Steven M. Packer, Army, Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Steven M. Packer, 23

Army, Sergeant
Based: Ft. Drum, N.Y.
2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: May 17, 2007
Rushdi Mullah, Iraq
Engaged
Gender: Male
Hometown: Clovis
High School: Clovis High (Clovis)
Burial: Fresno Memorial Gardens, Fresno

"He just longed to be back home with his family,"
his mother said.

Soldier Memorialized at Distant Patrol Base
By Sgt. Christina Mc Cann
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DRAGON, Iraq – It was a great loss to Company A when Sgt. Steven Packer, from Fort Drum, N.Y., was killed May 17. He was mourned during a memorial ceremony Saturday at Patrol Base Dragon, Iraq.

Soldiers of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) paused from their duties as warriors to remember one of their fallen.

Sgt. Jairo Aquino, a member of the unit and a native of New York, N.Y., was close to Packer.

“I was deployed before with him,” Aquino said. “I called him Richie Rich, because he looked like the cartoon character. He was funny, a good friend, and would always help. The first time I deployed with him, it was only three weeks after I got to the unit, and he was the first person I met in the company. He helped me, on and off duty both. He was by my side through everything I’ve been through here.”

Sgt. Mike Schoenbauer, a team leader with the company, was visibly emotional as he spoke about Packer.

He said they met at basic training in 2002 and became fast friends, were sent to 2-14 at the same time, deployed together with the unit in 2003 and again in 2006.

“He would always stop what he was doing to help someone … My emotion is because I miss him. It was an honor to serve with him,” said Schoenbauer.

He recalled a time after their arrival at Fort Drum when most Soldiers were gone on block leave, but he and Packer had just taken leave to move to the new post, and stayed behind. They were placed on gate guard over Christmas. To make up for a lousy holiday, they spent New Year’s Eve in the barracks hallway, boxing.

“That ended up with Steve on the floor, knocked out,” Schoenbauer said, laughing despite his sadness.

Schoenbauer said that the company received a letter from Packer’s stepfather – a turnabout from the usual letters written by comrades to the family – that said the unit had their “deepest condolences.”

“We should honor him, his family, his sacrifice, until our mission is complete,” Schoenbauer said. “Then we can raise a glass to Steve, and to all our brothers lost.”

In addition to his mother and stepfather, Packer is survived by a brother, Christopher, 24; a sister, Danielle, 20; and two half brothers, Jason and Zachary, both 6.

Read an LA Times article about Army Sergeant
Steven M. Packer,

find more at Military Times

and visit Sergeant Packer's Guest Book.

Command Sgt. Maj. Clyde Glenn, mourns fallen comrade Sgt. Steven Packer at a memorial ceremony May 26 at Patrol Base Dragon, Iraq. Packer was killed May 17 by an improvised explosive device. \

Lever Action Figure

Sunday evening Bible study.

Joshua R. Whitaker, Army, Staff Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Joshua R. Whitaker, 23

Army, Staff Sergeant
Based: Ft. Bragg, N.C.
1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: May 15, 2007
Qalat, Afghanistan
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Long Beach
High School: Millikan Senior High (Long Beach)
Burial: Artesia Cemetery, Cerritos

Army Staff Sgt. Josh Whitaker was fiercely protective of the two teenage cousins he considered little sisters. He was scandalized when the girls shopped at Victoria's Secret, and he liked to warn them over the phone from Afghanistan that he'd chase after any boys they dated.

That deep loyalty to his family and friends extended to his elite Green Beret team. Returning from a successful mission near Qalat, Afghanistan, Whitaker and the rest of his convoy were ambushed by Taliban fighters May 15 southwest of Kabul.

According to the Department of Defense, Whitaker manned a .50-caliber turret gun, killing five militants in a firefight as he provided cover for two vehicles behind him. But he was mortally wounded by a shot to the underarm that struck behind his protective vest. He had saved nine fellow soldiers' lives.
...
Whitaker was big-hearted but tough; his Army buddies dubbed him "Iron Man," [his girlfriend Star] Boyd said.

He told a close friend, Matt Miller, that his deployment to Afghanistan on his birthday, March 10, was the best present he ever received.

