Army Spc. Karen N. Clifton

Died June 21, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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22, of Lehigh Acres, Fla.; assigned to the 554th Military Police Company, 95th Military Police Battalion, Kaiserslautern, Germany; died June 21 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when her vehicle was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade.

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Illinois-born soldier killed in Iraq to be buried June 30

The Associated Press

MOUNT ZION, Ill. — Funeral services for Army Cpl. Karen Nicole Clifton, 22, will be held June 30 at the Dawson & Wikoff Funeral Home here, family members announced June 28.

Clifton — who died June 21 in Baghdad, Iraq of wounds suffered when her vehicle was hit with a rocket propelled grenade — will be buried with full military honors at Point Pleasant Cemetery in Long Creek.

A native of Mount Zion, Clifton moved to Lehigh Acres, Fla., to finish high school and enlisted in the Army from there, said Elizabeth Austin, a spokeswoman for Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn. Clifton’s parents and other family members still live in the Mount Zion area, Austin said.

Clifton was assigned to the 554th Military Police Company, 95th Military Police Battalion, Kaiserslautern, Germany.

A specialist 4th class at the time of her death, Clifton was posthumously promoted to corporal, Austin said.

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Sister recalls soldier killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

Cindy Blackston always looked up to her older sister, Army Spc. Karen N. Clifton.

“She loved her career,” said Blackston. “She cared about everybody. She said she had like a family over there. She was never down. She never cried. I love her, and I miss her.”

Clifton, 22, of Lehigh Acres, Fla., was killed June 21 in Baghdad when her vehicle was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade.

She was a 2003 high school graduate and was assigned to Kaiserslautern, Germany.

“Ever since she was a little girl, she wanted to be in the Army,” Blackston recalled. “We tried to talk her out of it, but that’s what she wanted to do. She wanted to be on the front lines, and she wanted to support her country.”

Clifton enjoyed poetry, music, shopping and Indy car racing. She also liked watching horror, comedy and action films. She was attending college in Germany and hoped to become a state trooper.

“I just want everybody to know that she was a hero, and she fought for this country for everybody. And I just hope people appreciate what she did,” said mother Chris Hancock.

She also is survived by her father, Doug Clifton.