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Hundreds Attend Funeral Service for Local Soldier Raymond L. Henry, Killed in Iraq

by JEFF ROWE Monday, May. 08, 2006 at 4:35 PM

A group of nine high school friends and an Anaheim family say farewell to a soldier killed on patrol in Iraq.

Hundreds Attend Fune...
raymond_l_henry.jpg, image/jpeg, 150x205

Sunday, May 7, 2006

Now, a gap in the circle

A group of nine high school friends and an Anaheim family say farewell to a soldier killed on patrol in Iraq.

By JEFF ROWE
The Orange County Register

An Anaheim soldier who planned a trip to Las Vegas this fall with nine friends now will journey to the desert resort alone.

Pfc. Raymond L. Henry, 21, was killed April 25 when a roadside bomb exploded near the armored vehicle he was riding in on patrol in Mosul, Iraq.

Henry's buddies who were to make the Las Vegas trip with him joined about 200 friends and relatives Saturday for his funeral in Long Beach. He will be buried near Las Vegas, where his parents are moving.

Improvised explosives have been the scourge of American soldiers stationed in Iraq, responsible for about half of the deaths of the 27 Orange County servicemen killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Henry arrived in Iraq about two months ago.

"He was an outstanding soldier," said Lt. Nicholas Sikes, who served with Henry.

Henry joined the Army in January 2005, trained as an infantryman and was assigned to Fort Wainwright, Alaska, in May 2005.

By all accounts, Henry was a perpetually cheerful soul, who used his good cheer as his passport through life – until he joined the basketball team at Western High School in Anaheim. There, Coach Joseph Aihara pressed him to be more than an easygoing, cheerful cruiser.

Aihara drew laughter during the service when he described Henry as "one of the worst morning practice players I ever had." Everyone knew of Henry's fondness for late-night video-game sessions.

But Aihara's challenge worked. Henry's grades improved and by his senior year, he was the starting center and led the team to the playoffs. After high school, he enrolled at Santa Ana College but left to join the Army, reasoning it would help him attain his goal of becoming a firefighter.

Seven weeks ago, Henry came back to Western, in uniform, to visit the very surprised coach.

"He had become a man," Aihara said.

And as the coach had changed Henry, his death changed the coach. News of the daily stream of deaths in Iraq had desensitized him to carnage, Aihara said. "But now it means a lot more - you stop, you pause, you think."

On that February leave, Henry also visited his recruiter, who told him, "Don't try to be a hero, just do what you are there to do."

But Henry did become a hero.

In his eulogy, Gen. Joseph Schroedel said that Henry's spirit lives in all 520,000 men and women in the Army and that Henry stands with all of them, including the general's son, who is serving in Iraq.

In Henry's honor, Schroedel gave each of Henry's nine close high school friends a commander's medallion, which he noted he only gives out for exemplary achievement.

"He made us all feel like family," said Terrance Harden of Buena Park, one of the friends. Henry called several of his friends' mothers his "second mom" and when Henry came home in February on leave, he brought flowers for some of the second moms.

Finally, it was time for the presentation of the flag that had draped Henry's casket.

Schroedel murmured his thanks on behalf of the nation to Henry's mother, Willieetta Robinson-Henry, who had maintained a steady demeanor while the general presented her with a campaign ribbon for her son's Iraq service, a Purple Heart for his combat wounds and a medal for his gallantry.

But the flag was more than she could bear. She cried as she accepted it, knowing it was as close to her son on this Earth as she would ever be again.

Copyright 2005 The Orange County Register
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SOLEMN DUTY

by JEFF ROWE Monday, May. 08, 2006 at 4:35 PM

SOLEMN DUTY...
raymond_l_henry_funeral_1.jpg, image/jpeg, 400x267

SOLEMN DUTY: Soldiers prepare to move the casket of Pfc. Raymond L. Henry, 21, during his funeral Saturday. Some of his friends, who said he made them feel like family, wore dog tags to the service commemorating the soldier from Anaheim.
MATT EICH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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CIRCLING UP

by JEFF ROWE Monday, May. 08, 2006 at 4:35 PM

CIRCLING UP...
raymond_l_henry_funeral_2.jpg, image/jpeg, 400x267

CIRCLING UP: Raymond Henry’s friends comfort one another after Saturday’s funeral service at Forest Lawn Cathedral Chapel in Long Beach.
MATT EICH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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HIGHEST SACRIFICE

by JEFF ROWE Monday, May. 08, 2006 at 4:35 PM

HIGHEST SACRIFICE...
raymond_l_henry_funeral_3.jpg, image/jpeg, 400x251

HIGHEST SACRIFICE: Willieetta Robinson-Henry is presented with the flag from her son’s casket Saturday by Gen. Joseph Schroedel. Henry, 21, is survived by his mother and father, Raymond Henry, next to Willieetta.
MATT EICH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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LA Times Obituary

by Maria L. La Ganga Monday, May. 08, 2006 at 4:41 PM

From the Los Angeles Times
MILITARY DEATHS
Army Pfc. Raymond L. Henry, 21, Anaheim; Killed by Roadside Bomb
By Maria L. La Ganga
Times Staff Writer

May 7, 2006

Here is what was lost April 25 when a roadside bomb exploded beside a Humvee patrolling the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing Army Pfc. Raymond L. Henry, 21:

A big smile, a big heart, a big appetite, a big soul. The best of friends and the sweetest of sons. A brave soldier who stood a little straighter every time he donned his uniform. A young man, far from home, who found street patrol in war-torn Iraq a terrifying enterprise but did his best to shield his loved ones.

