 Staff Sgt. Richard Ramey of the 703rd EOD died Sunday from an explosion in Mahmudiyah, Iraq. |
Posted on 02/12/2004 1:39:45 PM PST by Ragtime Cowgirl
Knox NCO killed in Iraq
Staff Sgt. Richard Ramey of the 703rd EOD died Sunday from an explosion in Mahmudiyah, Iraq. |
Fort Knox Public Affairs Office
Staff Sgt. Richard Ramey, 27, of Canton, Ohio, a Soldier with the Fort Knox-based 703rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment, died in Mahmudiyah, Iraq, Sunday of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated.
Ramey, an explosive ordnance disposal specialist had been stationed at Fort Knox since April 9, 2001. He had been in the Army since 1995.
Approximately 15 Soldiers from the 703rd are in Iraq. The detachment deployed in September for a six-month rotation.
At Fort Knox the 703rd has the mission of disarming or rendering inactive any ordnance or improvised device on post and approximately half of Kentucky and Indiana. It also provides support to the FBI, the Secret Service, and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, as well as all other federal and civilian law enforcement agencies.
The incident is under investigation.
Ramey's funeral will be held in Canton at a date to be determined. A memorial is set at Fort Knox tomorrow in the Main Post Chapel at 10 a.m.
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“The teacher called and was a little alarmed and I said, ‘No, that’s my son,”’ recalled the mother of Army Staff Sgt. Richard Ramey, Julie Ramey.
Ramey, 27, of Canton, was killed Feb. 8 in an attack in Mahmudiyah, Iraq, 20 miles south of Baghdad as insurgents attacked separate Army convoys with explosives, the Pentagon said. Three other soldiers were wounded.
He was assigned to the 703rd Ordnance Company out of Fort Knox, Ky., and was supporting the work of the 82nd Airborne Division, the Pentagon said.
Ramey was the 20th Ohioan killed in the war. He served in the Army for 8½ years.
He was sent to Iraq in September and was looking forward to an assignment in Alaska beginning in late March, said his father, Jerry Ramey.
Photos of Ramey in his uniform and of his 1995 graduation hung on a wall and a mantle of the Rameys’ home. Next to it was a graduation photo of his younger sister, Sarah.
“It’s going to be tough, but we’ll get through it,” Jerry Ramey said.
Julia Ramey said she and her husband were proud of his service.
“Richard loved to do his job. No matter where it would take him,” she said. “He really felt deeply that he wanted to protect people that couldn’t protect themselves.”
In a statement released through Fort Knox, the family said, “He was adventurous and smart, combining both qualities in what he did for the Army. We knew his work was dangerous but also knew he wouldn’t have wanted to do anything else.”
Ramey graduated in 1995 from suburban Perry High School, according to Mark H. Dean, principal of the 1,200-student school. The school likely will honor Ramey by hanging a memorial plaque with his photograph, Dean said.
Bob Kilpatrick, who had Ramey in his English class, said Ramey was “a solid kid who worked hard and tried to do as much as he could right.”
He said the Perry faculty learned about Ramey’s death on Feb. 9. “It was a sad, sad day. It just made the rest of the day kind of sad,” he said.
Ramey played offensive guard with the Perry football team and was a teammate of Kilpatrick’s son. Ramey looked forward to his military service, according to Kilpatrick, “not to get his college paid for. He actually wanted to serve.”
A Feb. 12 memorial service for Ramey was scheduled in the Main Post Chapel at Fort Knox.
Ramey was the second soldier from the 703rd killed in Iraq, according to Connie Shaffery, a Fort Knox spokeswoman.
Staff Sgt. Kimberly A. Voelz, 27, of Carlisle, Pa., who was assigned to the 703rd along with her husband, was killed Dec. 14 in Iskandariyah, Iraq. She died in her husband’s arms hours after an improvised explosive device she was trying to defuse went off.
http://www.militarycity.com/valor/2634469.html
Feb. 13 - Friday, not Feb. 12th, as the second article states.
SSG Kim A. [Fahnstalk] Voelz, EOD, R.I.P.
Stay Safe !
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