Army Staff Sgt. Christopher E. Cutchall

Died September 29, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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30, of McConnellsburg, Pa.; assigned to Delta Troop, 4th Cavalry, Fort Riley, Kan.; killed Sept. 29 when an improvised explosive device detonated next to his vehicle as he was traveling in a convoy west of Baghdad, Iraq.

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As a teenager, Staff Sgt. Christopher Cutchall spent a lot of time hunting and fishing in the woods of Pennsylvania's rural Fulton County. "Chris wasn't very big physically. He grew up in the woods here hunting and fishing, so he knew how to shoot and how to sneak, and the Army built on that," said his father, Paul Cutchall. An Army scout, Cutchall had been in Iraq for less than a month when he was killed Sept. 29 by an explosive device west of Baghdad. The 30-year-old Cutchall had been in the military since 1991 and was stationed at Fort Riley, Kan. Cutchall, who grew up in McConnellsburg, Pa., planned to make the military his career, his father said. He had been to Germany, Turkey and most recently was in Kuwait. "He was a firm believer that everybody should serve their country," Paul Cutchall said. Cutchall is survived by his wife and two sons, ages 4 and 6.

— Associated Press