FRUITLAND, Md. - Family and friends are remembering the 25-year life of Specialist Jacob Mullen, a Fruitland native who died during a training mission in Georgia.
Mullen, along with Staff Sergeant Shelbe Butner were killed when their Army vehicle rolled over into standing water at Fort Stewart near Savannah, Georgia on Thursday night.
Mullen's mother Linda Mullen is remembering her son for his love of service and family.
"Jacob was always a team person, he played football in high school, he wrestled in high school, he played bocce on the unified team. He was always about the team," she said.
Jacob Mullen was a father of two, with another child on the way. Linda Mullen says besides his military role, father was his next most valued title.
"He wanted to be a dad from the time he was a kid, like 8 years old. And when his son was born, Axel is his greatest sense of pride, and then Josephine came along and started to teach him what it meant to be a girl dad," she said.
Being so close in age, Jacob Mullen's aunt Nicole Finney was more like a sibling to him.
"He was always with me. And that's not to say we were best friends, we fought like brother and sister do. I was just really proud of the man he turned out to be," Finney said.
Linda Mullen says she does have questions about how this could have happened: "I want to understand why this happens. And when are you going to do something different because people shouldn't die training," she said.
Linda Mullen says she met with the funeral home on Monday to determine arrangements. A funeral time and location will be announced in the near future.
Jacob Mullen was a Parkside High School graduate, and a member of the wrestling team. In a statement, the team said "He was always a reliable, hard working student-athlete who strived to improve each year which was especially evident by his commitment to the weight room in the offseason."