Soldier from Miami drowns in Baghdad pool during break
Associated Press
(www.militarycity.com)

Pfc. Charles M. Sims, 18, drowned on Friday, the Department of Defense said Sunday. Sims was assigned to the 549th Military Police Company in Fort Stewart, Ga. The death is under investigation, military officials said.

Sims’ mother, Andreta Horne-Hester, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that her son began having problems when a piece of candy lodged in his throat.

“He was in a pool, and he panicked and went under, and he was choking. When they cleared his airway, it was too late,” Horne-Hester said.

She said her son, a graduate of Carol City High School in 2002, always wanted to be in the Army, enrolling in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps in ninth grade. He would have turned 19 on Oct. 20, she said.

“My baby was a sweet, brilliant child. Everybody loved him,” Horne-Hester said.

PFC CHARLES M. SIMS
Miami, Florida
("Casualties" - The Anniston Star)

Charles M. Sims set his sights on the Army in the ninth grade, enrolling in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.

He enlisted after high school in Miami and was sent to Fort Stewart, where he served as a military police officer.

Pfc. Sims, 18, drowned in a Baghdad swimming pool Oct. 3, 2003.

He would have turned 19 on Oct. 20.