R.I.P. Pfc. Christopher I. Walz

Name: Army Pfc. Christopher I. Walz

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Age: 25

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From: Vancouver, Wash.

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Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

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Incident: Army Pfc. Christopher I. Walz died Oct. 27 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, Spc. Jared D. Stanker and Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson.

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Died: October 27, 2009

(Taken from www.kuow.org) This morning we take a moment to remember a Northwest soldier who was recently killed in Afghanistan. October marked the deadliest month for American soldiers in Afghanistan since the war started. The casualties include 10soldiers based at Fort Lewis who were killed by roadside bombs. Tomorrow, the military holds memorial services for several of these soldiers. Among them was Private First Class Christopher Walz. Most people called him Ian. He was from Vancouver, Washington.

An official military photo of Ian Walz shows him in fatigues, sunburned cheeks and intense blue eyes staring back you. His family friend, Jill Katusky, remembers Ian's softer side.

Katusky: "We used to tease him that he was the only person besides me who would hear that song "I'm proud to be American" and cry like a baby. And this was a pretty–good–sized burly young man, and that's the one that brought him to tears."

Walz' family asked Katusky to speak on their behalf. She met Walz when he began dating her daughter, Katrina, in high school. They dated for seven years, eventually got married, and later divorced. But still, Katrina and Jill remained close to Walz and his family.

Ian Walz enlisted in the military just over a year ago. He was glad to be stationed at Fort Lewis, so close to home and his mother, Victoria, who'd raised him alone.

On a recent visit home, Katusky, her daughter and Walz met for dinner in downtown Portland.

Katusky: "And he showed pictures of the guys that were with him in his unit, and Afghanistan, and some of the children that he had met. He said he absolutely loved the Afghan people, even though you couldn't tell the good guys from the bad guys. Um, didn't totally understand exactly the rules of engagement that they were going through." Despite that, Walz' patriotism was unwavering. His favorite holiday was the Fourth of July. He wrote on his MySpace page the he felt it was important to serve his country.

Walz earned an associate's degree at Clark College, and planned to go back to school for a degree in Political Science. He was a history buff and hoped to be a teacher someday.

Katusky: "He could quote McArthur and Stalin and people back to the civil war. He'd read every book you could imagine. He literally had 200 books on this history of conflicts all throughout the world. Loved world politics. I think he was the only high school kid really addicted to CNN."

Walz thought if he did become a teacher, his experience in Afghanistan would be great for him to draw on.

Before Walz' last mission, he'd told a friend he was nervous for the first time. He'd heard his unit was headed to a hot territory. As he often did, he called his ex–wife Katrina to tell her he'd be gone for a few days.

Katusky: "You know and every time he would go away, she said promise me you'll be as safe as you can. He said I will. I'll call you as soon as I get back. Yeah."

This mission took Walz and his fellow soldiers to the southern part of Afghanistan. While on patrol, a roadside bomb hit their Stryker vehicle. The blast killed all seven soldiers. A separate bomb attack that same day killed an eighth soldier from Fort Lewis.

The soldiers' bodies were flown to Dover Air Force Base last week. President Obama was there to meet them and talk with the families, including Katrina and Walz' mother.

Katusky thinks Private Walz would've been proud.

Katusky: "He was a huge Obama fan. He was like one of the first to have the Obama T–shirt, and spent a huge amount of money going to the Obama rallies. Absolutely endorsed this man. We understand that it's kind of unprecedented for a president to go to Dover and meet the plane and all that kinds of stuff, so in some weird sense I think he would've been grateful that he was kind of part of history in some weird way."