Christopher O. Moudry killed by small arms fire

BALTIMORE - Army Staff Sgt. Christopher O. Moudry never discussed the details of his assignments as a cavalry scout in Iraq in his phone calls to his parents' home in Abingdon, his mother said.

"He whitewashed everything for us," Marie Moudry told The (Baltimore) Sun. "He wouldn't tell us anything. Everything was fine. We were made to think he lived in a little safe world, when everybody else was in trouble."

Chris Moudry, 31, was one of four soldiers based at Fort Hood in Texas who were killed Oct. 4 in Taji, Iraq, after being attacked by enemy forces using small arms fire and other weapons, the Department of Defense said.

The soldier was due to return to the United States early next month, Marie Moudry said.

Sergeant Moudry was a 1993 graduate of Perry Hall High School, where he ran track and cross country, and enjoyed archery. He joined the Army in 1995.

"I kept telling him to get a job, and one day he said, 'Guess what, Mom, I got a job. I joined the Army,'" Marie Moudry told The Sun. "I never allowed him to get a gun (when he was growing up). That was my big mistake, I guess."

Sergeant Moudry and his girlfriend, Nikki Vandennicker of Texas, have an 18-month-old son named Ashton Moudry, his mother said. His 9-year-old son, Chase Moudry, lives with Sergeant Moudry's former wife, Karie Warfield, in Goodyear, Ariz.

In August 2005, he was assigned to 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, based in Fort Hood, Texas, said Army spokeswoman, Nancy A. Bourget. Sergeant Moudry's awards and decorations include the Army Service Ribbon, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, she said.

In addition to his children, mother and girlfriend, Moudry is also survived by his father, James Moudry; and two sisters, Jennifer Corbin and Sharon Roof.

A funeral is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Joseph's Fullerton Roman Catholic Church, 8420 Belair Road.

From the Examiner