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- The People Behind The Sacrifice
Army 1st Lt. Christopher J. Kenny
Died May 3, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom
32, of Miami; assigned to the 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, Vilseck, Germany; one of four soldiers killed May 3 when their military vehicle left the road and flipped over in a canal in Balad, Iraq.
Soldier with W.Va. ties killed in Iraq
Associated Press
RIDGELEY, W.Va. — A soldier with West Virginia ties has been killed in Iraq, a family member said.
Lt. Christopher Kenny, 31, was among four soldiers from the First Infantry Division who died in a Humvee accident near Khalis, north of Baghdad, said Kenny’s father-in-law, Mickey Lantz of Ridgeley.
Lantz’ daughter, Mitzy, 30, was notified by military officials of her husband’s death on May 4, Lantz said. The couple had been stationed in Germany while Kenny was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq with the F-Troop Fourth Cavalry Battalion Reconnaissance Team.
“We couldn’t have been prouder to have him as our son-in-law,” said Lantz, head football coach at Frankfort High School and former Ridgeley mayor.
The exact time and circumstances of Kenny’s death were still unclear, but Lantz said the Humvee apparently rolled over into some water.
“They all drowned,” Lantz said. He added that Kenny must have been knocked unconscious because, “He was an excellent water polo player and also a scuba diver.”
Christopher Kenny had graduated from the Citadel and lived in Miami when he met Mitzy, who was going to the University of Miami, Lantz said.
The two later moved to Alexandria, Va., and got married about 2" years ago. The couple was stationed in North Carolina before Kenny was deployed to Germany, Lantz said. They had no children, but were “really looking forward to starting a family,” he said.
Mitzy and Christopher Kenny had considered moving to Ridgeley after retirement, he said.
Although military life left little time for Christopher Kenny to spend with family, “Chris was doing what he really loved,” Lantz said, adding that Kenny was up for promotion to captain.
“He just felt like he was going to be able to serve his country real well,” Lantz said.