Based: Modesto
1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, 40th Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: October 29, 2005
Baghdad (southern area), Iraq
Married, 2 children
Gender: Male
Hometown: Turlock
High School: Ceres High (Ceres)
Burial: Lakewood Memorial Park, Hughson, Calif.
On Oct. 29, [Captain Ramond D. Hill II] and another guardsman were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee in southern Baghdad. The blast followed raids earlier that day that netted 39 suspected insurgents in the area, Markert said.Read the entire LA Times article about Army National Guard Captain Raymond D. Hill II here and read more here, here and here.
Hill was on his way to deliver educational supplies and humanitarian aid to Iraqis affected by military operations, officials said...
"His passion was his family, and the military," said Ron Hill, Ray's brother. "He loved what he was doing."
Hill's unit did a first Middle East tour in 2001, heading to Kuwait as terrorists struck New York and the Pentagon. He returned to Iraq in January.
He wrote his wife, Dena, soon after arriving. Balancing obligations to his family -- including daughters BreeAnna, 13, and Alyssa, 10 -- and the military wasn't always easy or convenient, he wrote.
"My heart aches for the time I am missing; missing important dates, events and special moments. I know you think I see this as just a big adventure and a carefree event for me.
"I admit I was willing to go. After all, this is what I have trained for, for the past 18 years.... If I did not go, someone else would have to."
Hill's unit operates in a heavily Sunni Muslim area that has been a hotspot of insurgent attacks.
Since mid-September, 11 members of the 184th Regiment have been killed. Three officers were fatally wounded in bomb attacks in a single week, including Hill and a colonel, the highest-ranking commander killed in the war.
Ron Hill said his brother, who e-mailed and spoke with family members two days before he died, never expressed despair over casualties or fear for his own safety.
Instead, he was encouraged by the appreciation he received from Iraqis, especially children, Ron Hill said.
"The gratitude he experienced was 'beyond comprehension.' Those were some of his words."
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