Grieving girlfriend pens emotional eulogy for US soldier who died in Lamu attack
The girlfriend of the US military service member who was killed during Sunday’s Al Shabaab attack in Lamu, has said she did not approve of him working in Kenya.
In a series of emotional posts on Facebook, the woman by the name Bajah Crane, described the fallen soldier, Henry Mayfield Jr, as his ‘best friend’.
The social media post has photos of Crane and the deceased hanging out together.
“I cannot believe I lost you,” Crane, who also serves in the US military, wrote.
“Please stop asking me am I okay. No, I’m not. Just lost my best friend (so) what in the world would make you all think I’m okay,” she further wrote.
“Why just why God. My best friend. Why did God take you away from me? I never wanted you to be deployed. I never wanted you to be in Kenya. I just wish I could talk to you once last time. This breaks my heart so bad Mayfield. It broke me knowing you was leaving for 9 months and it hurt even worse knowing you really left this world,” she went on.
OTHER CASUALTIES
The US military has since confirmed in a statement that Henry Mayfield Jr. was killed in the dawn attack alongside two contractors while two of his colleagues were injured.
Stephen Townsend, who is the commander of US Africa Command, also confirmed the incident.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of our teammates who lost their lives. As we honour their sacrifice, let’s also harden our resolve. Alongside our African and international partners, we will pursue those responsible for this attack and Al Shabab, who seeks to harm Americans and US interests.”
Manda Bay is used by the US military to train African partner forces, respond to crises and to protect US interests in the region.