| From Yakima
Herald 11/15/06:
Two memorials planned for soldier killed in Iraq
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
Family and friends of an Army sergeant recently killed in Iraq will gather at Fort Lewis and White Swan this week in his memory.
Sgt. Lucas T White, who graduated from White Swan High School in 1996, was killed Nov. 6 near Baghdad when his unit came under fire during a routine patrol.
Lucas, 28, a member of the Umatilla tribe, was assigned to 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, Wash.
Born in Pendleton, Ore., he moved at age 12 to White Swan, where he graduated from high school. He had moved to Moses Lake just a month before joining the military.
A 4 p.m. memorial is planned Thursday for White at Fort Lewis, before his body is taken overnight to Benson Funeral Home in Moses Lake. On Friday, traditional tribal overnight services will begin shortly after dark at the Toppenish Creek Longhouse.
White's mother, Julia James Brooks, said tribes across the Northwest, including the Yakama and Umatilla, plan on sending delegations to the Fort Lewis service.
"It's going to be packed," she said.
White, who previously served in Afghanistan, realized his dream of being in the military after enlisting in 2001.
He leaves behind a wife, Jennifer White of Moses Lake, five brothers and a sister in addition to his mother.
"My son was just awesome," Brooks said.
Traditional services were held Tuesday on the Umatilla reservation at Mission Longhouse near Pendleton.
White will eventually be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. |
