Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Mount Airy soldier killed
Sgt. Anton Hiett dies in Afghanistan while helping clear route


By Sherry Youngquist
JOURNAL REPORTER

MOUNT AIRY
Sgt. Anton Hiett of Mount Airy, a 25-year-old Army reservist who volunteered
to go to Afghanistan last year because he felt as though he needed to help
his country at war, was one of four soldiers killed Sunday in an explosion
there.
Hiett, a medic, leaves behind a wife, Misty, and a 2-year-old daughter,
Kyra.
The Army sent two men to knock on his wife's door in Mount Airy on Monday
morning, and she immediately called Hiett's parents, George and Angela
Hiett.
George Hiett, a Vietnam veteran, said he supported his son's decision to go
to Afghanistan. The two had talked about the risks, and the younger Hiett
knew that it was not going to be easy.
"You know, we live in a free country, but no one wants their child to die,"
said George Hiett, also of Mount Airy.
"I also know that somebody has to fight the battle, and freedom has a
price."
Family members say that Hiett asked to transfer to the 391st Engineering
Battalion, which has companies based in Asheville and Spartanburg, S.C.,
when it looked as though his Reserve unit would not be deployed.
Hiett was with a group of soldiers clearing a route in eastern Afghanistan
when an improvised explosive device went off, killing him and three others.
The others are Staff Sgt. Joe Ray of Candler; Spec. Joshua Hill of
Fowlerton, Ind.; and Sgt. Kevin Akins of Oglethorpe, Ga.
Misty Hiett, 23, told The Associated Press that her husband had just moved
to the area where the attack occurred, identified as the Pech Valley in
Kunar province by Col. Jim Yonts, a military spokesman in Kabul,
Afghanistan. She said that her husband called Saturday night after he
arrived, telling her that he had a mission scheduled for the next day. "He
was going to call me when he got back - which he didn't," she said.
Hiett said that her husband, who drove a truck for Swift Transportation,
joined the military out of high school and "wanted to go help out" during
the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. After transferring to the
391st, he deployed April 22.
The couple were married only a few months before he deployed. Anton Hiett
was supposed to have returned home in about 30 days.
When George and Angela Hiett first learned of their son's death, it didn't
seem real, they said.
George Hiett said that it seemed that his son had always persevered in
everything he did and found a way "to make it through."
Hiett, one of four children, graduated from North Surry High School in 1998.
He enlisted in the Army that same year and went to Fort Benning, Ga., for
basic training. He began his military career as an infantryman but later had
a desire to become a combat medic. After serving four years, he became a
reservist.
Friends describe him as having a big heart and always going the extra mile
to help others.
Leslie Moore of Winston-Salem said that Hiett was a dedicated father and
husband and someone that others went to when they just wanted someone to
listen to them.
"He was very funny, very compassionate," she said. "He was trustworthy, a
person you could confide in and talk to and trust. If he could help you in
any way, he would."
Family members say that no funeral arrangements have been made. They do not
know when Hiett's body will be returned to the United States.
George Hiett said that he is proud of his son.
"We're still proud of him.... It was a choice he made. I supported him in
that choice," he said. "He felt like he needed to go. His whole life's goal
was to make a difference in other people's lives."
.. Sherry Youngquist can be reached in Mount Airy at (336) 789-9338 or at

.. The Associated Press contributed to this article.