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Pentagon Announces First Coronavirus Death of a Military Member

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A soldier with the New Jersey Army National Guard died Saturday, becoming the first American service member whose death is linked to the coronavirus.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced the passing of Capt. Douglas Linn Hickok, a physician assistant, in a tweet.

“I’m heartbroken by the loss of @NJNationalGuard Captain Douglas Linn Hickok to coronavirus,” Murphy said. “He was a drilling guardsman and physician’s assistant, originally from Jackson. Our thoughts are with his wife, children, and their family.”

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Hickok had been hospitalized since March 21, according to a statement from the Department of Defense.

“Today is a sad day for the Department of Defense as we have lost our first American service member — active, reserve or Guard — to Coronavirus,” Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said in the release.

“This is a stinging loss for our military community, and our condolences go out to his family, friends, civilian co-workers and the entire National Guard community. The news of this loss strengthens our resolve to work ever more closely with our interagency partners to stop the spread of COVID-19.”

Hickok, a father of four, lived in Pennsylvania and died in a hospital there, Murphy said, according to Stars and Stripes.

Murphy said that during a phone call with Hickok’s widow, she requested that he “make the point when we say stay at home, we mean stay at home.”

“All of us in the National Guard are grateful for his service to our nation, as a citizen and as a soldier,” Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said in a statement.

“All of us are likely to know people directly affected by this virus in the coming weeks,” he said.

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“As our nation fights its greatest challenge in recent memory, we are all going to need draw on our inner strength and resilience to win this war and comfort those in pain. We will prevail — and we each must bring our best selves to the task every day to overcome this as fast as possible for our great country.”

Murphy called up National Guard units earlier this month to direct traffic at testing sites and help distribute food and supplies, according to Fox News.

It was unclear whether Hickok was exposed to the virus during those activities.

Almost 15,000 National Guard members are currently involved in some aspect of coronavirus relief efforts, according to Military.com.

“This response isn’t just about delivering food or supporting COVID test centers,” Lengyel said. “It’s about protecting our children, parents and grandparents. Our nation is looking to the National Guard to help and we can’t let them down.”

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Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack can be reached at jackwritings1@gmail.com.
Location
New York City
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Foreign Policy, Military & Defense Issues




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