Army Pfc. Richard A. Dewater
Death: Apr 15, 2009
of Topeka Kan.; assigned to the 1st Battalion 26th Infantry Regiment 3rd Brigade Combat Team 1st Infantry Division Fort Hood Texas; Died April 15 of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device while on a dismounted patrol near Korengal Valley Afghanistan. Soldier lived in Ore. Kan. The Associated Press GRANTS PASS Ore. — A soldier with strong ties to Oregon has been killed while on patrol in Afghanistan. The Department of Defense said Army Pfc. Richard Dewater Died April 15 from wounds caused by an improvised explosive device. The 21-year-old had lived on and off in Grants Pass since he was a toddler and his grandfather Richard Sims still lives in the city. Dewater attended Grants Pass High School in 2004 and 2005 before moving to Topeka Kan. where his father lives. The Grants Pass Daily Courier reported that Dewater leaves behind a wife Valerie. They were married in June a month before Dewater left for Afghanistan. Tyler Clinton21 told the newspaper that Dewater was his best friend in high school. “We were really close. He was the first real friend I made when I moved up here” Clinton said. “He loved going fishing camping paintballing. We did that stuff every weekend.” Dewater was assigned to the 1st Battalion 26th Infantry Regiment 3rd Brigade Combat Team 1st Infantry Division based at Fort Hood Texas. A ceremony for Dewater is scheduled for 9 a.m. April 25 at Roseburg National Cemetery his family told The Oregonian newspaper. Flags in Oregon to be lowered for fallen soldier The Associated Press SALEM Ore. — Flags at public institutions across Oregon will be lowered in memory of a 21-year-old soldier killed while on patrol in Afghanistan. The Department of Defense said Army Pfc. Richard Dewater Died April 15 from wounds caused by an improvised explosive device. Gov. Ted Kulongoski has ordered flags be flown at half-staff Saturday in Dewater’s honor. Dewater attended Grants Pass High School in 2004 and 2005 before moving to Topeka Kan. where his father lives. Dewater was assigned to the 1st Battalion 26th Infantry Regiment 3rd Brigade Combat Team 1st Infantry Division based at Fort Hood Texas. Had lifelong dream of joining military The Associated Press The last time Richard A. Dewater and his father spoke on the phone was right after April 10. Rick seemed “jazzed” about something his father said. “He said he couldn’t talk about it” Bob Dewater said. “But he also said he was looking forward to coming home. Too many of them look forward to coming home and they don’t.” Dewater21 of Topeka Kan. Died April 15 of wounds suffered from an explosive near Korengal Valley. He was assigned to Fort Hood Texas. “He was amazing. He had a personality that would draw you in. He loved fishing. He loved guns. He loved what he was doing. He dedicated himself to it” his father said. Dewater moved to Topeka with his father in May 2007. He was born in San Diego. His father said his son was 4 when he first said he wanted to be in the military: “It lit a spark in him. It was a dream of his.” Ryan Burge said he and several of Rick’s friends met at Echo Cliff near Dover to remember their friend. “He was a great guy” Burge said. “He was always set on going into the military. It is a shock that he is gone.” He and his wife Valerie were married in Topeka in June.Operation Enduring Freedom