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Corpsman Gives All
Christopher G.
Walsh
HM2
Christopher G. Walsh, a man whose desire to help others was
strong enough to
send him to war, lost his life on September 4, 2006,
when the convoy he was part of
was struck by a roadside
bomb.
This heroic Navy Corpsman gave his life honorably
while fulfilling a
calling which compelled him to go to Iraq last winter. A former
Emergency Medical Technician,
Walsh
apparently had saving lives in his blood, as his father was an
Army medic during the Vietnam War, and his grandfather and uncle
were firelighters.
His need for saving lives and helping others led him
to Iraq as a Fleet Marine Force Corpsman, where he knew he was
putting his life at risk every day to tend the Marines in his detachment.
It was a duty he felt strongly that he was called to, a point he
made
clear to his family and friends.
The
National Combat Medical Memorial & Youth
Education Center,
Inc. joins with the family and friends of Christopher Walsh, along with
the detachment in which he served and a nation grateful for his service,
in mourning the loss
of this heroic young corpsman. Established to
honor combat medics, corpsmen, nurses and doctors, the National
Combat Medical Memorial & Youth Education Center,
Inc. would like
to recognize Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Christopher G. Walsh as
a genuine American
hero, and would like to make it known that Petty
Officer Walsh
personifies the type of person we honor with this
memorial.
To the friends and family of
Christopher G. Walsh, we
offer our
condolences, but more importantly, we offer a
heartfelt thank you for
the sacrifice you have made for those of us that continue to live
with
the freedom that men such as Petty Officer Walsh provide.
Semper Fidelis.
Wednesday, September 06 2006 @ 05:29 PM EDT
Contributed by:
River97
St. Louis Today -- A St. Louis Fire Department emergency
medical technician, who loved helping people so much that he
signed up for the Navy Reserves, was killed in Iraq on
Monday, according to the fire department and family members.
Relatives and friends said Christopher G. Walsh, 30, was killed
while helping people - the same thing that drove him to join the
fire department in 2001. The Department of Defense had not
yet confirmed his death late Tuesday, and details of his death
were not clear.
What was clear was that he chose his own
path, said Timothy Kirchoff, a friend and
firefighter who worked with Walsh for
several years. Walsh had followed a family
history of firefighting and military service and
pushed to be sent to Iraq, family and friends said.
"He said he was a little scared," Kirchoff said. "But he wanted
to go over there. He basically wanted to expand his training and
experience. He wanted to be on the front lines."
Kirchoff said Walsh was a talented EMT and partner in a
profession that requires trust.
"He was by far the best EMT I ever worked with," said Kirchoff,
who was a paramedic until heading for firefighter training shortly
before Walsh left for Iraq. "He really cared for the people of the
city and wanted to work for them. And when something went
wrong, I knew he was there with me."
Walsh grew up in Shawnee, Kan., and came to the St. Louis
area after he graduated from high school, when his father was |
transferred to the area.
A grandfather and an uncle had been firefighters, and his father
was a medic in Vietnam, said Walsh's sister, Erin Watson, also
from the St. Louis area. Walsh followed them, training as an
EMT and joining the St. Louis Fire Department. He planned to
become a firefighter after returning from the Middle East.
"He loves his line of work," Watson said. "He was very proud
of what he was doing."
Mark Rauss, a fire department EMT, helped train Walsh shortly
after Walsh joined the department. Rauss said he wasn't
surprised when Walsh joined the Navy Reserves.
"He was an honorable person, and he went on to serve his
country honorably," Rauss said. "He gave his life doing
something he believed in - serving other people."
Flags will be at half-staff and crape will hang over entrances
at firehouses throughout the city.
"We are in a profession where we work closely with each
other, where we depend on each other," Rauss said. "It's like
a family. This is like losing a brother."
Services for Walsh will be held in Kansas, Watson said.
A brother who is serving in Iraq with the Marines will escort
his body back to the United States. Burial will be at Fort
Leavenworth National Cemetery.
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