Army Pfc. Ernest Harold Sutphin

Died March 18, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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21, of Parkersburg, W.Va.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; died March 18 in Landstuhl, Germany, from injuries sustained March 11 in a vehicle incident in Kirkuk, Iraq.

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Army specialist who died in Humvee accident buried in N.C.

Associated Press

GREENSBORO, N.C. — An Army specialist who died after a Humvee accident in Iraq was buried Friday by friends and family who remembered him as a practical joker and proud soldier.

Spc. Ernest Harold Sutphin sustained fatal injuries March 11 when the Humvee he was riding in accidentally slid into a canal and rolled over during a reconnaissance patrol. Five others were injured, none fatally.

Sutphin was flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, but was taken off life support a week later. His parents, Jackie Sutphin Piggott and Timothy Holmes, flew to Germany from Greensboro before their son died.

Sutphin served with the 25th Infantry Division, based in Hawaii. He was born in Greensboro — his parents’ hometown — but grew up in Parkersburg, W.Va.

“He was just 21 years old, but he leaves quite a heritage,” said the Rev. David Sutphin, a distant relative who officiated the memorial service.

Some of the 200 people who attended the service remembered a man who loved comic books and Star Wars and relished playing practical jokes on unsuspecting friends and family.

“We’d switch yards on people,” his friend Jim Vaughn said of their school days. “We’d take everything from one yard and move it down one house.”

They also remembered a man who was proud of being a soldier.

“My son was doing something he loved to do and he believed in,” his mother said.

Sutphin was buried with a Bronze Star medal pinned to his dress uniform. A military honor guard fired a three-volley salute with M16 rifles, and the Army presented Sutphin’s parents with the flag that had draped his coffin.

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West Virginian dies in Iraq

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia native who joined the Army to get an education and see the world died one week after the Humvee he was riding in was struck by a homemade bomb in Iraq, a family member said.

Pfc. Ernest Sutphin was taken off life support at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, said his aunt, Faye Pennell of the Greensboro, N.C., area.

Sutphin’s mother and father were at the hospital with him when he died, Pennell said in a telephone interview.

Sutphin, 21, hoped to earn money for college, where he planned to major in either psychiatry or law, Pennell said.

“He joined the Army because he wanted to make something of his life,” she said. “He wanted a career.”

“He was such a wonderful role model,” she said. “All his cousins and his sister looked up to him.”

Sutphin, who was single, grew up in Parkersburg and graduated from Parkersburg High School in 2001. His family later relocated to North Carolina, where he planned to live after getting out of the service, his aunt said.

He was a fan of “Star Wars,” “Star Trek” and comic books, but was first and foremost a soldier, she said.

“He was straight military. When he came home from boot camp we didn’t know what to say. He was very aggressive and hardheaded. But he was definitely softhearted on the inside. He’d do anything for anybody.”

“We all loved him and he was our hero. We’re going to miss him a lot.”

Sutphin signed up with the Parkersburg recruiting office about two years ago, said Sgt. James Grady, who recruited him.

“He was a good guy,” Grady said. “He was looking at taking advantage of some of our travel opportunities and the education.”

Sutphin had stopped by the recruiting office after enlisting and “he was happy about it,” Grady said. “He didn’t seem dissatisfied with his decision.”

— Associated Press