HOULTON, Maine — Less than a month ago, Jeff Swimm of Houlton had a surprise encounter with his friend and former colleague, Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Henderson.
The two met in a grocery store while Henderson was visiting his family, caught up for a few minutes and exchanged phone numbers.
So when Swimm got a text message Monday telling him that Henderson had been severely injured in an improvised explosive device attack in Afghanistan, his heart sank. His stomach lurched. He sat at home and wondered if there was anything he could do.
The next morning, he awoke and checked Henderson’s Facebook page. And that’s when he learned the truth.
Henderson was dead. There was nothing he could do.
“I saw all of the [memorial] messages on his page and I think I cried for about an hour,” Swimm said Wednesday. “I mean, I just saw him three weeks ago. It’s crazy. I just saw him.”
Henderson, a member of U.S. Army A Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, died Monday at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan from wounds suffered in the attack on Sept. 30 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Henderson was a Special Forces communications sergeant in a company headquartered at Fort Campbell, Ky., according to information provided Wednesday by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
This was his fourth deployment in support of combat operations.
Henderson completed three deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom before his most recent deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Swimm and Henderson met when they were teenagers, having just graduated from high school and taken jobs at a Houlton gas station.
Hardworking, kind and close to his family, Henderson had a personality “that just stuck with you,” Swimm said Wednesday.
“He was quite a character,” he said. “We would hang out after work and on weekends sometimes, and we had a lot of fun together. He loved to fish and was really into sports. We worked together for a couple of years.”
Lori Weston, community development director for the town of Houlton, said it was Henderson’s “gregarious” character that helped draw him close to her three sons. The friendship meant lots of get-togethers between the two families. Henderson’s mother, Christine, and older brother, Sam, live in Houlton. His father, Dallas, a successful insurance salesman, died in 2010. A beloved figure in the community, Dallas Henderson once jumped into a swollen river behind his office to save two teenagers who had been swept away by the current and were struggling to get to shore.
“Our families just melded together immediately,” Weston said. “There were lots of baseball and basketball games. Aaron was just such a unique guy. You felt his presence when he came into a room. When he talked to you, he really talked to you. He focused. He listened. Everyone else and everything else just melted away.”
Being a Green Beret was a “natural fit” for Henderson, she said.
“He was doing something on a grander scale to help people,” she noted.
Her three sons are devastated and in disbelief over the death of their friend.
Weston visited the Henderson family Tuesday evening.
“Their hearts are shattered,” said Weston. “They are still mourning the death of a husband and father. Christine described it as ‘surreal.’ It’s just almost too much to bear.”
Henderson had a tight bond with his older brother, she said.
“Sam and Aaron weren’t just brothers, they were best friends,” said Weston. “It was Sam who was first notified that Aaron had been injured. He is inconsolable.”
At Hodgdon High School, which Henderson graduated from in 1997, a sign outside the school states: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Henderson family.”
On Wednesday morning, WHOU, a Houlton radio station, held a moment of silence on the air before playing music in his memory.
Funeral arrangements were pending Wednesday afternoon.
Swimm, reflecting on that last visit in the grocery store, said he told Henderson that the two should get together for a drink the next time he visited.
Henderson agreed.
Swimm paused as he remembered that final goodbye.
“I wish we’d had that last drink,” he said Wednesday.
War casualties are usually just a number or a name, until you know the fallen hero or their Family. SFC Henderson will be long remembered, and may he rest in peace.
Very nice tribute Jen. He looks so much like his dad in this photo.
He was a wonderful young man who will truly be missed by his
community. On Nov. 2, 2010 we lost 1st Lt James Zimmerman
and now Sgt 1st Class Aaron Henderson. We will forever be
indebted for their sacrifice and that of their families. Please
keep them in your prayers.
De Oppresso Liber
Rest easy brother
Wow. What a beautifully written story by Jen Lynds. My heart is breaking for this family, for his friends and loved ones. So handsome, obviously a nice guy, patriotic, a leader. Through the talent of Ms. Lynds, those qualities have been illustrated for us beautifully. I can’t put into words how deeply I hurt for this family.
Sgt. Henderson’s untimely demise should serve as a reminder to all of us that freedom isn’t free. Another true patriot just payed the ultimate price. Rest in peace Sgt. Henderson, and thank you for your service and your sacrifice.
Thank you Sgt. Henderson for your service! To his family – thank you so much for your sacrifice! May his memories live on and bring you comfort at this time.
All gave some, some gave all. Please think about the Men and Women who do this for us.
I don’t think the Henderson family would appreciate the inference of their fallen son/brother/hero “going out for a drink”. This well-respected, Christian family most likely has better memories to fill their minds with than this weak representation. Poor taste Jen Lynds.
Are you serious? Christians can’t drink? They weren’t talking a raging kegger, it was “a drink!” I am sure that Mr. Henderson would have NEVER looked down upon someone who drank once in awhile. Give me a break, man!
Green Beret.That says a lot.Sounds like he was an outstanding young man in every way.Thoughts and prayers are with this heroes family.God bless.
Aaron was an extra special man, just as he was an extra special Green Beret. I knew Aaron growing up in the same school, and had the same group of friends later in life. I, and our friends, shaved his and our other friend’s head the night before they left for basic training, so they’d be clean cut. A few of us shaved our heads with them, so we were all in the same boat. We had a week-long going away party and I’ll hold on to the memories of the great time we all had with Aaron.
For those that didn’t know Aaron, he was extra special. Extra special smile, extra special personality, and a way of making you feel important because he cared about what you had to say. The kind of guy that everyone should have had the privilege to know. Obviously, it was this extra special personality that allowed him to succeed in the Army and become an elite Green Beret.
I am honored and humbled to have known Aaron, to have laughed and talked with Aaron, and to have been in the presence of his glowing personality and greatness.
Aaron we love you and miss you. Thank you for your service and sacrifice that us civilians can not even begin to wrap our minds around. To his family; God bless you all. I’ll see you around Hodgdon soon, and am forever grateful for your son, his sacrifice, and your sacrifice as a family.