N.H. man, 23, among 31 killed in Iraq crash

MERRIMACK, N.H. -- While leading the Merrimack High School Tomahawks football team as quarterback, Timothy Gibson was fearless. But as a Marine corporal in Iraq, he encountered a bewildering world of violence that shook him.

''He said that he thought he was doing good and that he was helping people, but it was different than anything he could have expected," said his mother, Elaine, adding that her son had been part of the intensive siege of insurgents occupying Fallujah last fall.

''He said he wanted to sit down and talk about what he had been through," she said. ''Now we'll never know."

Gibson, 23, died along with 29 other Marines and a Navy medic when their helicopter crashed Wednesday during a sandstorm in Iraq, on the most lethal day for US troops since they invaded Iraq in March 2003. He was just over two weeks away from ending his tour of duty in Iraq.

Yesterday, word that a local soldier had perished in the crash spread across Merrimack, and a conflict that for many seemed remote was brought home with painful clarity.

''You hear about all these people dying over there, and you feel bad for them, but it's not the same, because you don't know them," said Joe Raycraft, athletic director for the Manchester School District and Gibson's former football coach, who first heard the news late Wednesday. ''It was a very sad night."

Gibson was the seventh New Hampshire soldier killed in Iraq. Governor John Lynch called the Gibson family yesterday to express his condolences.

Funeral plans have not been set. The family is considering establishing a scholarship at Merrimack High in their son's name.

In high school, Gibson emerged as a leader, an amiable teenager whose kindness seemed to transcend cliques and social boundaries.

Raycraft said Gibson wasn't a particularly gifted athlete, but compensated with his personality. ''You couldn't find a better kid," he said. ''He was a great leader. Kids would come to him for help. He would keep kids in line."

Gibson played football -- he wore number 10 -- and baseball, and grew close to a small band of athletes at Merrimack High. But his view of people was expansive.

''He treated everybody equally; he never put himself above anybody," recalled Raycraft. ''He believed everyone had a purpose in life."

After graduating in 2000, Gibson attended Dean College in Franklin, but soon decided he wasn't ready for undergraduate life.

A number of friends from Merrimack High had joined the military, and he followed, enlisting in the US Marine Corps.

Gibson was stationed at a Marine base in Kane'ohe Bay, Hawaii. It was an idyllic setting, but his unit would soon see deadly days in Iraq. In November 2004, a car bomber killed seven of Gibson's fellow Marines outside Fallujah, the unit's deadliest day since the Vietnam War.

Yesterday, Elaine Gibson sadly looked through some of her son's letters from Iraq. In one, she said, he wrote: ''This has been a very different experience than I could ever imagine. I hope maybe someday to sit down with you and dad and talk about what I've done here."

An American flag and red Marine Corps flag flapped from a pole in their front yard yesterday.

Gibson's father, Tom, pointed at a yellow ribbon hanging on the tree in their front yard.

''A neighbor of ours had it hanging on her front door; then she gave it to us," he said. ''Didn't work though."

Linda Peterson, the Gibsons' next-door neighbor, recalled how Timmy Gibson defended her son against neighborhood bullies.

''Timmy lived everyday with gusto," she said.

Her husband, Joe, said the last three years have been nerve-racking for the Gibson family. Gibson's younger brother also served with the Marines in Iraq, but he is now back in the United States.

Gibson was scheduled to leave Iraq on Feb. 12, and his discharge was set for April.

He had mentioned moving to upstate New York and becoming a state trooper, his family said. But at 1:20 a.m. Wednesday, about 220 miles west of Baghdad, that dream ended.

A mammoth CH-53E helicopter was transporting the Marines, when a sandstorm caused it slam into the ground, killing all 31 on board, including Gibson.

An investigation into the crash is continuing.

''We were fortunate to have known him for that short period of time," Raycraft said. ''He gave us more than we gave him."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. Raja Mishra can be reached at rmishra@globe.com.