Once, while shooting squirrels in the mountains, Whitaker accidentally blasted himself in a thumb with his BB gun but was too embarrassed to tell anyone, said Miller, who got to know him well in high school.

Fearless, Whitaker would stick up for his buddies in fights.

"He was a presence," Miller said. "That's how much he meant to people."

He and Miller planned to live next door to one another someday and start families as best friends, side by side.


Etched on Miller' bicep is a tattoo identical to Whitaker's: Latin for "Friends for life."


In addition to his mother, uncle, aunt and cousins, Whitaker is survived by his father, Frank Dougherty of El Monte; two great-uncles, Tom and Dick Whitaker; and a great-aunt, Ann Napier.

Go here to read the whole story of Army Staff Sergeant Joshua R. Whitaker in the LA Times.

Find more at Military Times

and visit Sergeant Joshua R. Whtaker's Guest Book.

Israel Matzav: Israelis urged to fly the flag

Israel Matzav: Israelis urged to fly the flag

Intefatigable Shomron Mayor Gershon Mesika is calling on Israeli citizens to fly Israeli flags on their vehicles and homes, as well as post pictures of the Israeli [flag] on their Facebook accounts this coming Sunday.

Prodigy Interlude -- Tchaikovsky Files

From the movie  He ni zai yi qi

Trailer.

Situational Ethic -- Sarah Palin Files

Courtesy of Sarah Palin Revolution
Via Texas for Sarah Palin

Compare and contrast: Sarah Palin, Mrs. Bill Clinton.
Compare and contrast: Sarah Palin, Mr. Michelle Obama.

Michelangelo A. Mora, Army, Private 1st Class -- Rest In Peace

Michelangelo A. Mora, 19

Army, Private 1st Class
Based: Ft. Polk, La.
3rd Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: May 14, 2004
Najaf, Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Arroyo Grande
High School: Arroyo Grande High (Arroyo Grande)
Burial: Arroyo Grande Cemetery, Arroyo Grande, Calif.

I was in basic with Mora. Of all the people there I remember him the most. He could not be broken. He was a strong young man and someone who never failed to help lift up a smaller, or weaker friend.
I think about you all the time my friend... I expect you to be there at the pearly gates with a smile on your face and a story or 2 for me. Miss you brother

— Blake Rampy
October 3, 2010 at 6:15 a.m.

"mora, this world hasn't been the same since your departure, i believe i speak for the majority of us when i say that most of 3/2 never left najaf, and we are still wandering the desert. may you be in a better place than us, and may you know peace, i love you brother, i will see you soon.

scouts out"
PFC Van Auken, Jason of albuquerque NM USA

Mora, who had been in Iraq almost a year, was originally scheduled to come home in April, but his tour was extended, his father said. He was killed May 14 when his military vehicle overturned on a road in Najaf, according to military officials.
...
Mora was born in East Los Angeles, but his family moved to Arroyo Grande, a coastal town north of Santa Barbara, when he was an infant. His father said the family was looking for a better life away from the big city.

"Michelangelo was one of those kids who didn't have a shy bone in his body," his father said. "He was the loud one, the one who wanted to be in the middle of everything. Everybody knows him here. Everybody who met him, he made sure nobody forgot him."

An avid skateboarder and outgoing young man, Mora attended Arroyo Grande High School for two years, but as his grades declined, he looked for a way to get back on track, his family said.

Mora decided to enroll at Grizzly Youth Academy at Camp San Luis, a military-style high school program operated jointly by the California National Guard and San Luis Obispo County Office of Education.

Mora, a lanky kid, thrived in the structured program, attending classes between making his bunk, marching and performing physical fitness exercises with other boys and girls.

"I found him to be very bright," said Capt. John Oberg, who operates the academy. "He had a lot of energy about him. He sort of had a light about him that just kind of made those around him like him and made the place a better place for everybody."



 Oberg and Mora's family agree that the academy sent Mora in a positive direction. The teenager liked the military structure so much, they said, that he decided to join the Army after he completed the academy's program in June 2002.

Mora completed basic training at Ft. Knox, Ky. He was deployed to Iraq in July.

In the last few weeks, Mora had told his parents that he was worn down by daily attacks on American troops. "By the end of April, he just wanted to come home," his father said, adding that Mora had asked him to arrange for a family vacation in Cancun, Mexico. "He should have been home."


