Cody (Kristopher C.) Warren remembered at school memorial

CALHOUN, Ga. -- Cody Warren was a foot soldier with only three or four lines in the one-act play his high school drama group was performing at a competition. But he made sure the audience knew who he was.

"Every time it came to his lines, he'd just belt it out," friend John Lee said. "He really stood out from everybody else because he wanted to be heard. He wanted to stand out. He didn't want to be in the shadows."

It was a typical behavior for Kristopher Cody Warren, a gregarious student known on campus as a leader in the school's band and choral programs, and among his friends for his sunny disposition, his unwillingness to talk negatively about anybody and his dancing.

So was joining the Marines shortly after he graduated in 2005, Mr. Lee said: "It was just the next level for him to stop and say, 'Hey, I'm going to serve my country.' "

The 19-year-old died last week in Iraq, several months after arriving there for a seven-month deployment with a Chattanooga-based Marine battalion. Several of his friends said Monday he was killed by sniper fire, though a Marine Corps spokeswoman said the Marines could not release information about where or how Lance Cpl. Warren was killed.

Family members and students remembered Lance Cpl. Warren on Monday afternoon during service at his alma mater, Gordon Central High School, held on the football field where he marched and later was drum major for the school's marching band.

"I think it's a true testament to Cody's life to see the number of people who came out today," associate principal Betty Holland said, her voice breaking, during the 20-minute service.

"He could talk to anyone. He was such a good kid, so full of life," said Gordon Central social studies teacher Justin Timms. He coached the soccer team that Lance Cpl. Warren joined his senior year to help him get in shape for the Marine Corps, and the two would run together during soccer season.

Lance Cpl. Warren planned to go to college after he left the Marines, maybe to study science or criminal justice, said former girlfriend Alisha Garner, 18.

She said Lance Cpl. Warren was in good spirits when she spoke to him by telephone last Wednesday night, though he complained that one of the guys in his unit was getting on his nerves. He told her conditions in Iraq were getting worse, and he wanted to see his family. The two made plans to spend time together in January, when he expected to come home on leave.

His stepsister called Ms. Garner at 7 a.m. Thursday to tell her he had died.

During Lance Cpl. Warren's first few weeks in Iraq, after he saw how dangerous it was there, Ms. Garner said he was scared and second-guessed his decision to join. But he believed he was helping people, and while he was worried that he would die, he had accepted that it might happen, she said.

"He wanted to (join the Marines) since I knew him years ago. He had talked about this every day, saying, 'I want to save somebody. I want to make a difference,' " Ms. Garner said.

He recently told Krista Leatherwood, a close friend on the verge of getting engaged, not to get married until after he came back from Iraq.

"He kind of talked like he knew that he wouldn't be coming back, but he was OK with it," she said.

Friends described him as smart and self-assured.

"He was such a good director. He stood up in front of a choir or a band, and you could not focus on anything else," said Whitney Woodard, now a senior. "He could hit any note, and he knew how to do it, he was so talented."

Nothing embarrassed him, not even the teasing of some of his bandmates after he became drum major.

"He knew who he was," said Laura McElrath, whose daughter was in the band with Lance Cpl. Warren.

Mrs. McElrath said his confidence showed even on his MySpace page, where he wrote that he loved the Marines, shooting howitzers, and that his dad was his hero.

On his MySpace page, he posted answers to a list of questions, including, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

His answer: "I'm already that person."

From the Times Free Press

Related Link:
Cody (Kristopher C.) Warren slain by sniper

UPDATE, NOVEMBER 18, 2006: Criminal investigation launched into Cody (Kristopher C.) Warren's death