Father of slain Marine said his son ‘wanted to make a difference in the world’
BUCKEYE LAKE (WCMH) – Wearing a Marines shirt and a hat to honor his son, the father of a slain service member said the tragedy is still fresh in his family’s minds.
“It’s one of those things where, after a while, you’re just numb talking about it sometimes,” he said. “I’ve had two days and it still hasn’t really sunk in.”
The Wells family, with four generations of military service to their name, is mourning the loss of Skip Wells, who was killed in the deadly shooting rampage in Chattanooga earlier this week that killed six people, including the gunman.
“Skip had a big heart,” Kip Wells said. “He wanted to make a difference in the world.”
The Lance Corporal, who had just finished boot camp, was on temporary assignment in Tennessee.
“We send our service people into harms way overseas,” Kip Wells said. “That tends to be when we worry about them most. We don’t tend to worry so much when they’re here at home, so this is more of a surprise than most people have.”
Funeral arraignments, which will be prepared by the Marine Corps, have not been finalized.