shot in the back by an Afghan sniper while out jogging with his dog. The fact that it was Christmas Day really adds to the sadness of the story.
There are many civilians overseas helping our military to acccomplish the mission. Many of them have died and we hear very little about it. I wanted to make sure Lee's story was heard and I knew the readers of this blog would appreciate his service to his country and remember the family that he left behind.