Mora is also survived by his mother, Maria Mora; and a brother, Julian Andrew, 12.

Read the entire LA Times article about Army Private 1st Class Michelangelo A. Mora here.

Find more at Military Times, f

ind messages and memories of Private Mora at Fallen Heroes

and visit Private Michaelangelo Mora's Guest Book.

Drill, Sister, Drill -- Sarah Palin Files

Under drilling -- from Sarah Palin -- on gas prices,

Obama flips on domestic production

President Gutsy announced today:

...the government would hold annual onshore lease sales in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve; extend the life of leases in the Gulf of Mexico and in some areas off the coast of Alaska for one year; speed up ongoing Interior Department testing in the mid- and south-Atlantic to gauge the level of resources; and establish an interagency task force to coordinate permitting for offshore drilling in Alaska.

The White House is making the policy shifts after taking intense criticism from Republicans in recent weeks over energy policy as gas prices have topped $4 per gallon in some parts of the country.

Even Republican primary loser Senatress Murkowski (I-Rino), invoking Heaven while channeling Sarah Palin, her better, didn't sound stupid for once:

Alaska's senators, Republican Lisa Murkowski and Democrat Mark Begich, Rep. Don Young (R) and Republican Gov. Sean Parnell have been pushing the Obama administration to allow more drilling in their state's federal lands, but have been frustrated by the White House's resistance.

"For heaven's sakes, if we can't drill in the National Petroleum Reserve — an area specifically designated by Congress for oil and gas production — where can we drill?" Murkowski, the ranking member of Energy and Natural Resources Committee, asked at one point.

Read it all at The Hill.

Thank you Governor Mrs. Todd Palin.



Shabbat Shalom

ShopRite:

Rhys W. Klasno, Army National Guard, Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Rhys W. Klasno, 20

Army National Guard, Sergeant
Based: Bakersfield
1114th Transportation Company
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: May 13, 2007
Haditha, Iraq
Married, 1 child
Gender: Male
Hometown: Riverside
High School: Woodcrest Christian High School (Riverside)
Burial: Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside

Rhys became close friends with my son in the 5th grade. He was a unique young man who was very confident and self-assured even at a young age. When his parents tried to talk him out of joining the National Guard he would not be deterred. It was something he felt a deep passion about doing. He cited John 15:13, 'No greater love has any man than to lay down his life for his friends.'
The mission Rhys was on the day he died was one he volunteered for. Whenever help was needed he was there. He was truly one of the finest and best of young men and should never be forgotten.

— Doris Diaz
May 27, 2008 at 1:50 a.m.

When we got to Fort Bliss, TX, before the unit shipped to Iraq, I told Rhys and the rest of the soldiers that we cannot choose the time and fashion of our passing, so the important thing is not how we died, but rather how we lived. Few of us have lived so well as Rhys. To be admired and respected by all who met him, even at such a young age, is a mark of honor. I'm proud I could serve with this great American, this amazing human being, however briefly. I miss him. The world is diminished since he left us.

— Major Ken Koop
January 11, 2009 at 6:11 p.m.

On May 13, however, he was killed when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in Haditha, northwest of Baghdad.

"He went off to do what his country asked him to do," Klasno's father, Michael, said of his son, a devout Christian who led a Bible study group for troops in Iraq.

He said his son never felt conflicted about serving there. "He told me, 'This is what the country needs and this is what God is telling me to do.' "

Klasno, the 24th California National Guardsman to be killed in action since the Sept. 11 attacks, was posthumously promoted from specialist to sergeant. In addition to his wife and father, he is survived by his mother, Lynn Jardinico of Moreno Valley.

Read the entire LA Times article about Army National Guard, Sergeant Rhys William Klasno here. Find more about Rhys William Klasno at Military Times and at his mother's blog Sgt Rhys William Klasno.

William A. Farrar, Jr., Army, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

William A. Farrar Jr., 20

Army, Specialist
Based: Darmstadt, Germany
127th Military Police Company, 709th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: May 11, 2007
Iskandariya, Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Redlands
High School: Palm Springs High (Palm Springs)
Burial: Riverside National Cemetery

His e-mails from the war were upbeat. "He actually liked eating the food, which was the funniest thing I heard," said the elder Farrar, whose son was a famously picky eater. "He talked about his computer games and asked about his younger sisters."

