Death of Iraq war veteran on streets of home leaves grieving parents, friends

His will? To make a difference

Death of Iraq war veteran on streets of home leaves grieving parents, friends

By Jim Sheeler
Rocky Mountain News

A few weeks before Kristopher Mansfield left for Iraq, the young airman looked over at his father and began the conversation they had avoided since the beginning of the war."We went out driving together, and he said, 'Here's a copy of my will,' " said Craig Mansfield. "I said, 'Put that away. You'll be reading mine long before I see yours.' "

For the next several months, the Mansfields avoided newspapers and evening newscasts, anxiously awaiting each phone call or e-mail as their 23-year-old son repaired communications equipment in Iraq.

"He called me once and said, 'An RPG went off today,' " Mansfield said. "I told him, 'Let me tell you something. You're the last of the Mansfield line. The family name dies with you.' "

Earlier this week, just over one year after the senior airman's safe return from Iraq, Craig Mansfield flipped through the file in which he keeps the last will and testament he never thought he would read. It's the same file that includes documents for the case against an accused drunken driver who police say killed his son.

As he prepared for another court hearing, Mansfield sifted through the final pages of his son's life, and thought back to the conversation he never wanted to hear.

"At least we have his will," Mansfield said. "At least we knew what he wanted."

Struck by a car

In the early evening hours of Sept. 4, 2004, Mansfield left his job at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, where he had top-secret clearance to maintain communications equipment. According to Air Force officials, he was dressed in a reflective vest and helmet when his motorcycle was struck by a car driven by 51-year-old Michael T. Miranda.

Police said Miranda – a Denver attorney who specializes in personal injury cases – had a blood-alcohol level of 0.217 percent. That's nearly three times the legal limit. He was charged with vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Denver police recently gave a "neighborhood hero" award to Lee Erzinger, a witness who pointed out Miranda's car to an officer after noticing it in a nearby parking lot.

At a hearing Thursday in Denver District Court – less than two weeks before a jury trial was scheduled to begin – Miranda announced he had chosen a new law firm to represent him and therefore needed more time to prepare. Outside the courtroom, he refused comment.

For Mansfield's family, it was another delay in an agonizing process.

"If I was in that situation – I know there's all these legal issues, but – I would have been apologizing and apologizing," Mansfield said. "If he would just say 'I'm sorry.' Just 'I'm sorry.' "

Inside Denver District Court on Thursday, Kris Mansfield's mother looked over at the man accused of killing her son, and then at the photo tucked into her jacket.

"I remember when he decided to join the Air Force, I asked him why," said Julie Legg. "He had never expressed an interest in the military before. I remember his response verbatim: He said, 'Mom, I'm 20 years old and I want to make a difference.' "

At Buckley, Mansfield's fellow airmen have dedicated a memorial in his honor. At each hearing, airmen sit alongside the family.

"You would never see a young man like Kris in court for something like this because he followed the rules. He was our poster child for safety," said James Lockard, the Air Force casualty officer who supported the Mansfields as Kris was removed from life support, and who has stayed at the family's side.

Before his death, Mansfield had volunteered to return to Iraq "so airmen with families wouldn't have to go," his father said.

Since his son's death, Craig Mansfield has devoted much of his time to speaking out alongside Mothers Against Drunk Driving. He spent Memorial Day with police on roadside sobriety checks.

In a week with two other high-profile deaths involving suspected drunken driving – one involving the death of a woman who was to be married the same day, the other of a father and his daughter – the Mansfields said it's sometimes just as difficult to open the newspaper these days as it was when their son was in Iraq.

"You have so much sympathy for all these families," he said. "We know what they're going to have to go through."

'There's no way'

Shortly after his son died, Craig Mansfield wrote a summary of his son's life to read in court. Then he tried to read it aloud.

"There's no way – no way I would have made it through," he said, regarding the "impact statement" that families are allowed to present to the court in an attempt to convey their loss.

Since Mansfield knew he couldn't read his statement without melting into sobs, he turned to some of his son's friends at Buckley, who helped him compile a videotape of Kris Mansfield's life.

"I want to show this in open courtroom," he said. "Because then (the defendant) will have to see it. Right now, my son is just a guy in the road. I want him to know who Kris was."

In a photo montage, young Kris grows from boy to man, playing hockey, skiing, riding motorcycles to raise money for charity, and – finally – serving his country.

On the videotape, Craig Mansfield then picks up a small white box painted with an American flag.

"Your honor, I'd like you to meet my son," he says, his voice wavering as he holds the urn filled with ashes. "Senior Airman Kristopher Mansfield."

sheelerj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2561