Pat "Grandpa" Featherby, Iraq War veteran from Wichita passed away

Pat Featherby, Iraq War veteran from Wichita, dies at 44 
THE WICHITA EAGLE
BY FRED MANN
 12/23/2014

“All you have is each other. Without each other, we would not have made it. There is no question in my mind.”

Spc. Pat Featherby died Dec. 19 at age 44. TRAVIS HEYING FILE PHOTO

Pat Featherby was a bouncer and concert promoter in Wichita when he saw a report on television about American soldiers being ambushed and killed in Iraq. He decided to do something about that.

He signed up for duty with the Kansas Army National Guard at age 35, earning the nickname “Grampa” in basic training.

In the Guard’s 714th Security Force, Spc. Featherby reunited with a childhood buddy, Sgt. Jerry Young. They traveled together to Iraq, roomed together and rode in the same escort convoys in northern Iraq, Young leading the way in the scout vehicle.

Both suffered multiple traumatic brain injuries from roadside bombs.

They talked each other through the war, and after they returned home they talked each other through their lives as they dealt with severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and a host of other medical, financial and social issues.

Mr. Featherby died Dec. 19 of what his family said were service-related injuries. He was 44.
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