Richard A. Dewater
Profile
Age: 21
From: Topeka, Kan.
Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas
Incident: Army Pfc. Richard A. Dewater died April 15, of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device, while on a dismounted patrol near Korengal Valley, Afghanistan.
Died: April 15, 2009
Soldier lived in Ore., Kan.
The Associated Press
GRANTS PASS, Ore. — A soldier with strong ties to Oregon has been killed while on patrol in Afghanistan.
The Department of Defense said Army Pfc. Richard Dewater died April 15 from wounds caused by an improvised explosive device.
The 21-year-old had lived on and off in Grants Pass since he was a toddler, and his grandfather, Richard Sims, still lives in the city. Dewater attended Grants Pass High School in 2004 and 2005 before moving to Topeka, Kan., where his father lives.
The Grants Pass Daily Courier reported that Dewater leaves behind a wife, Valerie. They were married in June, a month before Dewater left for Afghanistan.
Tyler Clinton, 21, told the newspaper that Dewater was his best friend in high school. “We were really close. He was the first real friend I made when I moved up here,” Clinton said. “He loved going fishing,...