Army Sgt. Caleb P. Christopher

Died June 3, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

---

25, of Chandler, Ariz.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died June 3 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

---

Funeral held for 25-year-old soldier killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

MESA, Ariz. — Family and friends remembered an Army soldier who was killed in Iraq as a sharp, thoughtful man of few words who was a wiz at Scrabble.

A roadside bomb killed Sgt. Caleb Christopher, 25, on June 3. His memorial service was held June 12 in Gilbert.

“It’s been rough,” said his father, Edward Christopher. “It’ll be a while before all this sinks in.”

His sister-in-law, Jenny Christopher, said Caleb Christopher had been planning to go on vacation in Florida with his fiancee, Rebecca Cadro, who had already packed her bags.

At the service, all Cadro could do is cry as she stared at the casket.

The Rev. Gary Kennedy said Christopher was best known for rallying his fellow soldiers. “ ‘Don’t be scared, don’t think about it, and we’ll get through it,’ he’d tell them,” Kennedy said.

Christopher served in the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, out of Fort Hood, Texas.

He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Bronze Star and the Global War on Terrorism Service medal.

---

Family, friends remember soldier killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

Army Sgt. Caleb P. Christopher’s sister-in-law, Jenny, has fond family memories of trying to outsmart her brother-in-law at endless rounds of Scrabble.

“He had an uncanny ability to triple the word score from nowhere,” she said. Added Edward Christopher Jr., Caleb’s older brother: “He always could convince you he was right.”

Christopher, 25, of Chandler, Ariz., was killed June 3 by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. He was a 2000 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas.

In school, he was an avid wrestler, wrestling all four years through high school. “Caleb loved the sheer simplicity and objectivity behind the sport,” said the Rev. Gary Kennedy. “No referees playing preference, nothing. Only the best get to play.”

He attended Arizona State University from 2000 to 2001 and enlisted after the attacks on 9/11. His favorite song was “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Kennedy said Christopher was best known for rallying other soldiers. “‘Don’t be scared, don’t think about it, and we’ll get through it,’ he’d tell them,” he said.

He also is survived by his father, Edward Christopher, and fiancee, Rebecca Cadro.