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Steven Checo Lived For Military Service
Aired December 23, 2002 - 14:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Another American soldier has paid the ultimate price in the war on terrorism. The body of Sergeant Steven Checo heads back to the United States now. The paratrooper died after being shot Saturday in a gun battle in eastern Afghanistan.
CNN's Jason Bellini has more on this young man.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Army's 82nd Airborne division, training in the desert of eastern Afghanistan. Sergeant Steven Checo was on this exercise, a requirement for troops newly arriving in Afghanistan.
On September 23 and 24th, a CNN producer interviewed the 22-year- old.
SGT. STEVEN CHECO, U.S. ARMY: It is my first time working out in the desert, and if you are not physically fit, basically, it's really hard. So -- just be physically fit, and the environment wears you out real quick, compared to how we train back in the States.
BELLINI: This training taking place at Tarnack Farm (ph), where al Qaeda groups once trained themselves, shown in tapes obtained by CNN earlier this year.
There, Checo trained for the job his friends and relatives say he loved. His mother, a Dominican immigrant, and his sister, living in Elizabeth, New Jersey were visited by those sharing in the loss.
(on camera): Do you know the last time the family spoke with him?
GILBERT CHECO, STEVEN CHECO'S UNCLE: He wrote a letter to my daughter in November 1.
BELLINI: What did he say?
G. CHECO: He was looking forward to coming back in February.
BELLINI: In February?
G. CHECO: Yes. That he hated the food over there. That was the only thing he complained about, the food. The only thing. That was the only complaint about it. He didn't care about the conditions, how he was living, anything like that. About the food. That was it.
BELLINI: Did he think his job was an important one?
G. CHECO: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. He loved it.
BELLINI: The refrain from friends and from family who come by to visit his mother's house is that Checo has long been passionate about the military, growing up in a rough neighborhood of Washington Heights, he joined the ROTC when he was in high school with a dream of leaving the city and serving his country.
(voice-over): A boyhood friend...
(on camera): Do you know why he joined?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was in his blood, I guess. That's all he wanted to do.
BELLINI: It is all he wanted to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
BELLINI: What was he like growing up?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great kid.
BELLINI: Was he proud to be in the military?
G. CHECO: That was his life. That was his life. He love it.
BELLINI: Why?
G. CHECO: He loved being in the service.
BELLINI: Why?
G. CHECO: Why? That, you would have to ask him, and it's too late.
BELLINI: Too late to know where else in the world his career, his dreams would take him.
Jason Bellini, CNN, Elizabeth, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 23, 2002 - 14:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Another American soldier has paid the ultimate price in the war on terrorism. The body of Sergeant Steven Checo heads back to the United States now. The paratrooper died after being shot Saturday in a gun battle in eastern Afghanistan.
CNN's Jason Bellini has more on this young man.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Army's 82nd Airborne division, training in the desert of eastern Afghanistan. Sergeant Steven Checo was on this exercise, a requirement for troops newly arriving in Afghanistan.
On September 23 and 24th, a CNN producer interviewed the 22-year- old.
SGT. STEVEN CHECO, U.S. ARMY: It is my first time working out in the desert, and if you are not physically fit, basically, it's really hard. So -- just be physically fit, and the environment wears you out real quick, compared to how we train back in the States.
BELLINI: This training taking place at Tarnack Farm (ph), where al Qaeda groups once trained themselves, shown in tapes obtained by CNN earlier this year.
There, Checo trained for the job his friends and relatives say he loved. His mother, a Dominican immigrant, and his sister, living in Elizabeth, New Jersey were visited by those sharing in the loss.
(on camera): Do you know the last time the family spoke with him?
GILBERT CHECO, STEVEN CHECO'S UNCLE: He wrote a letter to my daughter in November 1.
BELLINI: What did he say?
G. CHECO: He was looking forward to coming back in February.
BELLINI: In February?
G. CHECO: Yes. That he hated the food over there. That was the only thing he complained about, the food. The only thing. That was the only complaint about it. He didn't care about the conditions, how he was living, anything like that. About the food. That was it.
BELLINI: Did he think his job was an important one?
G. CHECO: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. He loved it.
BELLINI: The refrain from friends and from family who come by to visit his mother's house is that Checo has long been passionate about the military, growing up in a rough neighborhood of Washington Heights, he joined the ROTC when he was in high school with a dream of leaving the city and serving his country.
(voice-over): A boyhood friend...
(on camera): Do you know why he joined?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was in his blood, I guess. That's all he wanted to do.
BELLINI: It is all he wanted to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
BELLINI: What was he like growing up?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great kid.
BELLINI: Was he proud to be in the military?
G. CHECO: That was his life. That was his life. He love it.
BELLINI: Why?
G. CHECO: He loved being in the service.
BELLINI: Why?
G. CHECO: Why? That, you would have to ask him, and it's too late.
BELLINI: Too late to know where else in the world his career, his dreams would take him.
Jason Bellini, CNN, Elizabeth, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
