Army Sgt. Willard T. Partridge

Died August 20, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

---

35, of Ferriday, La.; assigned to the 170th Military Police Company, 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade, Fort Lewis, Wash.; killed Aug. 20 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Baghdad.

---

A baseball player and family man, Fort Lewis soldier lives on through his legacy

Associated Press

Despite their six-year age difference, Willard T. Partridge and his sister remained close.

“A lot of times growing up, it kind of felt like he was my son,” she said Darlene Moon, 41.

Moon said she and her brother enjoyed hunting and fishing together. Partridge, 35, of Ferriday, La., was killed Aug. 20 in Baghdad by a roadside bomb.

He was based at Fort Lewis, Wash. Partridge was a 1988 high school graduate who advanced to regional and state championships in baseball, showing talent as a pitcher. He trained in refrigeration and welding at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. When the rubber company he worked for closed in September 2002, he joined the Army. Partridge’s cousin, Shelley Poole said she’ll especially miss the big hugs he gave her every time they met.

“He always has a smile on his face,” she said. “The emotions run real high and then drop real low reminiscing about him.”

He is survived by his wife, Rhonda, and two daughters: Kelsee, 11, and Kymberlee, 9.

“We can always remember the good things,” said friend Michael Williams.

“I can’t remember a bad one.”

---

Portion of Mississippi highway named after fallen soldier

The Associated Press

NATCHEZ, Miss. — More than 100 people gathered at Morgantown Baptist Church to honor the legacy of Sgt. Todd Partridge, and dedicate a roadway in his memory.

Partridge, who became interested in enlisting in the Army after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was killed when a bomb exploded near the vehicle he was driving in Iraq in August 2005.

Since then, The Natchez Democrat reports the family and Adams County officials have worked toward erecting a permanent memorial, which came to fruition Thursday night with the unveiling of Sgt. Todd Partridge Memorial Parkway.

A section of U.S. Highway 84 in Natchez, beginning at VFW Post 9573 and extending southward to the intersection at Natchez Regional Memorial Hospital, will be designated as Sgt. Todd Partridge Memorial Parkway.