Thousands pay their respects to League City soldier who died in Iraq
By RUTH RENDON
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
Clutching flags and shivering, schoolchildren lined the streets of southeast Houston to somberly watch a hearse and miles of cars wind their way to the cemetery where U.S. Army Spc. Ray Joseph Hutchinson was laid to rest today.
The 20-year-old rifleman, a 2001 graduate of Clear Creek High School, was killed in Iraq last week while returning to his base from a security patrol. His Humvee drove over a handmade explosive device that was detonated by remote control in Mosul. Two other soldiers in the same vehicle were critically wounded.
A flag topped his silver casket, flanked by red, white and blue flowers and a framed photograph of the youthful soldier. A pair of black Army boots sat on a pedestal, along with a rifle and a helmet.
Brigadier General Tom Bostic spoke and was on hand for the presentation of a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Infantry badge to Hutchinson's family.
"He did a great job, a wonderful job in this final function," Bostic said. "We want to let him know what a great job he did."
A slideshow of Hutchinson's life in the military was shown, along with a slide show of his personal life, his baby pictures, his first tooth.
Hutchinson grew up in League City, just south of Houston. At Clear Creek High School, he was an active student, playing the saxophone in the band and serving as the photographer of the school's newspaper.
After graduating, he attended Texas State University in San Marcos for a year before quitting to enlist in the Army in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
He took airborne training to learn to be a parachute trooper as well as a rifleman. He was transferred to 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell just two weeks before he was shipped to Iraq at the start of the war, his family said.
Before leaving for Iraq, he stopped by at his old high school in uniform to say goodbye to his teachers.
In his last telephone conversation with his parents, two days before his death, he said he wanted to come to Houston for his grandmother's heart surgery but did not want to bump another soldier already scheduled to leave Iraq.
As today's funeral procession rolled toward Forest Lawn Cemetery on Almeda Genoa, small flags waved from the car windows and thousands of Houston residents gathered along the streets to pay their own respects. Neighborhoods along the way erected flags in the medians.
Hutchinson was supposed to be home for Christmas, but for his family and friends -- and for many who never knew him -- it was a heartwrenching homecoming.
LEAGUE CITY — A mother Tuesday was finding what must have been the coldest of comfort in the details of her son’s death in Iraq.
“It’s important to me to know that he did not lie bleeding to death,” Deborah Hutchinson said. “He fulfilled a great destiny over a short period of time, and nobody can fire a bullet at him anymore.”
Pfc. Ray Joseph Hutchinson, born in Houston and raised in League City, was killed Sunday in the northern city of Mosul. He was 20 and the second Clear Creek Independent School District student killed in Iraq. Marine Staff Sgt. Phillip Jordan, 42, was killed in March.
Hutchinson, who was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, was returning from a security patrol when an explosive hit his vehicle, according to the Department of Defense. “It was a privilege to be his mother,” Deborah Hutchinson said. “He was very special.”
Deborah Hutchinson, husband Michael and their remaining son, Lee Andrew, 25, were hurting but found solace in knowing that Ray Joseph was spared suffering.
Hutchinson enlisted in the Army after a year of studies at Texas State University in San Marcos. Upon completing his military duty, he wanted to get a degree, possibly in engineering or international affairs.
“He wanted to do something for the country and he decided this was the time in life to do it,” his father said. “When he took the test to qualify, he scored at the very top. When he left, he told us, ‘I’m going to be the best.’ We were so proud of him.”
A beautiful smile and a caring attitude were Hutchinson’s trademarks, those who knew him said. “His name was perfect,” said Wynette Jameson, his journalism teacher at Clear Creek High School. “He was like a ray of sunshine. He was always in a good mood.”
From 1997 through 2001, Hutchinson worked as a photographer for the campus newspaper. He also played in the band for three years.
Soon after joining the military, he returned to school, in uniform, to visit his former instructors. Jameson remembers that day. “He looked gorgeous,” she said. “It was the smile, the uniform and the greater confidence. I still see him at my door.”
While in Iraq, Hutchinson was known for relying on his sense of humor to lift people’s spirits and for sharing cookies and other treats his family sent him with fellow soldiers.
“He was always confident. You didn’t think there was a war when you talked to him,” said Anthony Catapano, 19, who served with Hutchinson in Iraq. “He was hilarious.”
