Funeral set for Oklahoma soldier killed in Afghanistan

Tuesday, October 4th 2005, 4:55 pm

By: News On 6

The family of an Oklahoma soldier is struggling to come to grips with his death. US Army Staff Sergeant John Doles was killed in an ambush Friday in Afghanistan. The 29-year-old was an Army paratrooper from Chelsea.

Doles' father says though his sonâ€™s death is painful, he's proud of his son's commitment to his country. Gene Doles: "My first thought was, 'what are you, crazy? And then he told me he was going to train for Airborne Ranger, and then I knew he was nuts. I said, 'thatâ€™s going to put you in the hottest, the midst of every hot zone around.' And he said, 'that's what I want to do. I owe it to my country to give it my all, and he has now."

Doles leaves behind a wife and two children.

His funeral will be held in Chelsea next Tuesday at 2 PM. The funeral home in Chelsea has an on-line condolence book that Oklahomans can sign. It is available at www.seaman-blanke.com.