Army Pfc. Gregory R. Goodrich

Died April 9, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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37, of Bartonville, Ill.; assigned to the 724th Transportation Company, Army Reserve, Bartonville, Ill.; killed April 9 when his convoy came under attack by individuals using rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire in Iraq.

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Illinois soldier remembered as a loner who loved his country

By Jan Dennis

Associated Press

PEORIA, Ill. — Gregory Goodrich didn’t talk much about his part-time career in the military, focusing instead on everyday interests from books and the environment to his plans to return to teaching.

But friends say Goodrich, an Army reservist from Bartonville who was killed Friday in Iraq, had a patriotic streak that matched the racing stripe on his fuel-friendly Ford Festiva.

“He was one of those guys that if someone said something bad about his country, he’d rip your head off, as quiet as he was,” said Teddy Quinn, who worked with Goodrich for six years at a Peoria auto parts store.

The 37-year-old private was a something of a loner outside of work, but worked hard to help customers and co-workers and “could always put a smile on your face,” Quinn said Wednesday.

The military announced Tuesday that Goodrich was killed during an ambush near Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad.

“It hit me pretty hard. You don’t expect it to happen to a guy as nice as Greg,” Quinn said.

Goodrich was part of a fuel convoy from the Bartonville-based 724th Transportation Company that was attacked by rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire, the Defense Department said. Two other members of the Army Reserve unit — Sgt. Elmer Krause, 40, of Greensboro, N.C., and Pfc. Keith Maupin, 20, of Batavia, Ohio — remained missing Wednesday.

Friends remembered Goodrich as an avid reader who showed up at least once a week at the Peoria Public Library, where he knew the staff by name.

“He never spoke about being in the Army. He was very talkative, almost like he needed us as friends,” Maria Garcia, the library’s assistant head of circulation, told the (Peoria) Journal Star.

Quinn said Goodrich was also an ardent environmentalist who ate Grape Nuts or trail mix for lunch, rode bikes and drove an older car that was high on gas mileage and low on pollution.

“I was driving a big Chevy Caprice and he said, ‘You’re just killing the environment,’” Quinn said.

Goodrich grew up in the Peoria area, and later moved to Georgia, where he graduated from college and became a teacher, Quinn said. After coming back home, he started working at the auto parts store, saving money to pay for classes to get his Illinois teaching certificate, Quinn said.

“That was his passion. He loved to teach and help people,” Quinn said.

Goodrich lived in Peoria before moving to nearby Bartonville about a year ago, friends said. Few people in town knew him yet, but Mayor Marcia Markwalder said the city is protective of its hometown soldiers, and she hopes to do something to pay tribute to the fallen soldier.

“It’s very nerve-racking, personally, for us,” said Markwalder, whose nephew is a member of the same reserve unit. “You feel like that’s your own homeland security.”