The two young men met at Fort Benning, Ga., in January during a four-month advanced training and were later stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky., before being deployed to the Middle East.
“We became best friends,” Catapano said. “We shared everything. We had so many plans. We wanted to go to college together. We were going to visit each other’s families and be friends forever.”
Hutchinson called Friday for the last time. He was trying to get a seat on a plane to Houston to be with his maternal grandmother, who was scheduled to undergo heart surgery at the Texas Medical Center.
“He was talking about the trip,” Michael Hutchinson said. “He had got notice from the Red Cross and was excited. He had not yet confirmed the 11th or the 18th. He said the flight on Dec. 11 was full and that he didn’t want to bump anybody else.”
Deborah Hutchinson was at the Methodist Hospital by her mother’s bedside when she learned her son’s fate. “I stood there looking directly into the man’s eyes and I knew he was telling me the truth,” she said. “I was stunned. I wept and he wept.”
The surgery took place Monday. Hutchinson’s grandmother is recovering. Although the Hutchinsons moved to Phoenix in September, they still have strong ties to League City and Houston.
They had been members of the Sagemont Church for several years. Ray Joseph Hutchinson was baptized there. Buddy Griffin, one of the pastors, spent Sunday night with the family.
“He was a very fine boy and a very faithful member,” Griffin said. “We did a lot of praying and crying. They’re doing as good as they can do.”
The church will soon mount Hutchinson’s picture to their Wall of Honor. A memorial service is expected to take place in about two weeks.
“Unfortunately, Ray Joseph paid the ultimate sacrifice,” his father said. “He wanted to do something for his country. He’s a hero. He’s a young man who made a choice. We want to remember him as a hero.”
Clutching flags and shivering, schoolchildren lined the streets of southeast Houston to watch a hearse and funeral procession wind its way to the cemetery where U.S. Army Spc. Ray Joseph Hutchinson was buried Tuesday.
Hutchinson of League City was killed Dec. 7 while serving in Iraq.
Afterward, American flags lined the route to the cemetery.
"We saw joy in the patriotism of this country," Hutchinson's father, Michael, said later. " We saw what makes this country good. We saw little kids that could barely stand up waving those flags and we saw veterans that have long since retired honoring our son but at the same time honoring all of our military."
Hutchinson died while returning from a security patrol when his Humvee drove over a handmade explosive device that was detonated by remote control in Mosul, Iraq. At the time, he was on a list to be promoted. He received that promotion posthumously, from private 1st class to specialist.
During Tuesday's funeral service, Michael and his wife, Deborah, were presented with awards their son earned: the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and a combat infantry badge.
Pastor John D. Morgan said his message was that Hutchinson offered to join the Army and to set a people free and at the same time protect his homeland.
Morgan said when U.S. servicemen captured Saddam Hussein over the weekend he could envision Hutchinson jumping for joy.
"Michael and Deborah, you did a good job," he said. "Then the Army helped you finish it off to help make your fine son a great man."
Hutchinson's silver casket draped in an American flag was centered at the church's altar. On one side stood an easel with a large photo of Hutchinson in his Army uniform. On a nearby pedestal was a pair of black combat boots with a rifle inside one boot and a camouflage helmet resting on the rifle.
The church altar was adorned with floral arrangements, many bearing red, white and blue flowers.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Sugar Land praised Hutchinson's military duty.
"Ray Joseph Hutchinson died for you. He died for me. He died for everyone he knew and for 270 million countrymen who did not know him," DeLay said.
During the hourlong service, a video chronicled Hutchinson's military career and another his personal life.
Pfc. Anthony Catapano of Louisville, Ky., who called Hutchinson his best friend, said the two had made a pact before heading to the Middle East.
"We made a promise at the beginning that if anything ever happened to either of us, the other would take care of our parents. So I'm indebted to you," he told Michael and Deborah Hutchinson. "I'll be there for every minute of every day until you tell me to leave."
As the procession of 250 cars made its way from Sagemont Church to Forest Lawn Cemetery, people lined up along the route. Some waved flags while others stood at attention.
Large American flags were placed in the medians of the funeral route along Hughes Road, Blackhawk and Almeda-Genoa. Many stood in their front yards while others got out of their cars to pay their respects.
Most touching for the Hutchinsons was seeing schoolchildren from Thompson Intermediate and Moore, Frazier and Jessup elementary schools from the Pasadena school district stand with their hand over their heart and hold up American flags.
