Colin Powell dies of Covid complications

WASHINGTON – Colin Powell, the trailblazing soldier and statesman, has died from Covid complications at the age of 84.

Powell, who served in the military from the early days of the Vietnam era through America’s first war with Iraq, was the nation’s first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of State.

Upon news of his death, leaders and former colleagues hailed him as a leader and a hero. Former President George W. Bush, whom Powell served as secretary of State, praised him as a “great public servant.”

Powell’s death also triggered reminders of one of the darker moments in his otherwise distinguished career.

After four decades in public service as America’s top soldier, diplomat and national security advisor, Powell’s influence in shaping U.S. diplomacy was later marred by his argument for the Iraq War, which started in 2003. Following America’s entry into lengthy wars in the Middle East, Powell admitted his support for combat in Iraq haunted him.

“It has blotted my record, but – you know – there’s nothing I can do to change that blot,” he said in 2011. “All I can say is that I gave it the best analysis that I could.”

Powell’s family announced his death Monday in a Facebook post.

“General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid 19,” the Powell family wrote on Facebook.

“We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American,” the family said, noting he was fully vaccinated.

The family thanked the staff at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, where Powell was receiving care.

He had multiple myeloma, according to NBC News. It is a type of blood cancer that hurts the body’s ability to fight infections.

Powell, the son of Jamaican immigrants, during the Reagan administration became the first Black national security advisor.

President George H.W. Bush tapped Powell to be the youngest and first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In that role, he oversaw America’s Desert Storm operations during the Persian Gulf war.

After 35 years of military service, Powell retired from the U.S. Army as a four-star general in 1993. He was mentioned as a possible candidate for president several times

In 2001, he became the first Black secretary of State under the younger Bush in a transformative appointment from combat soldier to statesman.

As the nation’s top diplomat, Powell faced an unprecedented assignment eight months into the job when 19 militants affiliated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked commercial airliners with the purpose of carrying out suicide attacks against targets…