Russell G. Culbertson killed by roadside bomb

(KDKA) LONE PINE It’s small town rural America where they rally around the flag and support our troops in Iraq.

But the painful reality of the war has hit Lone Pine, Washington County with a devastating blow.

Army Specialist Russell Culbertson Jr., 22, was one of four soldiers killed by a roadside bomb near Abu Ghraib prison.

His friends and family tell KDKA’s Paul Martino they can’t believe he didn’t make it out alive.

“I don’t know what we’ll do without him,” said Charlene Adams.

Culbertson was a 2003 graduate of Trinity High School.

He loved cars and was saving the money he made in Iraq to buy a new Camero.

For the past few years, he worked at the Adams Pine Creek Restaurant where everyone said he was a great guy to be with.

“He just was such a kind, warm person and very hard worker, so it was hard not to care about him,” said Adams.

But with the death a young man from this small town, folks are getting mixed feelings about a war they once strongly supported.

“At times I think this is such a waste of young life,” said Sylvia Johnson. “But I guess it’s a job that we need to do, it needs finished.”

Culbertson’s sister Elizabeth, who did not want to speak on camera, told KDKA her brother was supposed to finish his tour of duty in six weeks.

The family was planning a huge Christmas celebration with Russ.

Instead tonight, they’re planning his funeral.

From KDKA 2

Rising toll hits home

A local soldier with six weeks remaining in his overseas service was killed in Iraq Tuesday morning.

U.S. Army Spc. Russell (Russ) Culbertson Jr., 22, of 383 Ridge Church Road, Lone Pine, died when the Humvee he was riding in struck an improvised explosive device, not far from Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad.

Culbertson was among four soldiers on patrol killed in the explosion. Ten soldiers died Tuesday, making it one of the worst days in the war for U.S. troops.

A 2003 graduate of Trinity High School, Culbertson loved cars, especially fast ones, said his mother, Denise.

The family had spoken with him by telephone Sunday and said Culbertson talked about plans after he arrived back in the United States. He wanted to purchase a new car to replace the Camaro he wrecked before he left in December.

He also wanted to spend a week vacationing in Mexico with other servicemen and visit friends in North Carolina with his older sister, Elizabeth.

"He was always with me. My friends were his friends," said Elizabeth, who flew home Wednesday morning from Las Vegas, where she is employed as an elementary schoolteacher.

Culbertson's father also is named Russell. Russ Jr. has a brother, Will, who is five years younger and a senior at Trinity High School.

The family last saw Culbertson in August when he had a two-week leave from Iraq.

"He was doing what he wanted to do, and we supported him," said his father.

Culbertson had started by driving a tank and worked his way up to tank gunner with the 4th Infantry Division. He told his sister he often volunteered for missions, including recently accompanying four snipers at night, but made her promise not to tell their parents who, he feared, would worry.

"He told me the other day he was the responsible one, which was different than home," she said.

Wednesday afternoon, sitting around their kitchen table, the family lovingly remembered Culbertson, a warm-hearted man with a frequent smile who enjoyed tinkering with cars. Neither parent had slept well the night before, and Mrs. Culbertson said she woke up about 3 a.m. and felt the need to turn on lights in the kitchen and living room.

Elizabeth recalled a time when horseplay with her younger brother ended up with her getting a bloody nose. He pleaded with her not to tell their parents.

"Ever since then, we were best friends because I didn't rat him out," she said.

After graduating from high school, Culbertson spent the next year working at Adams Pine Creek Restaurant, where he was in charge of preparing the bananas Foster dessert each Friday.

He also is survived by his paternal grandparents, Ed and Nellie Culbertson of Monroeville; his maternal grandparents, Bill and Mildred King of Port Charlotte, Fla., and an aunt, AnnaMarie King of Boca Raton, Fla.

The family has been told by a military liaison officer that it may be several days before the body is flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, and then to Pittsburgh.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete, but his parents are planning to bury their son in National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil Township.

From the Observer-Reporter