Moses Lake soldier killed in Baghdad
Moses Lake soldier killed in Baghdad
'All-around great guy' always put others first, wife says
MOSES LAKE — The wife of a U.S. Army sergeant killed in Baghdad says her husband stayed true to his traditions.
Sgt. Lucas White, 28, of Moses Lake, died Nov. 6 in Baghdad, Iraq.
He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division in Fort Lewis.
He was leader of a striker patrol when his unit was ambushed by small arms fire and an improvised explosive device. The incident is still under investigation by the Army.
"He was a great guy," wife Jennifer White said. "He loved his family, he loved his two dogs. We have two Jack Russell terriers. He absolutely loved his dogs. They were his kids."
Born in Yakima, White spent his childhood in Pendleton, Ore., before moving with his family to White Swan, on the Yakama Indian Reservation, where he graduated from high school in 1998.
He was an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon with family members who belong to both the Umatilla and the Yakama Nation.
Jennifer White described her husband as an outdoorsman who loved to fish and go camping, and an avid snowboarder. Of Native American descent, he tried to stay true to his traditions, she said.
"He was just an all-around great guy, he was very loving, very kind; he always put other people before he put himself," she said. "Always wanted to make sure his family was taken care of, no matter what the circumstances."
The couple was together for six years, and married for two of those six years, Jennifer White said.
"He is older than me, but he was my high school sweetheart," she said.
Jennifer has lived in Moses Lake all her life, while Lucas moved to Moses Lake in 2000. They started dating July 4 of that year, and Lucas enlisted in the Army in August 2001.
Lucas White had been scheduled to ship out to boot camp Sept. 13, but the attacks upon the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, pushed that date back a few days, Jennifer White recalled.
He served first in Afghanistan, and re-enlisted in September 2004. One of the terms of his re-enlisting was the ability to get the duty station of his choice, Jennifer White said, adding that he selected Fort Lewis because he wanted to come home to Washington.
"He loved his job, he died doing what he loved to do," she said. "He was very proud to be a member of the Army, he was very proud to be Native American. He wasn't ashamed of anything he did in life. He wasn't ashamed he was in the military, he wasn't ashamed he was Native American. He was just an all-around great guy."
Jennifer White said her husband, whom she described as "happy-go-lucky," brought a lot of joy into the lives of people around him. He was always making somebody laugh, she said.
"Not necessarily a jokester, but he always had something funny to say to add to the conversation," she said.
Prior to his death, Lucas White was scheduled to come home for leave next month, and awaiting a promotion to staff sergeant, Jennifer White said.
Along with his wife, White's survivors include his mother and stepfather, Julia and Lyle Brooks of Polson, Mont.; father Mervin White of Spokane; brothers Nathaniel and Seth Brooks and sister Melissa, all of Polson; best friend/brother Jason Smith of Lebanon, Ore., and grandparents and several aunts and uncles.
Jennifer White said a memorial is scheduled at Fort Lewis on Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. Dates have not been set for a funeral in Moses Lake or a Native American ceremony in Lucas White's hometown of White Swan. His body will initially be laid to rest in Arlington Cemetery, upon his request, she said.
"I know he loved me. I know he was a devoted husband," she said. "He was very proud of what he did and he was very proud of his native traditions, and he did everything he could for everybody else."
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