Monday, July 28, 2003 | 9:55 a.m.
Las Vegan Christine McGuire says she tries to cope with the death of her 24-year-old grandson, Army Cpl. Evan Asa Ashcraft, by believing that perhaps a bullet from his gun killed either Odai or Qusai Hussein in a raid last Tuesday in the northern Iraq city of Mosul.
"The deaths of Saddam's sons is the only consolation I have," McGuire, of the famed singing group the McGuire Sisters, said Sunday as she mourned for Ashcraft, a sniper in the 101st Airborne Division, who was killed Thursday when his convoy was ambushed in northern Iraq.
"Until it happens to your family you don't fully realize that freedom is not free -- it comes at a price. When my husband David got the call and told me Evan was killed, those were the most horrible words I had ever heard."
Two other soldiers traveling with Ashcraft also were killed when their vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. One of the men was Ashcraft's spotter, the other was his sergeant, Ashcraft's family said.
Ashcraft, of West Hills, Calif., had already had a brush with death in April, his family said, noting he reacted heroically.
In a recent letter home, Ashcraft, said he had been recommended for an Army Commendation Medal with a V for valor for assisting two fellow soldiers who were wounded when their vehicle hit a land mine. Ashcraft, who was sitting between the two, was uninjured in that incident.
"My son loved his country, loved his job and he believed in what he was doing," said Asa Ashcraft, of Woodland Hills, Calif., a Vietnam veteran who had earned the Navy Commendation Medal and a Bronze Star, both with Vs for valor.
"Evan marched to his own drum, that's why it surprised me when he joined the Army, where everyone marches to one beat. But he had told me he was not motivated to work 9-to-5. He wanted a challenge. I was heartened by his letters home because he told us he worried about the younger guys in his unit and was constantly watching over them."
Ashcraft said that based on reports the family has received from the military -- and the proximity of their son's death to the home where Saddam's sons were killed -- Ashcraft was part of the force that engaged in the gun battle at the house in Mosul, 240 miles northwest of Baghdad.
Fighting broke out after members of the 101st Airborne surrounded the villa that belonged to one of Saddam's cousins, a tribal leader in the region. Last week, after the attack, the United States released postmortem photos of Saddam's sons.
Qusai, who was tabbed to be Saddam's successor, ran Iraq's security operations, including militias and the elite Republican Guard forces. Uday, Saddam's eldest son who had a reputation for rape and torture, was in charge of the Fedayeen, the force that fought U.S. troops during the war and in the ongoing guerrilla campaign, as well as Iraq's propaganda machine and its Olympic committee.
There couldn't be more of a contrast between Saddam's family and the McGuires.
Christine McGuire, along with youngest sister Phyllis of Las Vegas and middle sister Dorothy, of Paradise Valley, Ariz., skyrocketed to the top of the pop charts in the 1950s with hits such as "Sincerely" and "Sugartime." Their music embodied an idyllic, sweet and innocent era.
Phyllis McGuire said that while her great nephew never lived in Las Vegas, he visited his relatives here frequently while growing up.
"He was such a special young man," she said. "He couldn't wait to get back home to finish his education."
Evan Ashcraft had planned to attend the College of the Canyons in Southern California and later Cal State Northridge, where he was to major in criminal justice. He wanted to one day join the Los Angeles Police Department, his family said.
Ashcraft's body arrived in Dover, Del., on Sunday and is on the final leg of the trip to Oakwood Cemetery in the Northwest San Fernando Valley, near where he planned to attend college.
Born May 22, 1979, in Panorama City, Calif., Ashcraft was a graduate of El Camino Real High School. He joined the Army in January 2000, his family said.
After boot camp, he married his fiance, the former Ashley Farrell, 23. He was shipped overseas to Iraq in March, his family said.
In addition to his grandmother, father and wife, Ashcraft is survived by his stepmother, Beverly Ashcraft; his mother and stepfather, Jane and Jim Bright; and a brother, Drew Ashcraft.
Services in Southern California are pending.
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