Army Sgt. Ryan M. Wood

Died June 21, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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22, of Oklahoma City; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany; died June 21 in Baghdad of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near this vehicle. Also killed were Sgt. Alphonso J. Montenegro II, Pfc. Daniel J. Agami, Pfc. Anthony D. Hebert and Thomas R. Leemhuis.

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Soldiers from Anadarko, Oklahoma City die in Iraq

The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — Two Army soldiers from Oklahoma were killed on the same day last week in separate attacks in Iraq.

Pfc. Thomas Ray Leemhuis, 23, of Anadarko, and Sgt. Ryan M. Wood, 22, of Oklahoma City, both were killed June 21 in Baghdad. As of June 23, the Defense Department had not confirmed their deaths.

Leemhuis attended Binger-Oney High School in Caddo County before moving to nearby Anadarko after he graduated in 2002, said Tammy Smith, the mother of one of the soldier’s high school friends, Ashlie Smith.

Ashlie Smith said Leemhuis played basketball at Binger-Oney and was called “Tom” by his friends.

“He was real outgoing,” Ashlie Smith said. “He was real goofy. He was just real fun to be around.”

Funeral services are pending for Leemhuis, according to the Binger Funeral Home.

Wood, a member of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, 26th Battalion, Charlie Company, was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. He and four other soldiers died when the vehicle in which they were riding hit a bomb in northeast Baghdad.

“During the first tour of duty he was extremely proud to be there; he believed in what he was doing and why we were there,” said Wood’s stepfather, Scott Vincent.

But “he did not have a good feeling about this tour,” Vincent said.

Vincent said Wood was an artist who had received an acceptance letter from the University of Central Oklahoma just before he died.

Wood had had the names of two other soldiers who died in combat tattooed on his chest. His stepfather said he hoped Wood’s death will remind others that American soldiers are dying for their country in Iraq.

“The majority of them are proud to be there,” Vincent said. “They don’t want to be forgotten. They want to have the tools to do their job.”

Funeral services also are pending for Wood.

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Funeral services held for two soldiers who died in Iraq

The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — Sgt. Ryan M. Wood, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, was remembered in funeral services July 2 as a strong leader who showed no fear but also had a soft side.

Candice Bunce, his sister, said he was a hopeless romantic who once wrote a love note and brought a rose to school for a kindergarten crush.

Wood’s service was held at Church of the Servant in northwest Oklahoma City.

Wood, 22, signed up for the Army after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“The war gave Ryan a mission,” Bunce said. “He accomplished his mission and left this world with dignity and honor.”

Wood and Pfc. Thomas Ray Leemhuis of Binger were among five soldiers who died June 21 after the Bradley Fighting Vehicle they were riding in hit a roadside bomb in northeast Baghdad. A funeral service for Leemhuis was held June 30 at Binger-Oney High School.

It was Wood’s second tour in Iraq.

Wood’s uncle, Army Maj. John Litchfield, said his nephew had a noble spirit that his men could sense. He spent 607 days in combat.

“Ryan is a warrior,” Bunce said. “Ryan is a survivor. Ryan is our American hero.”

This was one of two funerals held July 2 for Oklahoma soldiers who died in Iraq.

Army Pfc. Jerimiah J. Veitch, 21, of Dibble, died in a separate attack in Baghdad. His funeral was held Monday at the Union Hill Baptist Church at Dibble.

Veitch was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, based at Fort Carson, Colo.

Pfc. David Rosas, who served with him, said in a statement read at the funeral that Veitch was a good friend and “the type of person you could trust with your life, the kind of person you don’t meet every day.”

Lt. Col. Steven Michael said in another statement that Veitch was only 5 foot 4 inches, but was “strong as an ox, tenacious.”

“Jerimiah did what he wanted to do serve his country and his God,” said Rev. Edward Stewart, who presided over the ceremony.

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Unit’s bond forged by loss of comrades

By Michelle Tan

Staff writer

ADHAMIYAH, Iraq — There is no shortage of jokes, pranks and trash talk among the soldiers of C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry.

But underneath the laughter is a bond cemented by the heavy losses suffered by these young men in the seven months they have spent at Forward Operating Base Apache in Adhamiyah, one of the last Sunni strongholds in Baghdad.

The company has lost six soldiers, and each platoon has shared in those crushing losses.

Second Platoon has been most heavily hit: four of the six soldiers killed in action belonged to that platoon.

“Because we’ve had so many losses in the platoon, I know for a fact the bond in the platoon is much tighter,” said Sgt. 1st Class Tim Ybay, who serves as the platoon leader. “I talked to them before we all left, and my goal was to bring all 38 home. I take every loss personally.”

To cope with the pain of losing a brother-in-arms, Ybay, 38, said he talks to his soldiers.

“We talk a lot,” he said. “We talk about the good times we had with the soldier, we talk about the first time he got to the unit. We never think about the bad memories — it’s always the good memories.”

Adhamiyah, in east Baghdad, is home to many Saddam Hussein loyalists, former Baath Party members and former Iraqi army generals, said Capt. Mike Baka, commander of C Company. Also in Adhamiyah is the Abu Hanifa mosque, a large Sunni mosque that serves as the focal point of the district.

“This is the last location Saddam Hussein spoke before he went into hiding,” Baka said. “On November 5th, when the Saddam verdict came out, we had a pretty large uprising.”

