Soldier killed in parachute accident was excited about training

<p>After hearing her daughter's excitement over Army parachute training at Fort Benning, Melissa Adelman thought the next time she heard from her would be after her graduation on Friday.</p><p>Instead, she heard the tragic news from her son-in-law.</p><p>Pfc. Megan Adelman of Alliance, Ohio, died after her chute failed to inflate on the second of five jumps she was to make in the last of her three weeks of training.</p><p>"I thought it was a lie," the mother of the 19-year-old soldier told The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.</p><p>Adelman said she last talked to her daughter on Monday after her first jump.</p><p>"She loved it," she said. "At first she was scared when she saw the doors on the plane open. But she didn't let it get to her and did it."</p><p>After graduating from high school last summer, Adelman joined the Army and attended basic and advanced training at Fort Jackson, S.C. There, she was known as "Speedy Gonzales" for her running skills, her family said.</p><p>She married her high school sweetheart, Pfc. Joshua Tenney, in December. He is assigned to Fort Gordon in Augusta, Ga.</p><p>Early this month, Adelman came to Fort Benning to attend basic airborne training. She was assigned to go to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., upon graduation.</p><p>"She was energetic and full of life," said her sister, Tina King, 25, of Alliance. "She was a kick-butt girl. She took no prisoners. She didn't let anything hold her back."</p><p>King last talked to her sister on Saturday.</p><p>"I wish I could have talked to her longer," she said. "I was in a hurry. I didn't mean to cut our call short, but for some reason I told her, 'I love you so much,'" she said. "She assured us we wouldn't lose her, but then this happened."</p><p>A memorial will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Fort Benning's main chapel. Students from the 1st Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment will escort her body to her hometown.</p><p>Tuesday's accident is the first parachute training accident in nearly 15 years. Spc. Brian B. Williams was killed in February 1990, and 15 days later Pvt. Alan A. Knox fell to his death after attempting to make his third jump.</p><p>Since then, about 200,000 students have made more than 1 million jumps.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x2847398)</p>

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