"It's overwhelming for the family. We want to thank everyone who came out and gave their support," said Michael Hutchinson, an internal audit director for a bank near Phoenix. "To us it was very personal with Ray Joseph but we also want to remember the other soldiers who died. Many of them have given their lives for the freedom we enjoy."
With sunny skies and a cool breeze blowing, Ray Hutchinson was honored with a 21-gun salute followed by Taps played by a trumpeter. The flag that draped his casket was folded and given to his parents by Brigadier General Bostic "on behalf of a grateful nation." Another flag was given to Hutchinson's brother, Andrew.
Ray Hutchinson last spoke to his parents two days before his death.
He was scheduled to be home for Christmas. He had wanted to return to Houston to be with his grandmother when she underwent recent heart surgery, but did not want to bump a fellow soldier already scheduled to leave Iraq.
His grandmother recovered from her surgery and attended Tuesday's service.
Ray Hutchinson grew up in League City, although his parents had recently moved to Arizona. He graduated from Clear Creek High School in 2001 where he was active in the band and the school newspaper. He attended Texas State University in San Marcos (then called Southwest Texas State University) for a year where he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity before deciding to join the Army.
Hutchinson entered the Army in August 2002 and trained at Fort Benning, Ga., where he graduated as the distinguished honor graduate. He then was awarded entry into Airborne School and received his wings in January.
Following an assignment with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., he was deployed for Kuwait in January. He was a rifleman assigned to A Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Regiment of the 101st Airborne.
I found this quote to sum up what most of us all feel
"Obviously, Texas does not have the market on people who care, but it is nice to see that people in general are so thankful for what our military men and women are doing for us."
Specialist James Kiehl, age 22, from Comfort, Texas, was killed, along with six other soldiers at the same place and the same day that Jessica Lynch was taken prisoner. His body was one of those that our special forces heroes dug up with their bare hands near the hospital in Iraq. They held the funeral service in Comfort at the Baptist Church, and then took him ten miles to Center Point, Texas, and buried him.
A friend visited his grave July 4th, and it was a moving experience. He was compelled to offer a salute, and a simple "thank you, son" over the small grave (since he was cremated). There is no head stone as yet, only the metal funeral home tag. At his head are two fairly large American flags, and surrounding the grave are a dozen or more small ones, on sticks stuck in the ground. People have left mementos to honor his life.
The most remarkable thing at the grave is a rather crude sign, evidently made hastily from whatever could be found in a car or van. It reads: To the parents of Spc. James Kiehl. Thank you for your son. His acts of heroism make this a better country and a better world. It is signed by the Boy Scout Troop of East Bernard, Texas, some 200 miles distant.
What follows is a message from Vicki Pierce about her nephew James' funeral:
"I'm back, it was certainly a quick trip, but I have to also say it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. There is a lot to be said for growing up in a small town in Texas.
The service itself was impressive with wonderful flowers and sprays, a portrait of James, his uniform and boots, his awards and ribbons. There was lots of military brass and an eloquent (though inappropriately longwinded) Baptist preacher. There were easily 1000 people at the service, filling the church sanctuary as well as the fellowship hall and spilling out into the parking lot.
I've attached some pictures, some are blurry (we were moving), but you can get a small idea of what this was like. Thanks so much for all the prayers and support."
BY JUNE LIU About midway down a CNN article Monday afternoon, it was stated, “On Sunday, another 101st Airborne Division soldier died in northwestern Mosul when a roadside bomb struck a convoy.” It sounded just like any of the other numerous reports about a solder’s death in Iraq, but this one was about a 2001 Creek graduate and former member of the HiLife staff, Ray Joseph Hutchinson.
The news came as a shock for me; it’s not everyday that you hear that someone from your school died fighting for your country. I never knew Ray personally, but his name came up often in the HiLife’s newsroom. I remember typing up his address in the military for our last issue so that students can send him letters, and I remember how Mrs. Jameson, our newspaper advisor, smiled whenever she talked about him. I was proud of the fact that someone I was connected with in such a way was serving for my country.
What struck me was the anonymity kept in the CNN article. When I read it, I felt that it had a “grave of the unknown soldier” ring to it. Everyday I hear about the deaths of soldiers in Iraq, but they seemed, like in this article, wholly unconnected to me, unreal because they are given only fractions of sentences and have no names.
While there was probably not much more a news article could have said about him with the little information that they had, it is a personal struggle to comprehend Ray’s death that makes the sentence in the article stand out. Ray went to the same school that I’m in. He spent time in the same newsroom that I’m in, and he probably typed on the same keyboard that I am typing on. He is not a nameless soldier; he is a student who will live on in our memories. Ray’s name was not released to the media until a sergeant from the Army had a chance to personally tell his family the news. Since his graduation, his parents had moved to Phoenix, Arizona, but were in Houston because his grandmother was in Methodist Hospital in critical condition and in need of emergency heart surgery. Ray was scheduled to come back to see her, but his squad leader was already in the States on emergency leave, and Ray was the only one he trusted to lead the squad in his place. Ray was killed on his last scheduled mission of his nine-month service in Iraq before he was due home.
The group of people from the Army did not have a current address of Ray’s parents, but they tracked down his mother to the hospital. Floor by floor, they searched the hospital until they found Ray’s mother. Ray’s older brother, Lee, received a call from his father, telling him to come to the hospital immediately. Lee was expecting news about his grandmother—something that he was prepared for. But instead his father told him that Ray had passed away.
Since the release of Ray’s name, our newsroom has been flooded with phone calls and e-mails from students who knew Ray. Mrs. Jameson tells us about how Ray always had a smile on his face and how he was always willing to help others out. She says that in the years she knew him, she’s never heard anyone say one bad word about him. “I’ve had eighteen- and nineteen-year-old boys calling me all day long, crying,” she said. “These people really care about each other.” Sitting here while Mrs. Jameson is on the phone with one of the past editors-in-chief of the newspaper, I feel like I am on the sidelines, watching a great hero being celebrated.
But Ray would not have wanted to be remembered as a hero, Lee told me. “He would have wanted to be remembered as a member of the infantry who served his country.”
Lee’s favorite memory of Ray is embodied in two pictures taken about thirteen years ago. The family was vacationing at the Grand Canyon, and the boys’ parents had left the hotel room to go to the store. There were two twin beds in the room, and each boy took a picture of the other jumping from one bed to the other. Lee says that he likes the picture because, “It captures in a second everything that Ray Joseph was—a smiling, happy guy.”
Four years ago, Ray took a picture of a portion of the Moving Vietnam Wall when it was in League City. The reflection of a soldier can be seen, black against the white names of the soldiers who died in combat. You get the sense that the soldier is not in the picture, but that he is standing where you are, facing it. This amazing photo spectacularly captures the how Ray will live on in this newsroom, and in the minds of so many people. He will always be in our presence, and he will always be remembered as a “Ray” of sunshine.
"Close-up of the Army Commendation Award ribbon. Upper left is the Coin of the Sergeant-Major of the Army; upper right is an award my grandfather received in Korea; my brother kept the Korea award with him for luck-Lee Hutchinson."
A soldier's story of heroism is often hard to tell because the tale can involve the sacrifice of his life for his country. And so it is that SPECIALIST RAY JOSEPH HUTCHINSON, who was born in Houston and served with the Army's 101st Airborne division during Operation Iraqi Freedom, died on December 7, 2003 in Mosul, Iraq. Ray Joseph was only twenty years old, but in that short time his life touched many others. As a child, Ray Joseph was bright, sensitive, thoughtful, and riotously funny. He carried those qualities into adulthood and added discernment, courage, determination, and strength. As a man, Ray Joseph could illuminate a room just by smiling, and his friends say that he laughed easily and often. He excelled in athletics and won several awards for his rock climbing and martial arts skills.
