Brave Soldier Just Wanted to Serve Others

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 3, 2005) - U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Russell Verdugo always wanted to serve in the military, but not so that he could fight.

"He always wanted to be on the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) - the bomb squad," says Eric Maestas, a lifelong friend. "He wasn't the typical gung-ho guy, like let's go kill somebody. That wasn't him. He wanted to be a servant. He ultimately died serving others."

On May 23, Russell was warning others of an improvised explosive device (IED) he had discovered along a Baghdad roadside when it exploded, killing him instantly and wounding several others. Military and memorial services for the young soldier are being conducted today. A committal service with full military honors will take place at 11 a.m. (EDT) at Arlington National Cemetery. A memorial service will follow at 1 p.m. at Community Covenant Church in Springfield, Virginia.

Russell entered the Army as a cook in 1993, but desired to serve with the bomb squad. "He liked to be different and do things that nobody else did," Maestas recalls. "That was a huge part of his personality." Russell had been given command of a team in Iraq after his team leader was killed in February. He had seen his leader killed, and though shaken, he had helped his team in the 767 Ordnance Company deal with the loss.

"His courage, his hard work, his willingness to help anyone at any time, and the sense of stability he imparted made possible every success the company has had and softened every blow we have suffered," said Covenant Chaplain Major Mike Gillett. "His bizarre sense of humor brightened the lives of us all. He will be sorely missed and impossible to replace."

Civilians in Iraq, as well as the combat zones of Afghanistan and Bosnia, experienced his generosity, but did not know his heartache when he was unable to help. The military was under orders in Bosnia not to give away any items, even to children, to avoid the perception of favoring one side of the internal conflict, Maestas says. "He was really broken by that. He loved doing things for kids."

While in Iraq, "He asked me to send him Jolly Ranchers that he gave the kids on the street when he went into town," says his wife, Kari Youngberg Verdugo. She is an elementary school teacher and says Russell's generosity to others, especially children, was one of the things that first attracted her to him. Kari graduated from North Park University with a bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1998. She was living in Chicago when she met Russell in 2002 during a trip to visit a friend in Washington. Russell was deployed to Afghanistan shortly thereafter. "I knew I would get a call every Saturday and he would email in between," Kari says.

After Russell returned in February 2004, Kari moved to Washington and the two were engaged last July. The couple had hoped to be married this summer, but when they learned he was to deploy to Iraq in January, they advanced the wedding date. They were married Thanksgiving weekend at the Manistee Covenant Church in Manistee, Michigan, where Kari had grown up.

The couple did not have time for a honeymoon, but he was scheduled to return at the end of this month. During their last conversation two days before he was killed, they discussed a possible trip. "He asked if there were any castles in Scotland," she says.

Russell was undecided on whether he wanted to make the Army his career, Kari says. "He always told me that it was a lot harder for him when he went to Afghanistan and Iraq because there was someone waiting for him at home."

Kari was getting ready for bed the evening of May 23 when she heard a knock at the door. "I knew, getting a knock late at night, that it had to be bad news," she says. "You just pray that they're going to tell you he's hurt or something."

"He was just a wonderful person," Kari says. "He would do anything for me or for anybody. Material things didn't matter to him. It's hard knowing he's not coming back."

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