Army Sgt. 1st Class Kristopher D. Chapleau

Died June 30, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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33, of La Grange, Ky.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died June 30 at Forward Operating Base Blessing, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a non-combat incident.

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NCO remembered as a defender of his soldiers

The Associated Press

Sgt. 1st Class Kristopher Chapleau joined the military just to experience it, but he wound up falling in love with it, said one of his longtime friends.

Chapleau had a long Army career that began with his enlistment in 1997 took him to many places outside his home of LaGrange, Ky., including Colorado and Georgia. He joined the Army after graduating from Oldham County High School in 1996.

Friend Joe Carpenter grew up with Chapleau and said the soldier was a “very cool individual” with a great sense of humor.

Chapleau, 33, died June 30 in Afghanistan from injuries not related to combat. He was assigned to Fort Campbell.

Caleb Dodge of Minneapolis remembered Chapleau as a great soldier and leader in a post he wrote in an online memorial.

“... I remember vividly you fighting to make sure your Soldiers got treated well and got the recognition they deserved,” he wrote.

The soldier’s father and wife also remembered him in online memorials. His father, Walt Chapleau, wrote “you were a great son who made me proud.”

His wife, Terry Chapleau, wrote that he was a great husband, father and hero. “You will always be in my heart, mind and soul,” she wrote.

Chapleau also is survived by two sons, Tyler and Jacob, and his mother.