HAVRE – A Box Elder woman whose son was killed in Afghanistan described him as a loving family man, a true friend, an outdoorsman and a hero.
Staff Sgt. Shane Barnard of De Smet, S.D., was killed by wounds sustained May 19 when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was working to defuse another such device. He was 38.
Lois Jones says her son attended grade school in Havre and high school in Great Falls before graduating in Italy. Jones says they moved with her husband, Robert Jones, who was in the military.
Barnard was originally trained as a combat medic and later assigned as an explosive ordinance disposal specialist to the 3rd Ordnance Battalion at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.
He is survived by his wife, Jennifer, and three children, ages 14, 9 and 8. A memorial service is planned June 2 in De Smet.