Army Spc. Clint Richard Matthews

Died March 19, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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31, of Bedford, Pa.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, from Schweinfurt, Germany; died March 19 from injuries sustained two days before when his Bradley Fighting Vehicle went over a 60-foot embankment and flipped over in Baji, Iraq.

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Funeral held for soldier who died in Iraq vehicle crash

Associated Press

SCHELLSBURG, Pa. — Friends and family honored a Pennsylvania soldier who re-enlisted following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and became Bedford County’s first casualty in the war in Iraq after his vehicle crashed March 17.

Army Spc. Clint Matthews, 31, of Bedford Township, died three days after he was injured when an Iraqi road gave way, sending his Bradley Fighting Vehicle tumbling 60 feet into the Tigris river in Baji, Iraq.

More than 50 people came to the Mickle-Geisel Funeral Home for the brief service Saturday evening.

“He simply wanted to go back and serve his country,” the Rev. Stoney Benfield told mourners.

Matthews’ family didn’t speak during the service and declined comment afterward.

When he learned of his son’s death, Matthews’ father, Vietnam veteran Rick Thomasich, said simply, “It was my turn as a parent to give up a soldier.”

Matthews, a soldier with B Company, 18th Infantry, based in Schweinfurt, Germany, died March 20 at a hospital in Germany, according to his family.

Matthews served four years in the Army and was stationed in Hawaii. He returned home to Pennsylvania and joined the Army Reserves. After the terrorist attacks, Matthews signed up for active duty and served in Bosnia and Afghanistan before being deployed to Iraq in January.

Matthews’ family requested that two songs be played at the service, Ozzy Osbourne’s “Momma I’m Coming Home” and “American Soldier” by country artist Toby Keith. Keith’s song includes the lyrics, “I don’t want to die for you, but if dying’s asked of me, I’ll bear that cross with honor, ’cause freedom isn’t free.”

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Soldier who rejoined Army after terrorist attacks killed

BEDFORD, Pa. — A Pennsylvania soldier who re-enlisted following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks died from injuries he suffered when an Iraqi road gave way, sending his Bradley Fighting Vehicle tumbling 60 feet into a river, his family said.

Spc. Clint Matthews, 31, of Bedford, a soldier with B Company, 18th Infantry, based in Schweinfurt, Germany, died March 20 in a hospital in Germany, according to his brother, James Matthews and his father, Rick Thomasich.

“It was my turn as a parent to give up a soldier,” Matthews’ father, Rick Thomasich, a Vietnam veteran, told Pittsburgh television station KDKA.

The soldier’s relatives said details of the wreck were sketchy; defense officials did not confirm Matthews’ death.

Another member of Matthews’ unit, Tracy Laramore, died on March 17 from injuries when a road gave way in Baji, Iraq, and the Bradley he was riding in fell 60 feet, landing on its top in the Tigris River.

Matthews’ relatives said he had always wanted to be a soldier. Besides his father, both of his brothers served in the military, said his brother, James Matthews, who was in the Navy.

“He was just always one of those All-American kids wearing his red, white and blue and always wanted to be in the Army. It is just what he wanted to do. Clint joined up right after high school,” James Matthews said.

Clint Matthews served four years in the Army and was stationed in Hawaii. He returned home to Pennsylvania and joined the Army Reserves.

After the terrorist attacks, Clint Matthews signed up for active duty and served in Bosnia and Afghanistan before being deployed to Iraq in January.

Despite continuing deaths in Iraq, Matthews’ father said he still supports the war.

“Every soldier who has stepped foot in that country is my hero. I feel this is a war we had to do. We had to straighten this guy (Saddam Hussein) out,” Thomasich said.

— Associated Press