Father of Houston soldier shares new details about his son's death
SUGAR LAND, TX (KTRK) -- The father of a fallen solider shared his son's story just days after his death. He's hoping his son's death will bring change, so no other family suffers the same loss.
Jim Moriarty spoke to the Rotary Club in Sugar Land on Wednesday.
Every year around Veterans Day, the club pays tribute to those who have served.
RELATED: Local U.S. serviceman among three killed in Jordan military base attack
This year, the reality of the ultimate sacrifice was felt throughout the room.
"I don't want to come out here and bawl my soul in front of you," Jim Moriarty told the crowd as he chocked-up." I want... to be like my son."
Last week, 27-year-old special operations Army Sergeant Jimmy Moriarty was killed, along with two other soldiers.
His father said four soldiers were in what was deemed a safe zone in Jordan right outside of their base. His father said suddenly a Jordanian opened fire, killing three of the soldiers.
"The gunman opened fire on my son. Fortunately, one other survivor on this mission, the only armed with his pistol, takes this guy down," said Jim Moriarty.
Moriarty said he wants to ensure that no other family goes through what he's going through. He said too many soldiers are dying and the U.S. has soldiers in places and countries where it's not safe for them to be.
"One radicalized Muslim changed the game and he murdered my son," said Moriarty.
Moriarty told the crowd at the Rotary Club that the war in Iraq was a mistake.
"Let me tell you the real price of war. It's not money. It's our kids," said Moriarty.
It was a message Moriarty planned to share with Hillary Clinton, if she had been elected president.
He's known her since at least 1992. He hosted a fundraiser for her. He shared a photo with 13 Eyewitness News. It was a picture of the Moriarty family with Hillary Clinton and Jim was holding his son Jimmy who was three years old at the time. Jim wonders if Clinton would remember the moment, the photo or even Jimmy.
Years have passed since then. Jimmy Moriarty grew from a boy to a man, to a hero who paid the ultimate price.
There will be a service for Jimmy Moriarty on Saturday at Annunciation Orthodox School at 2:30.
