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An Army transfer team conducts a 'dignified transfer' of the remains of Cpl. Ryan C. McGhee yesterday afternoon.
An Army carry team moves the transfer case with the remains of Cpl. Ryan C. McGhee from a cargo plane after it landed in Delaware. |
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE
--Under a blustery gray sky and in a transfer case draped with an American flag, Cpl. Ryan Casey McGhee, 21, an Army Ranger killed in Iraq on Wednesday, began his final journey home.In a solemn scene yesterday on the tarmac, McGhee's remains were transferred by fellow soldiers from a 747 cargo plane bearing the Stars and Stripes on its flank, to the ground where relatives and a large white van were waiting.
McGhee, a 2006 Massaponax High school graduate, is the son of Steven and Kristie McGhee of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Sherrie Battle-McGhee of Knoxville, Tenn. He was engaged to be married to a fellow Massaponax High School graduate next year.
On Wednesday, the flag-draped remains of five soldiers killed over the weekend by a troubled fellow soldier in Iraq were were received by relatives at the same spot.
McGhee, who served four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, was killed by small arms fire while conducting combat operations in central Iraq, when his unit came under fire. A combat operator with the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga., McGhee was part of a team hunting down a weapons provider and a suicide-bombing cell.
"He was an all-around great person and he loved what he did," McGhee's brother Zachary, 24, said yesterday. "I talked to him two weeks ago. He called to wish me a happy birthday. He said he loved me and he missed me."
Zachary McGhee, who lives in Stafford County and is a sergeant in the Army National Guard in Fredericksburg, said his brother was interested in the military early on and decided in his senior year in high school to become a Ranger. "He pretty much wanted to serve his country and give something back."
"Ryan McGhee's actions are in the finest traditions of this great regiment," said Col. Richard D. Clarke, 75th Ranger Regiment commander. "He continuously answered his nation's call fighting the most tenacious, fanatical and resolute enemies of our country during multiple deployments to places where most would or could not go. His memory will not be forgotten by our Rangers."
High school Principal Joe Rodkey said he learned about McGhee's death Wednesday while attending a Massaponax soccer game.
"This is just devastating to us," Rodkey said of the impact on the Massaponax High School community.
"We all just thought the world of him."
McGhee also had been a member of the Key Club and served on the class executive board his junior and senior years.
He was chosen by his classmates for two senior superlatives--friendliest and most charming.
Rodkey said he met in his office yesterday with students who had learned of McGhee's death.
"Kids have a hard time with this because they never expect it to be anyone they know," Rodkey said.
He said the school is prepared to assist students if any need help dealing with the death.
Deb Aragon, who helps coordinate the "dignified transfers" at the Air Force Base, said it's an emotional time for all involved.
"My heart goes out to the families every time," said Aragon, a retired Air Force master sergeant. "I have two sons, 19 and 21."
Staff reporters Jeff Branscome and Pamela Gould contributed to this story.
Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Email: rdennen@freelancestar.com
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After graduating from high school, McGhee enlisted in the Army in August 2006. He completed basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., as an infantryman. After graduating from the Basic Airborne Course there, he was assigned to the Ranger Indoctrination Program, also at Fort Benning. He graduated from the Ranger Indoctrination Program in February 2007 and was then assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in March 2007. McGhee served as a rifleman and grenadier before serving as a weapons squad team leader with Company D. His awards and decorations include Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal With Combat Star, Iraq Campaign Medal With Combat Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, Expert Infantryman's Badge, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge and the Ranger Tab. --Rusty Dennen
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Cpl. Ryan C. McGhee is one of at least 23 men and one woman with ties to the Fredericksburg area have died in Iraq or Afghanistan since the war on terror began: Army Capt. Torre Mallard, 27. whose father teaches JROTC at Spotsylvania Career and Technical Center, was killed March 10, 2008, in Balad Ruz, Iraq, by an improvised explosive device. Army 1st Lt. Benjamin Hall, 24, whose family lives in Fredericksburg, was killed July 31, 2007, leading his infantry platoon in Chowkay Valley, Afghanistan. Army Sgt. Dustin Perrott , 23, of Spotsylvania County, was killed June 21, 2007, when a bomb exploded near his vehicle in Miri, Afghanistan. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Stanley, 27, a native of Spotsylvania County, was killed March 5, 2007, when his unit tripped an IED in Samarra, Iraq. Marine Sgt. Joshua Frazier , 24, of Spotsylvania County was killed Feb. 6, 2007, by a sniper in Ramadi, Iraq. Army National Guard Col. Paul M. Kelly, 45, of Stafford County was killed Jan. 20, 2007, when his helicopter was shot down near Baghdad. Army Cpl. Adam Fargo, 22, a medic with relatives in Fredericksburg, was killed July 22, 2006, by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. Marine Cpl. Brett Lee Lundstrom, a 2001 Brooke Point High School graduate, was killed Jan. 7, 2006, by small-arms fire near Fallujah, Iraq. Army National Guard Spc. Jeremy Hodge, 20, whose mother lives in Fredericksburg, was killed Oct. 10, 2005, when the convoy he was leading was hit by a bomb near Baghdad. Army Master Sgt. Michael Russell , 31, originally of North Stafford, was killed June 28, 2005, in Afghanistan with 15 other service members when their helicopter was shot down by insurgents. Marine Cpl. Christopher Weaver, 24, of Spotsylvania was one of four Marine reservists killed in a Jan. 26, 2005, convoy ambush near Haditha, Iraq. Army Sgt. Nicholas “Nick” Mason, 20, a National Guardsman from King George, was one of 22 people killed in a Dec. 21, 2004, mess-tent suicide bombing near Mosul, Iraq. Army Sgt. David Ruhren, 20, a National Guardsman from Stafford County, also was killed in the mess-tent suicide bombing. Army Sgt. Jack Bryant Jr. of Dale City was killed in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, on Nov. 20, 2004, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military convoy. Civilian medic Jeffery Serrett, a 43-year-old Caroline native who lived in Spotsylvania, was shot and killed by an unidentified assailant Nov. 2, 2004, at Abu Ghraib prison between Baghdad and Fallujah. He was working for Halliburton. Marine Lance Cpl. Caleb Powers, 21, a former Fredericksburg-area resident, was killed by a sniper Aug. 17, 2004, in Ramadi, Iraq. Army 2nd Lt. Leonard Cowherd III, 22, of Culpeper was killed by a sniper May 16, 2004, while on a mission near Karbala, Iraq. Army Spc. Frank K. Rivers Jr., 23, of Woodbridge suffered heart failure during physical training April 14, 2004, in Mosul, Iraq. Army 2nd Lt. Jeff Graham, 24, a 1998 graduate Brooke Point High School, was killed Feb. 19, 2004, about 50 miles west of Baghdad after a bomb exploded while he led his platoon on foot patrol. Army Staff Sgt. Thomas D. Robbins, 27, a scout, was killed Feb. 9, 2004, near Mosul, Iraq, when confiscated Iraqi ammunition exploded while he and others were moving it. Robbins grew up in New York, but has relatives in the Fredericksburg area. Army Regimental Sgt. Maj. Cornell W. Gilmore, 45, of North Stafford was killed Nov. 7, 2003, in a helicopter shot down over Tikrit, Iraq. He worked for the Judge Advocate General Corps at the Pentagon and was on a brief mission in Iraq. Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Sharon T. Swartworth, 43, of Alexandria, who spent weekends at a summer home at Lake Anna in Orange County, also worked for JAG and died with Gilmore. Army Staff Sgt. David Parson, 30, was shot seven times July 6, 2003, as his vehicle approached Baghdad. The father of three had married into the Belman family of Stafford. |
