Friends of fallen Houston soldier speak of the loss

HOUSTON (TX) - Friends of Staff Sgt. James Moriarty gathered to remember the Houston native on Sunday afternoon.

Moriarty was one of three soldiers gunned down outside an Air Force base in Jordan. Moriarty was serving his third tour in Jordan with the Army Special Forces 5th Group. His father, who served in the Marines during the Vietnam War, called his son one of the finest soldiers he's ever known.

While the risk of loss is ever-present in military service, many of Moriarty's friends say they stills struggle to accept his death.

"Jimmy was that guy that, it never would have been Jimmy," said Steve Geuther, a fraternity brother of Morarity. "You hear something on the news, but Jimmy would never die. It was how we all thought of him; he was invincible."

Since learning of Moriarty's death Friday, friend AJ Daggett described the grieving process, saying, "you don't believe it, you don't want it to be true, you try to rationalize it, that doesn't work, then you get mad, then it starts over."

Friends say Moriarty had hoped to become a Green Beret, and had a longstanding passion for serving others.

The details of why three soldiers were shot outside the Jordan base are still unfolding. Family members of Moriarty are now preparing for a funeral service this coming weekend.