PGR_NTX Patriot Guard Vietnam Vet is Oldest US Casualty in Iraq

Sat May 16 22:32:19 CDT 2009

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please pardon this intrusion but I thought you might find this article
interesting reading.

Vietnam Vet Is Oldest US Casualty in Iraq

By JIM KAVANUGH

, 

CNN

posted: 1 DAY 1 HOUR AGO

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(May 15) - Army Maj. Steven Hutchison fought battles in the jungles of
Vietnam. Then he fought an epic battle on the home front. And at age 60, he
still wasn't done fighting for his country.

The battle ended for Hutchison on Sunday. He died in Basra, Iraq, of wounds
from a roadside bomb in Al Farr. He is the oldest U.S. service member to die
in Iraq or Afghanistan.

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Iraq

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A U.S. soldier (R) takes a picture while Iraqi soldiers check ammunition and
shells during a raid in Yusufiyah district, 20 km (12 miles) south of
Baghdad, May 12, 2009. Weapons and explosives were found during the
operation and around three gunmen were arrested, Iraqi soldiers said.
REUTERS/Ahmed Malik (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS MILITARY)

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Hutchison joined the Army in 1966 and served two one-year tours in Vietnam,
according to a news release from Fort Riley, Kansas, home of Hutchison's 1st
Infantry Division, the famous "Big Red One."

Over the next 22 years, he was a platoon leader in Germany and commander of
a basic training company at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

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Along the way, he earned a doctorate in psychology from the University of
Delaware and became an assistant professor of military science at Claremont
College in California. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the
Meritorious Service Medal, among others.

Hutchison retired from the military in 1988 and took up the quiet life of a
college professor. He taught at several small colleges in California and
became a researcher for a health care company in Scottsdale, Arizona, said
his brother, Richard Hutchison.

But Hutchison felt compelled to re-enlist after the terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001. His wife, Kandy, vetoed that idea, however.

That decision proved fateful as Hutchison was able to stand by his wife's
side through her battle with breast cancer. She died of the disease in
January 2006.

The always-athletic Hutchison channeled his grief by whipping himself into
shape and returning to active duty at age 57 the following year, his brother
said. Military rules say retirees may be recalled up to age 64 for general
officers, 62 for warrant officers and 60 for all others.

Hutchison served a tour in Afghanistan and then was sent to Iraq, where he
was part of a team training Iraqi forces to secure their own country.

"He's been a soldier his whole life," Richard Hutchison, of Mesa, Arizona,
told CNN affiliate KNXV-TV.

"He was a great guy," he told CNN. "We hung around together, we went to the
movies together, went out to dinner together. He loved to shoot pool; we
used to shoot pool all the time, either at my house or at his house. He was
just a great friend and a great brother."

The soldier-psychology professor, who is also survived by two daughters and
two half-siblings, had a mischievous side, too.

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"He liked to tease me about him being younger than me, even though he was
five years older than me," Richard Hutchison said with a soft chuckle. "He
would tell everyone he was the youngest one. And they would believe him.
Made me feel real good."

Richard Hutchison plans to fly to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware over the
weekend to claim his brother's body and return it to Scottsdale for burial.

The last communication the brothers had was a routine e-mail Steven
Hutchison sent from Iraq about two weeks ago. He rarely wrote about his
experiences in Iraq, Richard Hutchison said.

However, there was one matter on the ground that the soldier involved his
brother in.

"When he was in Iraq, they found a dog and were taking care of it. He sent
me an e-mail asking me to send some dog food and dog supplies," Hutchison
said. The Army made Hutchison's team give up the dog, but they left it in
good hands, his brother said.

"He had a big heart."

2009-05-15 17:52:34

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