Army Staff Sgt. Craig W. Cherry

Died August 7, 2004 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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39, of Winchester, Va.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 29th Infantry Division (Light Infantry), Virginia Army National Guard, Winchester, Va.; killed Aug. 7 when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in Ghazikel, Afghanistan.

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Virginia Guardsman killed in Afghanistan

Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine — A 39-year-old Virginia National Guard sergeant who spent much of his childhood in Maine was killed by an explosive two weeks after being sent to Afghanistan, his father said.

Craig Cherry, whose father lives in Windham, Maine, was killed Saturday, six months after he was scheduled to retire from the Virginia National Guard. He leaves behind a wife, two teenage children and an 8-month-old son.

“I never thought this would happen,” said his father, Roy Cherry, who served in Vietnam. “And it hurts. It hurts bad.”

Cherry entered the Army after graduating from high school in Virginia. Roy Cherry said his son told him before leaving that “the kids that I’m taking over there don’t know what they’re doing.”

Cherry said his son was eager to lead the younger men in his unit.

“Unfortunately, he was the first one killed,” Cherry said. “My son, he’s one of the best. There’s no way around it.”