COMFORT, Texas -- Jill Kiehl was in labor in an Iowa hospital in May knowing that her husband would not be around to share in the joy of the birth of their firstborn.

Jill's husband, Army Spc. James Kiehl, had died two months earlier in the same ill-fated convoy in Iraq that Pvt. Jessica Lynch survived.

While her husband was not in the delivery room physically, doctors told Jill Kiehl something strange happened while she was having her baby -- a water faucet kept coming on by itself.

"I knew that even though he wasn't physically with me, he was there," Jill Kiehl said in an exclusive interview Tuesday with KSAT 12 News during a visit with her in-laws in Comfort, her husband's hometown.

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Jill Kiehl Enjoys A Quite Moment With Her Baby

Jill Kiehl said even though her son, Nathaniel Ethan, will never meet his father in person, there will be plenty of family and friends who will make sure the baby learns about his dad's legacy and desires.

"Rebuild cars, go hunting and all the guy stuff," Jill Kiehl said.

Nathaniel's proud grandfather, Randy Kiehl, will be among those who plan to teach his grandson "all the fatherly things."

"Hopefully, grandpa will get that chance," Randy Kiehl said.

Even though the Kiehl's suffered a huge loss, they said the circle of life is complete now that Nathaniel was born.

"It's the one thing that keeps me going," Randy Kiehl said. "Because without that little guy ... there wouldn't be anything else."

"I look forward to life because of him," Jill Kiehl said. "He is the future."