Sunday, July 15, 2007

Maryland's Fifty-Seventh Hero


christopheromoudry
Originally uploaded by Randuwa
Army Staff Sgt. Christopher O. Moudry, 31, of Baltimore, Md.; assigned to the 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; killed Oct. 4 after being attacked by enemy forces using small arms fire and other weapons in Taji, Iraq. Also killed were: Spc. Timothy R. Burke, Pfc. Dean R. Bright and Spc. George R. Obourn Jr.

HE KEPT THE DETAILS OF HIS MISSIONS TO HIMSELF

Marie Moudry was about to eat dinner on a Sunday afternoon when her son, Staff Sgt. Christopher O. Moudry, called from Iraq. He sounded more upbeat than he had in recent conversations, and he shared a piece of news that he had just heard: The Ravens had won.

Four days later, two soldiers arrived at Marie Moudry's Harford County home to tell her that her son had been killed in an attack in Iraq.

He never described details of his missions, his mother said.

"He whitewashed everything for us," she said. "He wouldn't tell us anything. Everything was fine. We were made to think he lived in a little safe world, when everybody else was in trouble."

But her son often sounded tired when he called from Iraq, she said. In their last phone conversation, he said that he looked forward to spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with his family.

He also told his mother that he was set to start a master gunner training program that would have given him a break from his daily routine.

"He was looking forward to three squares and the chance to use the phone anytime he liked," his mother said.

No comments: