Collin Schockmel remembered

Army Spc. Collin R. Schockmel may have been only 19 when he died this week in Iraq, but in the last year of his life, he was able to cross paths with a world that few Americans will ever get to see.

Schockmel became good friends with his Iraqi translator.

He was fascinated by the brief friendships he formed with African citizens during a stopover in Europe, said his sister, Emily Schockmel, on Friday.

Her brother shared his experiences with his family during a Christmas leave visit in Arizona.

"He thought it was good for people to travel the world," his sister recalled during a telephone interview from Sierra Vista, Ariz.

"I was standing there cooking, and he was telling people how important it was to travel. He thought it was an amazing thing."

Schockmel had only been back in Iraq for four days when he died in battle Tuesday.

He was part of a unit that was conducting security and observation operations in Ramadi when it became involved in a battle with insurgents armed with grenades, according to the Defense Department.

He had been assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Carson.

Schockmel was born in Lake Jackson, Texas, and raised in Richwood, about 40 miles south of Houston. His family moved to Arizona when he was 9, but he returned to Richwood when he was 16 to live with his grandmother, Bernadine Schockmel, said his sister.

Although Schockmel dropped out of high school, he enlisted in the Army in September 2005, shortly after his 18th birthday.

Schockmel was deployed to Iraq in October, and he didn't really like to talk about his military service, his sister said.

"He just told me not to worry about him, he'd be fine," she said.

Schockmel had talked about pursuing a career in law enforcement after his stint in the Army because he wanted to help others.

"He brought joy to a lot of people and he really taught us that we needed to live life to the fullest, and he really wanted everyone to be happy," she said.

In addition to his sister and grandmother, Schockmel is survived by his mother, Kristin Shinn; his brothers, Charles and Brian Shinn; and another sister, Heather Shinn, all of Arizona.

From the News

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Collin Schockmel reported killed in Iraq