Rochester infantryman recalled as 'always happy' by former co-worker

By Christian Hill | The Olympian • Published November 21, 2007

Comments (0)

A friend of a Fort Lewis soldier from Rochester who was killed in Iraq said Tuesday that she is having a hard time coming to grips with his death.

Casualties with local ties

* Army Cpl. Christopher J. Nelson, 22, of Rochester died Sunday in Diyala province when a suicide bomber detonated explosives. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, based at Fort Lewis.

* Army Pfc. Michael Pursel, 19, formerly of Lacey died May 6 in Diyala province when a roadside bomb destroyed his vehicle. Pursel was assigned to 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, based at Fort Lewis.

* Army Pfc. Jerome J. Potter, 24, of Yelm died May 3 in Baghdad of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Potter was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, based at Fort Hood, Texas.

* Sgt. Mickel D. Garrigus, 24, of Elma died Jan. 27 in Taji when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat patrol. Garrigus was assigned to the 543rd Military Police Company, based at Fort Drum, N.Y.

* Army Sgt. Justin Norton, 21, of Rainier was killed June 24, 2006 when an improvised explosive device exploded near Baghdad. He was assigned to Fort Hood.

* Marine Staff Sgt. Abraham George Twitchell, 28, of Yelm was killed April 2, 2006, in Iraq when the truck he was riding in rolled over in a flash flood. He was assigned to the 1st Marine Logistics Group, Combat Service Support Group 1, I Marine Expeditionary Force, in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

* Marine Cpl. Joseph Bier, 22, of Centralia died Dec. 7, 2005, from an improvised explosive device in Ar Ramadi. He was assigned to the I Marine Expeditionary Force based at Twentynine Palms.

* Navy Reserve Petty Officer 1st Class Regina Clark, 43, of Centralia was killed June 23, 2005, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device exploded near her vehicle in Fallujah. She was temporarily assigned to II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

* Air Force Master Sgt. Steven E. Auchman, 37, who was living in Lacey while stationed at Fort Lewis, was killed during a mortar attack in Mosul on Nov. 9, 2004. He was assigned to the 5th Air Support Operations Squadron at Fort Lewis.

* Marine Corps Capt. Gregory Ratzlaff, 36, whose parents live in Olympia, died Aug. 3, 2004, from a noncombat-related incident. He was assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego.

* Army Command Sgt. Maj. Cornell Gilmore, 45, formerly of Lacey died Nov. 7, 2003, when his helicopter crashed. He was assigned to the Judge Advocate General Office at the Pentagon.

"Handing out toys to somebody. I can't see that. That's just horrible," said Rose Havard, 29, of Centralia, who worked for a year with Cpl. Christopher J. Nelson, 22, at the Larry's Chevron gasoline station in Rochester.

The Associated Press had reported that three soldiers were handing out toys and other gifts to children Sunday at a playground near Baqouba, the capital of Diyala province, when a suicide bomber detonated explosives.

Nelson, who was posthumously promoted from specialist, enlisted in the Army in January 2004 and arrived at Fort Lewis in June. He was on his second combat deployment.

He worked at the gasoline station before graduating from high school in 2003.

Havard said they worked together on weekends and remembered Nelson for being even-tempered and having a great sense of humor.

Nelson would stop by and chat with his former co-workers after he joined the military. Before he deployed, Nelson complained to Havard that there were no fast-food restaurants in Iraq. She and Nelson joked that they could start a restaurant there and make millions of dollars. At Nelson's request, Havard stocked his favorite frosting-coated sugar cookies at the gasoline station.

"He was just a lot of fun," she said. "He was always happy. I don't ever remember seeing him mad."

Nelson's older brother, Geoff, said he tried to get along with everybody.

"He just wanted everybody to like him," he said.

The Department of Defense identified the other two soldiers killed in the bombing as Pfc. Marius L. Ferrero, 23, of Miami, and Cpl. Jason T. Lee, 26, of Fruitport, Mich.

Ferrero and Nelson died at the scene; Lee died at a U.S. military hospital in Balad.

All three were infantrymen assigned to the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.

Six soldiers from the brigade died in Iraq in six days, from Nov. 13 to Sunday.

Next page >>