Wife of soldier in Iraq awaits account of death

PORTLAND – A Kennebunk woman whose 51-year-old husband was killed in Iraq last summer says she is losing hope that she will ever learn more about the circumstances of his death.

First Sgt. Christopher Coffin, one of the oldest U.S. casualties in the war, died July 1 when his vehicle ran into a ditch in a convoy traveling between Baghdad and Kuwait.

A news release from Coffin’s unit said he died after the Humvee swerved to avoid a civilian vehicle. But the U.S. Central Command reported the day before that a member of Coffin’s unit was killed July 1 when his convoy was hit by “an improvised explosive device.”

Betsy Coffin has been waiting eight months for an official account of what happened to her husband, a member of the 352nd Civil Affairs Command.

“It is hard to understand why this hasn’t been resolved,” Coffin said.

The family asked for an investigation into the incident because of the conflicting reports and received support in the effort to get answers from Maine’s U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.

The Army Adjutant General’s Office announced it would conduct an official investigation.