Farrar wasn't one to pour out his feelings about life in the war. He was the quietest of three brothers, a sensitive, patient, determined young man with a dry wit. He and his father would watch the Mel Brooks comedy "Spaceballs" over and over, until they could beat the characters to their lines. His favorite hobby was playing paintball.

Farrar would always be there to play games with his younger twin sisters, now 11, when his brothers would not.

Fallen Heroes Project

In April, his dad was trying to coordinate a vacation to visit family in Wisconsin in anticipation of his son's finishing his tour, presumably at the end of this year. Farrar told him he had a girlfriend, Nancy, in Germany -- his first serious one -- and wasn't sure if he could make it to the U.S. on his short leave. That was the last his dad heard from him.

In the late afternoon of May 11, an Air Force chaplain and an Army sergeant in full uniform knocked on the front door of the Farrars' home in Redlands.

Farrar, 20, was killed that day when his convoy was struck by a roadside bomb in Iskandariya, south of Baghdad.

"We always thought about it," Farrar's father said. "But you never think it's going to actually happen. Personally, I never thought this would happen."

His mother, Sally Bors, found out the next day at the Palm Springs motorcycle shop she owns. "A gentleman in a uniform approached me," Bors told the Desert Sun newspaper. "I kept telling myself that he wasn't in an Army uniform -- that he wasn't looking for me."

As a result of his actions on May 11, Farrar, a graduate of Palm Springs High School, was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. He also received an Army combat medal. Farrar was buried May 25 at Riverside National Cemetery.

Read the entire LA Times article about Army Specialist William A. Farrar Jr. here.

Find more at Stripes and at Military Times.

Visit Specialist William A. Farrar Jr.'s Guest Book.

A firing party stands outside the chapel at Cambrai-Fritsch Kaserne during the memorial ceremony for Spc. William A. Farrar Jr.,

Army Specialist William A. Farrar Jr. previously remembered on Boom3.

Steven Hutchison, Army, Major -- Rest In Peace

Steven Hutchison, 60

Army, Major
Based: Ft. Riley, Kan.
2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: May 10, 2009

Basra, Iraq

Widowed, 2 children

Gender: Male

Hometown: Long Beach
High School: Wilson High (Long Beach)

It is never to late to present sincere condolences to the family of a fallen soldier. It is always the right time to remember that I served under his command in Afghanistan and he was like a father to me there. It will never be the same without him arroud. May God rest his soul.

-- February 16, 2011

-- PT Alin GHEORGHE, Roumanian Army

When his fourth wife, Kandy Rhode, died of cancer in 2006, Hutchison was devastated. He put his house in Scottsdale, Ariz., on the market and signed up for the Army's Retiree Recall program, which brings back former soldiers -- up to 64 years old -- who want another shot at active duty.

The decision shocked many in his family.
Hutchison was sent to Ft. Riley, Kan., where the Army's transition teams train before deployment. When he arrived, duffel bag slung over his shoulder, his team members were skeptical; most were three decades his junior.


"I immediately said to myself, 'Are we that desperate that we have to put old people on a transition team?' " Elext Holmes, the team's logistics advisor, recalled at Hutchison's memorial service.

But his men quickly came to respect his quiet leadership. Hutchison never told anyone what to do, but his actions set a high standard. He was always the first to volunteer for grunt work around the base. And after returning from an exhausting patrol, he'd casually ask who wanted to join him for a run.

"He was a psychology professor, and he knew what he was doing," Holmes said.

Hutchison spent the first year of his two-year tour in Afghanistan, the second in Iraq.
His team in Iraq called him "the stubborn old goat." He was set in his ways, had little patience for "New Army" rules, and occasionally ignored some, his family and team members said.

Laia

On May 10, Hutchison left Laia behind when he went out on patrol with his team in Al Farr, Iraq, near Basra. A roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle, and Hutchison died of shrapnel wounds.

He was a month short of his 61st birthday, making him the oldest U.S. casualty in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense.

