For Soldier, Military was ‘His Mindset’

Cole Larsen, killed in Iraq, was the latest in a long family tradition of fighting at wartime.

11/16/2004

Brandon Lowrey Signal Staff Writer

The mother of a local soldier killed in Iraq remembered her 19-year-old son’s devilish smile, and how when he visited home for the last time about a month ago, he had grown into a confident man.

“He came out of the womb with camos on,” Christie Larsen said Monday of her son, Pfc. Cole Larsen. “He played with G.I. Joes (when he was a child), and in the sixth or seventh grade, he went to the recruitment office. ... It’s something he always wanted to do.”

Cole Larsen, a 2002 Canyon High School graduate, died last week after the Humvee he was on collided with a civilian car and flipped over near Fallujah, his mother said. The teen was manning a gun turret on top of the vehicle.

During his last two-week visit, Christie Larsen said she asked her son if he regretted joining after seeing what he had seen.

“He said he liked it,” she said. “It was in his blood. It was his mindset, it was just him.”

Larsen said her son spent a lot of time with his father outdoors, hunting and practicing at shooting ranges. During his last visit home, he escorted his sister, senior Haley Larsen, to the Canyon High School homecoming dance.

At home, Cole Larsen was a mischievous and popular prankster who kept his friends and family on their toes. In Iraq, Larsen was in the 272nd Military Police Company assisting the police force of the country’s freshly formed Democratic government.

The Army had not released any information on the soldier’s death Monday. However, on Sunday, word spread among his friends, who visited his family’s house that night to cope with their loss.

“It was nice, just to sit here in the background and just listen to them exchange stories,” Christie Larsen said. “It was therapy for them, too, just to talk about it.”

Cole Larsen enlisted in the Army early, when he was 17, which required his parents’ authorization. He left for boot camp in July, just after he graduated, his mother said, and was stationed in Missouri and in Germany before he left for Iraq.

Cole Larsen’s father, Ballard, said the family has a tradition of military service. Ballard Larsen was a soldier in the Navy, and was named after his uncle, who had fought in World War II.

“Our family’s been fighting and dying for this country since the Revolutionary War,” he said.

Cole Larsen’s family isn’t certain when his funeral services will be; his body has not been returned home.

But for now, Ballard Larsen said he will hang his son’s flag next to his uncle’s.

“He was doing what he wanted to do. It’s just like a crapshoot. You never know when you’re born ... where your country’s going to be in 18 years,” he said. “This time it happened to be war, so he did what he had to do.”

Christie Larsen expressed pride: “Our son’s our hero.”

Friends Recall Iraq Casualty

By Susan Abram, Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY -- Family members and friends on Sunday gathered at the Canyon Country home of Cole Larsen, a military policeman with the U.S. Army who died in a vehicle accident in Iraq a day before.

As news of the 19-year-old's death spread along the quiet street of Sam Place, where American flags flapped from almost every porch, neighbors offered condolences to the family of the tall, red-headed soldier they remembered as an avid outdoorsman, good-natured, popular at school and eager to enlist in the Army.

"The first time I ever met him, he came over to our house, and I remember he pushed me off my tricycle, and we were friends ever since," said neighbor Chad Whitaker, 19, who graduated with Larsen in 2003 from Canyon High School. "He used to play jokes on everyone. He always made people laugh. He never got too serious."

Larsen had just returned to Iraq two weeks ago, after surprising his family with a visit home. While at home, he escorted his younger sister, Canyon High senior Haley Larsen, 17, to the homecoming dance.

By Sunday, Army officials had still not published a confirmation of Larsen's death or details, only that Larsen had been on a Humvee heading toward Fallujah, where heavy fighting began earlier in the week. The family was notified Saturday morning, friends said.

A spokeswoman for the Army contacted on Sunday said she could not release any more details, pending clearance from the U.S. Department of Defense.

Friends said Cole was excited about joining the military. "When (Cole) first graduated from high school, he was really excited to go to boot camp," Whitaker said. "A lot of us are in disbelief. Everyone keeps denying it. It's like this is a dream."

Neighbors said the family was still processing the news. A candle had been placed on the Larsen porch with an anonymous note that said Cole Larsen would be missed.

In an area that was built only 16 years ago, where most young families all moved in at the same time, it wasn't too hard not to know Cole Larsen.

"Our sons grew up together," said neighbor Lynnette Whitaker. "From when he was a little boy, he wanted to join the Army. We all knew each other. We'd all sit on the porch and watch and discipline each other's kids."

Neighbors Whitaker and Barbara Dallis said Larsen loved being in the outdoors. He went hunting with his father, Ballard.

"He and his dad were like two peas in a pod," Dallis agreed.

This is the second war casualty in less than a month in Santa Clarita.

Late last month, 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Richard Patrick Slocum, a 2003 graduate of Saugus High school, was killed in Iraq in a Humvee accident. Slocum. Slocum was the first local casualty on military duty there.

Susan Abram, (661) 257-5257 susan.abram@dailynews.com

U.S. Department of Defense

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

News Release



On the Web:

http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2004/nr20041117-1549.html

Media contact: Army Public Affairs - (703) 692-2000 Public contact:

http://www.dod.mil/faq/comment.html

or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1

No. 1179-04

IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 17, 2004

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Pfc. Cole W. Larsen, 19, of Canyon Country, Calif., died Nov. 13 in Baghdad, Iraq, when a civilian vehicle struck his military vehicle causing it to roll over. Larsen was assigned to the 272nd Military Police Company, 21st Theater Support Command, Mannheim, Germany.

For further information related to this release, contact Army Public Affairs at (703) 692-2000