He loved to water ski, snow ski, snowboard, roller blade, and mountain bike. His joy for living was boundless. After graduating from Clear Creek High School in 2001, Ray Joseph attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos for one year before deciding he wanted to serve the country that he loved. He was a member of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity. Ray Joseph joined the Army in August 2002 and took his infantry training at Ft. Benning, Georgia. There he quickly excelled, graduating as the Distinguished Honor Graduate. He was awarded entry into Airborne school and won his wings in January 2003. He received an assignment to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, and deployed to Kuwait in February, 2003. Ray Joseph participated in the entirety of Operation Iraqi Freedom and saw Iraq on foot and from atop a HMMWV and behind the sights of an M240B machine gun. He was there from the initial push across the deserts, through An Najaf, Karbala, Baghdad, and into Mosul. During this time he distinguished himself enough to earn the coin of the Sergeant-Major of the Army, the Army Commendation Award, the Purple Heart, and the Bronze Star. It was also in Mosul that he died. An incredible light has been taken from us, and we will be forever empty without Ray Joseph's presence. He is a hero in the truest sense of the word. He served the United States of America in accordance with his military oath, and he paid his life's blood so that others might be free. He did this without remorse or complaint, never failing in the countless missions he was asked to perform. The Bible tells us that God has a plan for all things and that nothing happens according to chance. Ray Joseph's family loved him, and they know that God had a reason for calling him home when He did. The stars will shine out even brighter now that Ray Joseph's brilliant soul is among them. Though he is absent from the body, he is present with the Lord. The Funeral Service will be held at 10:00am Tuesday, December 16, 2003, at Sagemont Church, 11300 South Sam Houston Parkway East. Interment will follow in Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Published in the Houston Chronicle on 12/14/2003.
Our son, Spc. Ray Joseph Hutchinson. He was killed in Mosul, Iraq, on December 7, 2003. He has been gone eight weeks today. I am Ray Joseph's mother, Deborah Hutchinson.
Ray Joseph was only twenty years old. We miss him more than we can say. Ray Joseph was a man of Faith. He loved the Good Lord, so we have no doubt that he was taken Home to Heaven in an instant, and now walks with Jesus.
I am sending you a couple of articles about him, and a few pictures of him in Iraq. He served with the 2'nd Battalion, 502'nd Infantry of the 101'st Airborne (Air Assault) Screaming Eagles from Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. Ray Joseph had only been in the Army fifteen months when he was killed. He had attended a year at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, when he decided to join the Army to do something meaningful in the fight against terrorism. He graduated from advanced infantry training school in Ft. Benning Georgia, as the distinguished honor graduate. He was given a slot in jump school and completed airborne school. Shortly after his advanced infantry and airborne training, he was deployed to the camps in Kuwait in early March, 2003, where he was a part of the entire Iraqi Freedom Campaign, as his company proceeded deep into the country of Iraq in harm's way every minute.
We, as his parents, had contacted Ray Joseph in Mosul, in early December, through the Red Cross so that he could come home on an emergency leave to see his grandmother who was gravely ill at the Medical Center in Houston, Texas. He received permission to do so, and called us to tell us that he would come home so that he could be with his Grandmother for a couple of days. He told us, "The plane for emergency leave is full, and I do not want to bump another soldier of the flight. So I will wait for the next plane in a few days." He was sent on a mission right after that call to us, and was killed. I was told of his death outside his grandmother's hospital room in Houston, Texas.
Ray Joseph was killed instantly by a roadside improvised explosive device which was detonated by remote control , as he was retuning from a mission on convoy that fateful day. He was the gunner (M240B) for his platoon, and was standing at his rear guard position on the humvee that was the last vehicle in the convoy.
Ray Joseph was dearly loved by the other soldiers. He brought sunshine into the lives around him. Many of the soldiers have told us that it was difficult to imagine a war was going on when you were around "Hutch"! He kept everyone smiling and encouraged all who knew him.
He told us that the promise of the future of Iraq is in the children. He said that they would grow up and remember the kindness of the American soldiers who took the time to give them school supplies, candy, hugs, and laughter. Ray Joseph said that these Iraqi children would grow up with the opportunity to make more choices in their lives than their parents had. Ray Joseph said, "Somebody fought and died for me so that I could be free, and we are doing the same thing for these children in Iraq!"
Thank you, Patti, for taking the time to remember a true American Hero---Spc. Ray Joseph Hutchinson.
With a grateful heart,
Deborah Hutchinson
"Oh, my son! What an honor to be your mother...."
SPC Ray Joseph Hutchinson 101'st Airborne Screaming Eagles
2/502 Killed in Action December 7, 2003 Iraq
~ A TRUE HERO RESTS IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD~
Spc. Ray Joseph Hutchinson about three weeks before he was killed in Mosul, Iraq, December7, 2003
Spc. Ray Joseph Hutchinson always had time for the Iraqi children.
We found a group of photos Spc. Ray Joseph Hutchinson took with his camera. This is sunrise in Mosul through Ray Joseph's eyes. This photo speaks a thousand words about where our son's heart was....
