Kenneth L. Ridgley
|
| Age: |
|
30 |
| Hometown: |
Olney, IL |
| Date of Death: |
3/30/2005 |
| Incident Location: |
Mosul, Iraq |
| Branch of Military: |
|
Army |
| Rank: |
Sgt. |
| Unit: |
3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division |
| Unit's Base: |
Fort Lewis, WA |
|
Kenneth L. Ridgley used to hang out at local military recruiting stations as a child, dreaming of becoming a soldier. "Since he was a kid, being in the Army was all he ever wanted to do," said Earl Strausbaugh, Ridgley's brother-in-law. Ridgley, 30, of Olney, Ill., died March 30 in Mosul, Iraq, after his unit was attacked by small-arms fire. He was based at Fort Lewis. He joined the Illinois National Guard as a high school senior and served for six years, a move that helped him earn his tuition at Southern Illinois University. He was a roper on the university's rodeo team and left college to become a blacksmith. He also worked in Colorado as a wrangler and horse-shoer. Three years after leaving the National Guard, Ridgley enlisted in the Army. "After 9/11 he said he regretted that he had not just joined Army right after high school," said his mother, Betty Richards. Ridgley married his wife, Charity, in August and had been in the process of adopting her 3-year-old son, Dillon.
14/12/2009Kyle Newell
He was one of the friendliest people I have ever met. An unbelievable man and a Cardinals fan. I will never forget our conversations we had in Iraq about the Cardinals and about his family.