MESQUITE — Dustin Vincent carried his military Bible everywhere he went. It was a gift from his pastor three years ago.
But days before he left for duty in Iraq, he gave it to his mother after she pleaded with him to leave it behind.
"I just wanted something that I can feel his presence with me," Marty Vincent explained.
She is now holding on to that Bible during the most difficult times. Her son was killed last week in Kirkuk, north of Baghdad, when the enemy fired at his convoy.
Army 1st Lt. Dustin Vincent was deployed six months ago. It was his first tour of duty.
"I am sad, but I am proud of him," Marty Vincent said.
The 25-year-old soldier always wanted a military career. It was his childhood dream.
He was an ROTC member at Mesquite High School, and during his college years at UTA, he signed up with the Army Reserves.
"I didn't want my baby, you know, to go away, so I told him, 'I don't agree with it, but I'm here to support you,'" Mrs. Vincent said.
Dustin Vincent was also a husband and father. He leaves behind his wife, Samantha. They married two days before he was deployed. He also legally adopted her daughter, Nacomas.
"In case something happened to him that she and the baby would be taken care of," said his mother. "I sometimes think that maybe Dustin knew."
The day after Marty Vincent learned of her son's death, she decided to pick up his Bible. She had not touched it since his deployment.
A purple ribbon marked a page near the end of the volume in the book of Ephesians.
'"That he might comfort your heart,'" read his mother from the sixth chapter, 22nd verse. "It's exactly what it did."
The passage gave her comfort and so much more — a special message.
"I know this Bible has been sitting on a table since Dustin left, and I know it has to be God that knew already that Dustin wasn't going to make it home to Texas," she said.
Funeral services for Dustin Vincent are pending.
E-mail mdiaz@wfaa.com
