Army Pfc. Christopher A. Sisson

Died September 2, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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20, of Oak Park, Ill.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 325th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Sept. 2 in Baghdad, Iraq. Sisson was in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter participating in an air assault mission. The helicopter flipped and crashed on take off.

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Pfc. Christopher A. Sisson loved to fly and planned to become a pilot when he returned from his stint overseas as a paratrooper. Upbeat and confident, he was known as a professional soldier who always did his duty.

Sisson, 20, of Oak Park, Ill., died Sept. 2 in Iraq when the helicopter he was riding in flipped and crashed on takeoff. He was stationed at Fort Bragg.

“He died doing something that he loved to do and wanted to be a part of,” said Pfc. Jeremy Brown, one of his friends from the squad. Brown said he and Sisson did everything together. In North Carolina, they hung out when they weren’t working. In Iraq, they kept each other company on guard duty.

“He kept me going,” Brown said. “He was motivated, determined and loyal. You could not ask any more from this guy. He did it all.”

— Associated Press