Fort Hood shooting, odyssey of despair, hope

Fort Hood shooting sent wounded warrior, his fiancée on odyssey of despair, hope

12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, October 31, 2010
By DAVID TARRANT / The Dallas Morning News
dtarrant@dallasnews.com / The Dallas Morning News
Lee Hancock contributed to this report.
When Jessica Hansen awoke that Thursday morning, she found a text message on her cellphone.

"Happy Nov. 5th. I love you."

It was from Staff Sgt. Patrick Zeigler of Fort Hood. He and Jessica, a senior at Boston University, met 11 months earlier on Dec. 5, 2008, and they liked to celebrate each new month of their relationship. They kept in constant communication, so when Patrick followed up his text with a noontime call, it wasn't unusual – except for the way it ended:

"I love you, Jessica," he said.

"I love you, too," she replied.

"No, really, I love you," he insisted.

He sounded serious, unlike his usual wisecracking self. She wondered if he was having a hard day.

Hours later, after the news broke of a mass shooting at Fort Hood, after her frantic calls to Patrick's cellphone went unanswered, after the late-night call from Patrick's father telling her Patrick had suffered a gunshot wound to the head, Jessica replayed that last conversation over and over.

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Fort Hood Shooting