"When he was here, he made us feel so good, like nothing like this was going to happen," said John Perrot, a high school basketball coach in Garden Grove who was like a second father to Henry. "He put us at ease. He was proud to wear that uniform, and he wasn't afraid to die."

But sometimes, when Henry called his closest friend back home, the buddy he met in freshman math class, he'd confide the things that tore him apart: "He would just say it's just so rough over there, seeing the abandoned kids and the dead animals all over the place … getting shot at," said John Perrot Jr., 20.

Regardless of his private fears, Henry's public face almost always wore a smile. First Lt. Nicholas Sikes, Henry's platoon leader in Iraq, remembers the young soldier as a hard worker and a hard player, a whiz on the basketball court and a dedicated infantryman.

"He was always an outstanding soldier," said Sikes, who is using the last few days of his leave from Iraq to attend Henry's funeral in Long Beach and then escort the young soldier's body to Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City for burial Monday.

Henry "was always seeking to learn and trying to do the best he could with whatever he was asked to do," Sikes said. "He was just always the guy who looked to the positive of things, always wanting to do the right thing."

Henry was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team at Ft. Wainwright, Alaska. His unit ran daily patrols in the streets of Mosul and helped train Iraqi troops.

One evening, Sikes recalled, members of the unit were invited to eat dinner with their Iraqi army colleagues. Sikes knew he had to pick carefully, given the differences between American and Iraqi cuisines and the often guarded food preferences of young soldiers.

"I was looking for a couple of guys willing to eat anything," said Sikes, who immediately thought of the tall, hungry, adventurous soldier. Henry joined him at the dinner and did himself proud. "He was always willing to volunteer and try new things."

Raymond Lamar Henry was born Jan. 26, 1985, in Bellflower, six weeks early and weighing a scant 3 pounds. An accomplished basketball player, he graduated from Anaheim's Western High School in 2003, attended Santa Ana College and dreamed of being a firefighter.

"He came home one day and said, 'Well, you know, I was talking to a couple of my professors, and they said there was a long list for firefighters,' " said his mother, Willietta Robinson of Stanton. " 'They said the only way I could be a firefighter without being on the list is joining the military….' A while later, he made me a phone call on my cellphone, and said, 'I'm about to sign the contract for the military.' "

Robinson begged her only child to talk to her first: "I said, 'Raymond, I don't object to you going into the military. I object to you going at this time.' "

That was in late 2004. A few weeks later, he officially signed up, and in January 2005 he was off to Ft. Benning, Ga., for basic training. His next stop was Alaska, where he marveled at being just miles from the North Pole. Then he went on to Kuwait and eventually Iraq.

Henry loved hip-hop music, text messaging, video games and flashy cars. Someday, he told Perrot, he would buy a Cadillac Escalade or GMC Yukon with the money he earned fighting in Iraq. "He would always say, 'I can't wait for that truck,' " his friend said. "It kept him going."

Henry's favorite basketball player was LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers. But he was so proud of his home state that he went out of his way to wear Dodger caps as often as possible. When he was home on leave in February, Henry bought a new royal blue number to take back to Iraq. "He was over there in his hat representing L.A.," Perrot said. "Even in Alaska, he loved wearing those Dodger hats."

Perrot said he will remember Henry as the big brother who was always there for him, the guy who got his first job at Knott's Berry Farm in 2001 and then turned around and helped Perrot get hired. When he was home on leave, Henry would buy flowers for his mom and for Perrot's mother too.

"I was his second family, and he was mine," Perrot said. "He'd always tell me, 'You've got to take care of my Mom. Make sure she's OK….' My heart just feels empty. I just feel like something's missing, not being able to text him or call him ever."

Robinson said she is astounded by the outpouring of kindness and grief from her son's friends and colleagues since hearing of his death, from the calls and e-mails, the offers of help, the shared stories.

"One girl summed it up best," Robinson said. "She said, 'For those who didn't know Raymond, they missed out.' That is so accurate…. I want to go on. But I don't know, do I even have a purpose anymore? It's hard, it's hard, it's hard."

Copyright 2006 Los Angeles Times
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don't shame the fallen

by Sheepdog Tuesday, May. 09, 2006 at 6:48 AM

This was a soul, lost from us, who had the measure of courage to take the steps right into his death. I think the enemy is not the solder over there but the psychopaths who sent them over there to fight their 'other ' brothers in arms.
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poor boy

by Sheepdog Tuesday, May. 09, 2006 at 1:32 PM

-You've never supported us, ever-
What the hell do you know about it? I spent some years of my life doing the wet work for Nixon,now you're doing it for Bush. They over there, are doing it for their families. None of it is required. What's your problem?
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Does anyone know how many?

by The New World Order Resistance Wednesday, May. 10, 2006 at 5:55 AM

Does anyone know how many Iraqis this "hero" killed before the Resistance finally executed justice?
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miserable work

by Sheepdog Wednesday, May. 10, 2006 at 6:04 AM

killing our brothers and sisters for lies.
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so 3rd ID...

by Sheepdog Wednesday, May. 10, 2006 at 6:44 AM

how's the sandbox? And how are you doing?
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