U.S. soldier, former Los Altos resident,

Staff Sgt. Sean Kane, who grew up on Dallas Court in Los Altos and graduated from Homestead High School in 1988, narrowly escaped death on Aug. 18 in Iraq when an Iraqi civilian intercepted a suicide bomber reportedly attempting to detonate an explosive near Kane’s squadron. Kane, 37, and soldiers from the 3rd Squadron, 1st Calvary regiment were meeting with an Iraqi civilian who provided information about terrorists to the military. When one of the informant’s sons noticed a bomb on a man coming down the street, Kane jumped up, preparing to shoot. The Iraqi’s 17-year-old son ran toward the bomber and pushed him, causing the bomb to explode into his own body. Debris from the blast struck Kane, leading him to believe that his own body had been thrashed as well. The teen and the bomber died. No others on the scene were killed or wounded. “I have no doubt the bomber was trying to kill American soldiers. It was very calculated the way the bomber tried to do it,” Kane said. “If he (the teen) hadn’t intercepted him (the bomber), there is no telling how bad it could have been.” Kane said he has learned to keep his emotions in check over such incidents. “I’m in charge of 18 soldiers. They depend on me to keep my head on straight,” he said. The man Kane and his squadron were meeting with is part of the Concerned Citizens of al Arafia, a group of 53 Iraqi civilians who work in conjunction with the military and patrol the community located north of Jisr Diyala, which borders Baghdad on the southeast. The report of the incident came to the Town Crier Aug. 20 from the Multi-National Division Center. The Town Crier spoke with Kane about a week after the incident, and he talked optimistically about the war in Iraq, saying that the surge is working. “We’re fighting al-Qaida and they’re losing. We’re getting to their financial guys (who are funding the terrorist activities) and we’re pulling them out one by one,” Kane said. His comments come amid testimony before Congress this week by Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, both of whom reported U.S. military progress in Iraq and pleaded with representatives for more time and patience. Recent polls continue to show the majority of Americans oppose continued military presence in Iraq. Kane joined the military straight out of high school, tried civilian life for about four years, then joined the U.S. Army Reserves after Sept 11. His parents, Terrance and Virgi, now live in Santa Cruz and Milpitas, respectively.