Phila. soldier dies in Afghanistan

It was 4 a.m. Saturday in Kandahar the last time Pfc. John Kihm talked to his mother on the phone.

Deployed to the war in Afghanistan in March, Kihm wanted her to know that he had the date for his forthcoming R&R. He would be home for 15 days, starting July 8.

He loved the Phillies, said his mother, Cecelia, on the phone Wednesday from the family's home in the Castor Gardens section of Northeast Philadelphia. So, she told him, she would try to get five tickets so the whole family could catch a ball game.

"I know they're going to win," Kihm had predicted, because he would be at the ballpark.

Kihm, 19, part of the Army's 10th Mountain Division infantry unit, died Tuesday, April 19. He is the 86th soldier from the eight-county Philadelphia region to die in the war since the terrorist attack on Sept. 11. The Army gave no details on his death, and his family said they had not yet received word on how he had died.

Tall, baby-faced, with blue eyes, Kihm was an honor student at Cardinal Dougherty High School, where he competed on the wrestling team, often with his dad cheering from the stands. He also ran on the school's cross country team.

"He was a really great kid, really smart," said Larry Teal, a former coach and teacher at Cardinal Dougherty. Kihm also enjoyed watching ultimate fighting competitions, and listening to the music of Sam Adams.

He graduated with the Class of 2009, and attended a semester at Pennsylvania State University's Abington campus.

"But his love of the Army was all his life," said his mother. "He was patriotic since he was little. I have pictures of him holding the flag."

Teal also remembered Kihm's passion to serve.

"He wanted to go to the service all through high school," the teacher remembered.

Kihm enlisted in March 2010, on St. Patrick's Day, said his mother, and landed at Fort Benning, Georgia two days later, March 19, on St. Joseph's Day, a holiday to honor a saint who helped the poor. After his training, Kihm went to Fort Drum, N.Y., in August as part of the 10th Mountain Division. Once his mother joked to him, "You didn't get the memo. The war's all over, and they're sending you back to me."

"No, Mom," Kihm said. "This is really where I want to be."

"And it broke my heart," his mother recalled. "But I know it's what he wanted."

Kihm found his way home many weekends, on leave from Fort Drum. He was so humble, his mother said, "he didn't want to ever wear his uniform out."

Kihm was deployed last month to Afghanistan. He had been in Kandahar for 31 days.

"Part of me can't believe it," said his mother, her voice cracking in sobs.

Kihm's awards and decorations for his service include the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

He comes from a big, Catholic family, including two older sisters and cousins, aunts, and uncles, his mother said.

His mother and father will bring his body to Philadelphia Thursday from Dover Air Force Base. Funeral arrangements are being planned, the family said, and services will be held after Holy Week.