SOLDIER FROM A.V. IS KILLED IN IRAQ GI HAD SPECIAL PLACE IN HEARTS.Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer ANCASTER -- A 20-year-old soldier from Lancaster was killed last week in Iraq, the second Antelope Valley resident to die in combat within the past month, officials said Tuesday. Pfc. Walter Freeman Jr., who graduated in 2004 from Antelope Valley High School Antelope Valley High School is located in Lancaster, California and is part of the Antelope Valley Union High School District. It was founded in 1912[1]. It is located in the Mojave Desert. where he was a member of the band, was killed in Baghdad on April 4, when an improvised explosive device Noun 1. improvised explosive device - an explosive device that is improvised I.E.D., IED explosive device - device that bursts with sudden violence from internal energy detonated near his vehicle. "He was a really cool kid. He was kind of quiet, very polite, very well-spoken. Just a really great kid," said Carol Selmser, a neighbor whose children grew up with Freeman. Selmser, who plays the piano for the Antelope Valley High choir, said she used to see Freeman walking to school and would give him a ride. "He was amazing. I am devastated," she said. Antelope Valley High band director Joseph Pincetich said Freeman played the drums in the band for four years. "He was a really great person. He was happy and lively. He always had a smile on his face and laughed a lot. If anything ever got him down, he didn't let it keep him down for long," Pincetich recalled. "The fact that he stepped up to defend his country is more admirable than I can possibly express. He should have a special place in our hearts." Another soldier, Pfc. Derek Gibson,, 20, of Eustis, Fla., was killed along with Freeman, the Pentagon said. Both men were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic deployable unit of maneuver in the US Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branched maneuver brigade, and its attached support and fire units. , 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo. Freeman, a fire support specialist, was deployed to Iraq last October in his first tour of duty. He had enlisted in October 2005, Army officials said. Freeman's military decorations and awards include a National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States military originally commissioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Created in 1953, the National Defense Service Medal was intended to be a “blanket campaign medal” awarded to any member , Army Service Ribbon The Army Service Ribbon is a military decoration of the United States Army which was created in 1981. The Army Service Ribbon is awarded to any member of the U.S. Army (including Reserve and National Guard components) who complete "initial entry training. , and Global War on Terror This article is about U.S. actions, and those of other states, after September 11, 2001. For other conflicts, see Terrorism. The War on Terror (also known as the War on Terrorism Service Medal. Freeman was the sixth serviceman who grew up in the Antelope Valley to die in Iraq. On March 17, Army Sgt. John E. Allen, 25, and three other soldiers were killed in Baghdad when a roadside bomb detonated near their vehicle. A 1999 Palmdale High graduate, Allen was survived by his wife, Aspen. Army Cpl. Ryan J. Clark, 19, a 2004 Antelope Valley High School graduate, died in July 2006 in an Army hospital in Texas of wounds he suffered from an explosion while fighting in Iraq. Clark, 19, had been injured June 17 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Ramadi, an insurgent INSURGENT. One who is concerned in an insurrection. He differs from a rebel in this, that rebel is always understood in a bad sense, or one who unjustly opposes the constituted authorities; insurgent may be one who justly opposes the tyranny of constituted authorities. hot spot in the "Sunni Triangle" west of Baghdad. Marine Cpl. Christopher Leon, 20, a 2004 Lancaster High School Lancaster High School may refer to:
Two local Marines died in Iraq in 2004. Staff Sgt. Allan Walker, a 28-year-old Highland High School Highland High School or Highlands High School may refer to: In the United States:
Walker was one of a dozen Marines killed in combat in the area that day. Walker had been with a unit sent in to aid other Marines who had been ambushed. Cpl. Ian Stewart, a 2001 Quartz Hill High School Quartz Hill High School is a public, co-educational high school located in Lancaster, California. Founded in 1964, it is the third oldest comprehensive high school in the Antelope Valley High School District (AVHSD). graduate whose father is executive director of a Christian camp and conference center in Lake Hughes, died in a December 2004 gunbattle. karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com (661) 267-5744 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color -- ran in AV edition only) FREEMAN |
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