Army Pfc. Richard A. Dewater

Died April 15, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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21, of Topeka, Kan.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died April 15, of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device, while on a dismounted patrol near Korengal Valley, Afghanistan.

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Soldier lived in Ore., Kan.

The Associated Press

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — A soldier with strong ties to Oregon has been killed while on patrol in Afghanistan.

The Department of Defense said Army Pfc. Richard Dewater died April 15 from wounds caused by an improvised explosive device.

The 21-year-old had lived on and off in Grants Pass since he was a toddler, and his grandfather, Richard Sims, still lives in the city. Dewater attended Grants Pass High School in 2004 and 2005 before moving to Topeka, Kan., where his father lives.

The Grants Pass Daily Courier reported that Dewater leaves behind a wife, Valerie. They were married in June, a month before Dewater left for Afghanistan.

Tyler Clinton, 21, told the newspaper that Dewater was his best friend in high school. “We were really close. He was the first real friend I made when I moved up here,” Clinton said. “He loved going fishing, camping, paintballing. We did that stuff every weekend.”

Dewater was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas. A ceremony for Dewater is scheduled for 9 a.m. April 25 at Roseburg National Cemetery, his family told The Oregonian newspaper.

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Flags in Oregon to be lowered for fallen soldier

The Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. — Flags at public institutions across Oregon will be lowered in memory of a 21-year-old soldier killed while on patrol in Afghanistan.

The Department of Defense said Army Pfc. Richard Dewater died April 15 from wounds caused by an improvised explosive device. Gov. Ted Kulongoski has ordered flags be flown at half-staff Saturday in Dewater’s honor.

Dewater attended Grants Pass High School in 2004 and 2005 before moving to Topeka, Kan., where his father lives.

Dewater was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division based at Fort Hood, Texas.

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Had lifelong dream of joining military

The Associated Press

The last time Richard A. Dewater and his father spoke on the phone was right after April 10. Rick seemed “jazzed” about something, his father said.

“He said he couldn’t talk about it,” Bob Dewater said. “But he also said he was looking forward to coming home. Too many of them look forward to coming home, and they don’t.”

Dewater, 21, of Topeka, Kan., died April 15 of wounds suffered from an explosive near Korengal Valley. He was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas.

“He was amazing. He had a personality that would draw you in. He loved fishing. He loved guns. He loved what he was doing. He dedicated himself to it,” his father said.

Dewater moved to Topeka with his father in May 2007. He was born in San Diego. His father said his son was 4 when he first said he wanted to be in the military: “It lit a spark in him. It was a dream of his.”

Ryan Burge said he and several of Rick’s friends met at Echo Cliff, near Dover, to remember their friend. “He was a great guy,” Burge said. “He was always set on going into the military. It is a shock that he is gone.”

He and his wife, Valerie, were married in Topeka in June.