After a memorial service at Ft. Riley, he was buried in Scottsdale on May 19, and is survived by his mother, brother, a half brother, a half sister and his two daughters.

Read the entire LA Times story about Laia and Army Major Steven Hutchison here.

Find more in the Stars and Stripes

and the Daily Mail

and visit Major Hutchison's Guest Book.

Mary Jane Jaenichen, Army, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Mary J. Jaenichen, 20

Army, Specialist

Based: Ft. Stewart, Ga.
Brigade Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: May 9, 2008
Iskandariya, Iraq
Single
Gender: Female
Hometown: Temecula
High School: El Camino High (Oceanside)
Burial: Eternal Hills Memorial Park, Oceanside

Jaenichen, 20, died of a noncombat-related injury May 9 in Iskandariya, Iraq, south of Baghdad, according to the Department of Defense, which has not released details of an ongoing investigation. It was her only tour of Iraq.

The 2006 graduate had signed up for the Army Reserve at age 17 with the promise of a military-funded college education. She attended boot camp between her junior and senior years.
Her father, Alfred Alan "Jay" Jaenichen of Santa Ana, who recently retired as a Marine master sergeant, said she was serving as a military police officer at a "detainee holding area" -- a prison.

He said it was hard for her: "The detainees were young kids -- 17, 16 -- and they'd be there crying. She told me, 'I'd like to comfort them, but knowing why they're there, I couldn't do it.' "

At his daughter's request, he sent her coloring books and stuffed animals to distribute to children.

Born in Fallbrook, Mary Jane Jaenichen lived with her mother, Julieta, in Temecula, and, after her parents divorced when she was 11, visited her father and stepmother every other weekend, her father said.

While in Iraq, one comfort was a stuffed doll from home -- a 2-foot-tall Elmo, the lovable Sesame Street figure with the red fur and goofy smile.

"She said she was always saving Elmo from the rest of the squad," her father said. "The guys in her unit would pin him to the dart board. They would hide him. Once they taped him to the front of her Humvee. They would pick on Elmo just to pick on her. . . . But mostly it was in fun."

On her belt loop, Jaenichen wore a brass medallion, a religious token from her mother's Filipino family that her father had worn during the seven months he had served during Operation Desert Storm. "Now I understand some of the stuff you were going through," she wrote him.


He said he treasures a Bible his daughter gave him, with a note saying, "You've done your time. Its time for me to protect the country."


She was buried with a rifle volley salute May 24 at Eternal Hills Memorial Park in Oceanside. Her high school classmates turned out to mourn her.

In addition to her parents, Jaenichen is survived by two half sisters and two half brothers.

Read the entire LA Times article about Army Specialist Mary Jane Jaenichen here.

Find pictures at her Memorial site

and visit Specialist Mary J. Jaenichen's Guest Book.

Warriors Walk adds three more memorial trees:

Julie Jaenichen is followed by other family members as her casualty assistance soldier escorts her to the Warriors Walk memorial and tree dedication ceremony at Fort Stewart.
Jaenichen's daughter, Spc. Mary Jane Jaenichen, was one of three 3rd Infantry Division soldiers remembered at the service. Also remembered were Spc. Kyle P. Norris and Pvt. Ronald R. Harrison .

Read the Savannah Morning News story here.

Army Specialist Mary Jane Jaenichen previously remembered at Boom3.

Christopher Gathercole, Army, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Christopher Gathercole, 21

Army, Specialist
Based: Ft. Lewis, Wash.
2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: May 26, 2008
Ghazni, Afghanistan
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Santa Rosa
High School: Rincon High School (Carpinteria)

October 16, 2008

Funny how things happen Chris, you were weighing heavy on my mind today, and I didn't even realize it was your birthday. You are missed.

~ Jenn Schaefer, Sacramento, California

Christopher Gathercole lived most of his childhood in foster homes, and as he came to the end of his high school education in Santa Rosa three years ago, he considered becoming a police officer. He chose the military instead.

"He was a tough kid, and I'm not surprised he went into the military," said Wes Anderson of San Ramon, who went to school with Spc. Gathercole. He recalled that his friend's road through childhood was rocky, "not having his parents around," but said "he made the best of what he had.

"He was awesome."