Five minutes after the former dictator was sentenced to death for the massacre of Iraqi citizens, the soldiers started receiving fire from both sides of the river. The five-hour battle resulted in 38 enemy fighters killed and more than 10 wounded.

The soldiers have come under every type of attack imaginable, said Sgt. 1st Class Cedric Thomas, platoon sergeant for 1st Platoon.

“The attacks have decreased, but we usually get attacked really good once a month, then it calms down,” he said. “And when you think it’s really good, you get another attack again. It’s something you end up expecting.”

Threw himself on grenade

The insurgents in Adhamiyah sometimes use grenades against American forces. Spc. Ross McGinnis, a soldier in Thomas’ platoon, was killed Dec. 4 when he threw himself on a grenade that was thrown into his Humvee. The 19-year-old saved Thomas’ life and that of three other soldiers; he has been nominated for the Medal of Honor.

“McGinnis had a big impact and influence on the platoon,” Thomas said. “He was so sharp. These guys really looked up to him. When you lose something like that so fast, it took about a month to get my guys’ minds on track. But we still patrolled, we still went out of the wire together.”

Thomas, 30, said he relies on the other two platoon sergeants for support when dealing with the loss of a soldier.

“When one of us has a loss, we’re always there for each other,” he said. “My platoon, the guys were tight anyway. Now everyone’s lost someone, it’s really a tight group.”

Despite shouldering more than their fair share of loss, the soldiers of C Company continue to push forward, strengthened by the camaraderie that only those who share combat together can fully understand.

They maintain a nearly constant presence on the streets of Adhamiyah, patrolling the neighborhoods day and night.

They have detained many high-value targets and seized illegal weapons. They sweep into houses looking for insurgents, but at the same time comfort children frightened by the sight of heavily armed American soldiers.

“It’s hard, but you’ve got to get through the hard times, and we’re doing that as a family,” Baka said. “We have a mission to do, and we’re doing it and trying to get everyone else home in one piece.”

Ybay said he’s proud of his soldiers and what they’ve accomplished.

“We just take it one day at a time,” Ybay said. “I went home on leave and my job is to have a good time with my family, but this is my other family here. I couldn’t stop worrying about them.”

Sgt. Ryan Wood, 22, who’s in 2nd Platoon, said he copes by sticking on his headphones and listening to music.

“Everybody copes differently,” he said. “Everybody’s real close. Like we say, [Ybay] is the twisted father, we’re all his kids and he takes care of us.”

Wood, who was stop-lossed to deploy to Iraq, said he’s changed since he got here in August.

“Going on R&R, I didn’t take anything for granted,” he said.

Wood said he plans to leave the Army when his tour is over.

“I’ve seen enough, I’ve done enough,” he said.

Pfc. Armando Cardenas, 21, who also is in 2nd Platoon, said the situation in Adhamiyah has improved since the soldiers arrived.

“It was trashed when we got here,” he said. “People are reporting IEDs now. That’s a step forward.”

But Cardenas admits he sometimes is frustrated by how slow progress can be.

“I wish we could do more for the people, but they don’t want to cooperate,” he said. “There’s not much we can do without their help.”

‘One of my best friends’

The death of Sgt. Willsun Mock in October was especially tough on Cardenas.

“He was one of my best friends,” he said. “You hope you never have to go through it but you do. We don’t take anybody for granted anymore.”

Sgt. Alphonso Montenegro, 21, who also was stop-lossed to deploy to Iraq, lost his squad leader, Staff Sgt. Garth Sizemore, and Mock, one of his best friends.

“He was my brother,” Montenegro said about Mock. “He taught me everything about being a leader; he helped me study for the [promotion] board.”

Mock was killed in an IED attack, and Montenegro said he was very angry.

“I wanted to relieve my anger,” he said. “They kept us in for four days. I think it’s good I didn’t go [outside the wire]. It was hard, but I have to move on.”

For those who served with the company in Balad in 2004 and 2005, this deployment to Adhamiyah has been much more challenging, said Sgt. James Lesco, 24, of 1st Platoon.

“The last time, I lost one friend,” he said. “This time, the company’s lost six, and three of them were actually good friends. It’s reality, so we just have to get through it. I think now we value each other more.”

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Family remember Oklahoma soldier killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

Army Sgt. Ryan M. Wood was respected by the men under his command — and he was all too familiar with losing soldiers he cared about in combat.

He kept the names of two of those soldiers close to him at all times, tattooed on his chest: “Mock” and “Sizemore.” Wood, 22, of Oklahoma City, was killed June 21 by an explosive in Baghdad. He was a 2002 high school graduate and was assigned to Schweinfurt, Germany. He was on his second tour.

“He was a wonderful young man,” said Scott Vincent, Wood’s stepfather. “He was sweet, and he loved everyone and everything.

He was the sweetest you could ever know.”

Wood was a talented artist who had received his acceptance letter to the University of Central Oklahoma days before his death.

“Ryan felt Iraq was a job we had to finish. It wasn’t something we could walk away from,” Vincent said. “He was dedicated to being there, and he was extremely well-loved by all his men.”

He also is survived by his mother, Renee Wood-Vincent, and his father, Bonner Wood.

“What really got him going,” Vincent said, “was the 9/11 attacks. He wanted to do his part for his country, and he loved serving in Iraq.”