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Courtesy of family
Capt. Christopher S. Cash
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An Army National Guard officer killed last week in Iraq spent his early
years in Rhode Island, where he played T-ball and spent many summer days
at the beach with his parents and two sisters.
Capt. Christopher S. Cash, 36, of Winterville, N.C., died Thursday in
Baqubah, Iraq, when his Bradley Fighting Vehicle came under attack by
enemy forces using small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades,
according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
An infantry officer, Cash was commander of Alpha Company of the 1st
Battalion, 120th Infantry headquartered in Jacksonville, N.C., according
to the North Carolina National Guard.
He moved from Rhode Island to Maine when he was 8, but his family still
has strong ties to the Ocean State, according to his mother, Nancy
Kelley, a native of Lincoln who now lives in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.
Cash's father, Robert Cash, lives in Pawtucket and is a longtime city
employee. One of his sisters, Jodie Olivo, lives in North Providence and
teaches at Cash's old elementary school, Nathaneal Greene Elementary
School in Pawtucket, Mrs. Kelley said. Cash's paternal grandparents,
Charles and Olive Cash, live in Pawtucket.
Cash also leaves his wife, Dawn, two sons who live in North Carolina,
and another sister, Stacey Stine, of Hollywood, Fla.
After moving to Maine, Cash excelled in track and field at Old Orchard
Beach High School, from which he graduated in 1985.
Cash joined the Army in Texas in 1987 and later served with the 82nd
Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.
After leaving active duty, he went on to earn a master's degree in
health education. Cash worked at a fitness facility in Greenville, N.C.,
according to published reports.
Cash's unit was activated on Oct. 1, 2003, as part of the call-up of the
30th HSB (Enhanced Heavy Separate Brigade), a Guard unit headquartered
in Clinton, N.C.
Cash was patrolling with his company in Baqubah, 35 miles northeast of
Baghdad, when he and another soldier in the Bradley vehicle were killed.
They were among three American soldiers killed in a heavy day of
fighting that left more than 100 people dead in Iraq.
Cash's mother and his stepfather, Robert Kelley, were traveling to North
Carolina today for a military funeral. They also plan to hold a
celebration of life service for their son July 24 in West Scarborough,
Maine.
"We're so proud of Chris," she said this morning via telephone. "We're
celebrating his life."
She also plans to establish a scholarship in her son's memory through
the Old Orchard Beach High School Athletic Department.
Cash's father, Robert, left Rhode Island for North Carolina this
morning, according to Santa Claus Almeida, president of the union that
represents him at the City of Pawtucket Highway Department, Local 1012,
AFSCME.
"We're sorry this happened," Almeida said. "We should bring our boys
home."
Harvey Goulet, director of administration for Pawtucket, said he would
meet with union officials tomorrow to see how they could help Robert
Cash, whom he described as "very well known."
Mrs. Kelley says her son, who was also a marathon runner, was an
inspiration to her and others. He encouraged her through health
problems, she said. Even this morning, as she looked at photographs of
her son, she felt he was helping her through her grief.
"It's going to be a very difficult week," she said.
Cash leaves two "beautiful boys," Matthew, 11, and Christopher Jr., 13,
according to Mrs. Kelley. Christopher played in a soccer game a short
time after learning of his father's death because he thought it would be
a good way to honor his father.
"I'm so proud of him. I can't wait to see him," Mrs. Kelley said. "I
think he's going to be another Christopher."
Mrs. Kelley has fond memories of Rhode Island, saying, "I consider that
my home."
The family lived in several apartments and had their first home on
Wheaton Street, Pawtucket. Mrs. Kelley remembers that her son played
T-ball for the Fairlawn Cardinals. The family spent a lot of time at
Roger Williams Park.
In the summer, Mrs. Kelley and her former husband took the kids "on
excursions to Galilee and went to the beach every minute we could even
from the time they were first born."
And, Mrs. Kelley said, "We absolutely loved the merry-go-round at Slater
Park."
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