Army Spc. Ervin Caradine Jr.

Died May 2, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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33, of Memphis, Tenn.; assigned to the 91st Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, from Fort Hood, Texas; killed May 2 when his convoy vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Baghdad.

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Fort Hood soldier from Memphis killed in Iraq

Associated Press

The Pentagon has identified two Fort Hood soldiers as killed in action during an attack on their convoy vehicle in Iraq.

Army Spc. Ervin Caradine Jr., 33, of Memphis, Tenn., and Pvt. Jeremy L. Drexler, 23, of Topeka, Kan., died in the May 2 attack in Baghdad.

A Pentagon statement said the pair died when an improvised grenade hit their vehicle. The Army is investigating the attack, the statement said.

Caradine and Drexler were assigned to the 91st Engineer Battalion of Fort Hood’s 1st Cavalry Division, according to the statement.

Two Army chaplains told Caradine’s wife, Montessia Caradine, of his death Sunday morning at her home near Fort Hood.

“I saw those green suits and I already knew what it was for,” she told The Commercial Appeal newspaper of Memphis.

The Caradines, both Memphis natives, had been sweethearts since students at Fairley High School.

Family members described Caradine as good-humored, a hard worker and devoted family man who loved talking, his Aunt Mary’s spaghetti and cars. He was the father of four children, Ervin Smith, 14, Cavazzea, 11; Montessia, 10, and Trejan, 4.

Caradine graduated from high school in 1990 and worked his way up to manage a Steak-Out restaurant in Memphis.

He joined the Army in 1996 to better provide for his family. His unit left for Iraq Jan. 9.

Carradine recently sent his grandmother, Willie B. Caradine of Memphis, a funny birthday card and a note that said, “Hope that I be home soon. Kiss the whole family for me. Take care. See you soon.”

The tone of his phone calls home changed in April as fighting intensified, said his aunt, Minnie Jane Thornton.

“He said that one night he had been 10 hours under fire. They didn’t even stop to eat,” Thornton said.

Carradine last called his wife on April 30.

“There was a change in his voice,” she recalled and she asked what was wrong.

“He said, ‘It’s getting worse over here. It’s not getting better,”’ she said.