In Rememberance of 1st LT Christopher Rutherford

Memorial Day is a day of rememberance for the men and women of the military who gave the ultimate sacrifice for us. Today I want to share with you one such man.

I wanted to take time today to share with you a soldier and friend who died in Iraq. My husband first met him when they attended the same class at Fort Benning's Officer Canidate School in 2005 where they became instant friends. Sadly though his aunt, who he was very close to, died halfway through the class. Rutherford chose to be recycled (fall back to the next class) so that he could attend his aunt's funeral. Happily though, 6 months later Rutherford was assigned to the same unit that my husband was in. I remember on the day they were deploying Rutherford ran up to us and grabbed my husband's bag (my husband was given 4 days notice to deploy because another officer who was set to deploy was injured). Rutherford did his best to cheer us up. It was really hard not to smile when you were around him. He was one of those people that would brighten up a room when he walked in. Sadly though a year after they met the second time, he was killed by an IED while out on a mission in Iraq. The news of his death was taken very hard by many people. At the service held for him back on Ft Knox, there was not an empty seat as many came to show their respects. He was a great leader, very respected by the soldiers who he led and by the soldiers who worked with him.

If  you wish to know more about this good man, just click on his picture at the top.