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Families told of soldiers' deaths
by: MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer
Monday, June 25, 2007
Two Oklahoma soldiers
who died together when a
bomb ripped through their
vehicle in Baghdad last
week were remembered
Sunday as loving, patriotic
young men who were proud
to be serving in Iraq.
Army Pfc. Thomas Ray
Leemhuis, 23, of Anadarko,
and Army Sgt. Ryan M.
Wood, 22, of Oklahoma City,
were killed Thursday morning in northeast Baghdad
when a roadside bomb tore
through their Bradley fighting vehicle.
A Bradley is a well-armed,
tracked armored vehicle capable of carrying troops.
Five soldiers in the Bradley, Leemhuis and Wood
among them, reportedly were killed in the explosion.
The Department of Defense as of Sunday night had
not confirmed the deaths of
Wood and Leemhuis, but
their families said they have
been notified by military officials.
Patty Leemhuis of Anadarko said her son was due to
return home in four weeks
from his tour of duty in Iraq.
The last contact she had
with him was through an e-mail June 18, she said.
"He wrote that he loved
me, and that he would be
home soon. He also told me
to stay strong," she said.
Leemhuis said her son believed in what he had to do
in Iraq, and that he loved being with his Army buddies
and serving the country.
She said her son believed
that it was better to keep the
war in Iraq rather than it being
in the United States.
Leemhuis said her son --
with the 126th Infantry, Charlie Company -- was a gunner
on the Bradley vehicle at the
time of the explosion.
Wood's stepfather, Scott
Vincent of Oklahoma City, described Wood as a lifelong patriot who followed in the footsteps of both grandfathers
who served in the military.
"What really got him going," Vincent said, "was the
9/11 attacks. He wanted to do
his part for his country, and he
loved serving in Iraq."
Wood, who would have
turned 23 on July 11, was
scheduled to return home in
December after his second
tour in Iraq.
Vincent said an Army casualty officer, along with Wood's
commanding officer, confirmed for the family that both
Wood and Leemhuis were in
the same Bradley vehicle
when it was struck by a bomb.
Vincent said the two had
known each other while in
Iraq and were in the same
company, but their coming together in the same vehicle
was due to a rotational happenstance.
"That wasn't his regular assignment," Vincent said of
Wood, who was assigned to
the 1st Infantry Division, 26th
Battalion, Charlie Company.
Vincent said Wood, whom
he has known all his life, loved
to draw.
"Last Monday, he received
an acceptance from the University of Central Oklahoma at
Edmond. He wanted to go
there and receive a degree,
and continue with his artwork," Vincent said.
"He was a wonderful young
man," Vincent said. "He was
sweet, and he loved everyone
and everything. He was the
sweetest you could ever know.
He was a lover."
Vincent said his stepson
was raised in Oklahoma City
and graduated in 2002 from
Putnam City North High
School. Wood joined the Army right after graduating.
Vincent said the last time
the family saw him was for a
short while last December.
"Ryan felt Iraq was a job we
had to finish. It wasn't something we could walk away
from," Vincent said. "He was
dedicated to being there, and
he was extremely well-loved
by all his men."
Patty Leemhuis said her son
was a fun-loving young man
who enjoyed cracking jokes,
playing video games and the
company of his younger
brother, Paul, and their cousin, Gilbert Leemhuis, who is
now in the Army and planning
to go to Iraq in August.
She said her son was born
in Lawton, but grew up in Binger in Caddo County. He graduated from Binger-Olney
High School, where he was a
basketball standout and a
baseball team manager.
"His No. 1 football team was
the Nebraska Cornhuskers,
and he loved to wear his Nebraska hat around the University of Oklahoma.
"He loved to push it to the
limit," Patty Leemhuis of her
son's fun-loving nature.
She said her son joined the
Army in 2005 after the death
of his uncle, Melvin Jody Stevens, a Vietnam veteran.
She said her son was inspired by his uncle's service to
the country, and felt he wanted to follow in his footsteps.
Leemhuis said her son had
dreams of becoming a police
officer after the Army.
She said at first he had
thought of becoming a teacher and basketball coach, but
then turned his thoughts to
becoming a police officer "because he hated drugs."
Funeral arrangements are
pending for both soldiers.
Along with his mother,
Leemhuis is survived his father, Paul Whitehorn of Birmingham, Ala.; a brother,
Paul, 17, of Binger; and three
sisters, Stephanie Leemhuis,
27, of Dublin, Calif., Renee
Whitehorn, 19, of Anadarko
and Dream Cox, 12, of Birmingham, Ala.
In addition to his stepfather,
Wood is survived by his mother, Renee Vincent; his father,
Bonner Wood of Piedmont;
three sisters, Candice Bunce,
26, of Moore, Jenifer Campbell, 24, and Stephanie Wood,
21, both of Oklahoma City;
and a brother, Scott Vincent
Jr., 23, of Oklahoma City.
Manny Gamallo 581-8386
manny.gamallo@tulsaworld.com
Associate Images:
KILLED
Army Pfc. Thomas Ray
LeemhuisTheir families were
told the soldiers were killed
Thursday in Baghdad, Iraq.
Army Sgt. Ryan M.
Wood Their families were
told the soldiers were killed
Thursday in Baghdad, Iraq.
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