Lucas White remembered

Lucas T. White loved his wife, Jennifer, and their two Jack Russell terriers.

The Moses Lake man enjoyed fishing, hunting and snowboarding. He relished his job as an Army sergeant, serving with a Fort Lewis-based Stryker brigade deployed to Iraq.

White, 28, was killed Monday in Baghdad when the Army vehicle he was in was attacked by a roadside bomb and armed men.

"He was just really devoted to it. You can't really describe what it was about it. He just loved it – the physical exertion and the weapons," said Julia Brooks of her son's commitment to the Army. "When he was away from the Army, he was patient and kind, lovable and strong. He just loved the responsibility he had in the Army."

White's father, Mervin White, and grandmother Patsy Durfee live in Spokane.

Brooks lives in Polson, Mont.

"We're so proud of him," said Brooks.

White had already served one tour in Afghanistan before he was sent to Iraq. He had been in Iraq for five months and was scheduled for leave in three weeks. He was looking forward to seeing his two dogs' three puppies.

Shortly before he was deployed, White went salmon fishing on the Columbia River with family and asked his mother to give the fish he caught to his grandmother, Brooks said.

She said that when she started to cry about him leaving, he told her, "I love you Mom. Don't worry."

And she said she was reassured by what she heard from him while he was in Iraq.

"He sounded good. He sounded happy," Brooks said. "He was really a restless person. The busier he was, the happier he was."

White was born in Pendleton, Ore., and was a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. He graduated from White Swan High School on the Yakama Indian Reservation.

A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Nov. 16 at Fort Lewis, Brooks said. The family will also hold a traditional Native American ceremony for White at home before he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

"He requested to be buried at Arlington so that if anything ever happened to him he could be buried by his brothers who died in combat," said Brooks. "That way they would have each other's backs."

From the Spokesman Review

Fort Lewis soldier killed in Iraq was member of Umatilla tribe

Sgt. Lucas T. White's wife and family last weekend were eagerly waiting his return on leave, counting the days until he arrived home in Moses Lake for Christmas.

Monday, however, they began preparing for solemn military and spiritual American Indian ceremonies next week when his body is expected home from Iraq.

The 28-year-old Fort Lewis Stryker Brigade soldier was killed in action in Baghdad on Monday. Army officials told his family that insurgents used small-arms fire and homemade bombs to attack a patrol White was leading.

"He was an outstanding young man. He really loved his family. We expected him home, around Christmas. We were looking forward to seeing him," said Lyle Brooks, White's stepfather.

White grew up in Pendleton, Ore., and graduated from White Swan High School on the Yakama Reservation, near Toppenish, in 1998. He was a member of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation.

White joined the Army in 2001, served a tour of combat duty in Afghanistan and re-enlisted. He left for Iraq in June for a year deployment with the 1st Battalion, 23rd Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

Made up of nearly 4,000 Fort Lewis soldiers, it is more commonly known as a Stryker Brigade, named for its modern infantry carriers and tactics.

White's wife, Jennifer, of Moses Lake, "is hanging in there," Brooks said. The couple had been married nearly two years but were longtime sweethearts.

In addition to his wife and stepfather, White is survived by his mother, Julia Brooks; a sister; and five brothers, including one in the Marine Corps, his family said.

From the Post Intelligencer

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Lucas T. White dies from combat injuries