The Army Special Operations Command Service reported that Spc. Gathercole specialized in using the powerful, belt-fed MK46 machine gun and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment based at Fort Lewis, Wash. He died near Ghazni, which is in the eastern sector of Afghanistan.

Spc. Gathercole had earned the National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge and the Ranger Tab. He was posthumously awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal.

"He wanted to change himself, and he wanted to change the world around him," his 23-year-old brother, Edward Gathercole of Santa Rosa, told the San Rosa Press Democrat. "In his opinion, he was doing the highest civic duty possible."

Spc. Gathercole is survived by his brother; his father Edward R. Gathercole of Santa Rosa; and his mother, Catherine Haines of Fairfield.

Read the entire SFGate article about Army Specialist Christopher Gathercole here.

Find more about Specialist Gathercole at Military Times

and at Ranger Lead the Way.

Visit Christopher Gathercole's Guest Book.

G.W. Bush & Grandpa John

Tonight's feature from Grandpa John:

George W. Bush Vindicated

Heh.

Saturday Night Pop Oldies Interlude -- Confide In Me -- Diana Ross

Pilot Mans Up -- Boots Qur'an-Thumpers Off His Plane

At last some change the rest of us can believe in.

Robed Muslim clerics kicked off U.S. flight after pilot refuses to take off with them (and they were en route to conference on Islamophobia)

Conference on Islamophobia?

Isn't a phobia an irrational fear?

No fear here. Rational or irrational.

Just don't like the sons'a'bitches.

Two Muslim "religious leaders" were asked to leave a commercial airliner in Memphis -- and were told it was because the pilot refused to fly with them aboard.


'It's racism and bias because of our religion and appearance and because of misinformation about our religion.' Mr Rahman said. 'If they understood Islam, they wouldn't do this.'

Right. Pilots be misunderstanding the Religion of Peace Perps.
More pilots like this, please.
Thank God for the good sense still found in the Bible Belt.
Read the whole story here in the Daily Mail.

Misunderstood clerics: Masudur Rahman and Mohamed Zaghloul

Related Video: Beturbaned mystics:

Brud Joseph Cronkrite, Army, Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Brud J. Cronkrite, 22

Army, Sergeant
Based: Friedberg, Germany
1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: May 14, 2004
Baghdad (military hospital), Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Spring Valley
High School: Mountain Empire High (Pine Valley)
Burial: Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego

From the Iraq Page:

Thursday, May 27 2004 @ 07:55 AM MDT
Contributed by: tomw
Views: 1,827
Associated Press -- PINE VALLEY -- Teachers at Mount Empire High School recalled Brud Cronkrite as a thoughtful and intelligent student who was reluctant to tout his own accomplishments.

Gary Priester, who was the assistant wrestling coach when Cronkrite was on the team, said Wednesday he was glad to hear that the young man from Potrero, in southeastern San Diego County, had been promoted to the rank of sergeant shortly before he was killed last week.
"He didn't blow his own horn when he was doing good. He was always supportive of other kids, but he didn't always get the credit he deserved," Priester said.

Cronkrite, a 22-year-old Army tank crewman, died on May 14 in Baghdad from injuries sustained a day earlier in Karbala, Iraq, in a rocket-propelled grenade attack.

Cronkrite graduated in 1999 from Mountain Empire High, a school of about 450 students, where he also had been a member of Future Farmers of America.

"He was totally a great kid," said FFA adviser Kelly Tulloch, who last saw Cronkrite when he was home on leave in March. "He never gave me an ounce of trouble, ever. If I needed something, I could count on him."

She recalled a time when one FFA student officer suddenly dropped out of an upcoming competition, Cronkrite skillfully stepped into the role, memorizing a presentation.

"He was willing to learn the part and go with us at the last minute," she said. "He did a good job, as good as the other kids who had been practicing for three weeks."

Cronkrite joined the Army in March 2001 and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 37th Armor, 1st Armored Division, in Friedberg, Germany.


He served in Iraq for one year. The family had expected his tour to end on May 1, but it was extended by three months.


His parents, William and Wendy Cronkrite, live in Portrero and a younger brother is a student at Mountain Empire.

Find memories and messages about Army Sergeant Brud Joseph Cronkrite at Fallen Heroes.

The entrance to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego, CA.