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August 20, 2004
[Have an opinion about the issues discussed in this article?
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By Steve Liewer,
Stars and Stripes European Edition
Look at the photos on Capt. Andy Houghton’s Web site and you
see one thing the same in every one, whether he’s with his family,
at West Point, in uniform, in Iraq,
or even trussed up with duct tape.
That mile-wide smile.
On Wednesday, Houghton’s beaming portrait
stood with his rifle, his boots, his helmet and his dog tags, lighting
up the altar at the Ledward Barracks chapel in Schweinfurt, Germany.
Dozens of friends gathered to mourn Houghton, 25, of the 1st Squadron,
4th Cavalry Regiment, nine days after his death from terrible injuries
suffered a month earlier in Iraq.
“Andy was the happiest person I have ever
known,” said Master Sgt. Steve Ziebarth, a 1/4 Cavalry platoon sergeant
in Iraq, whose comments were read at the service.
Houghton grew up in Texas, graduating
from a Jesuit high school in Houston in 1997. He was on the football,
track and debate teams. Outside of school, he earned the rank of
Eagle Scout and volunteered with the Special Olympics program.
Houghton was appointed to the U.S. Military
Academy and commissioned as an armor officer after graduating from
West Point in 2001.
He joined the 1/4 Cavalry’s Troop A as
a platoon leader in January 2002, serving until his fatal injury.
Friends said he won the loyalty of his
troops with his good cheer and his willingness to lead from the
front.
During a gunnery practice at the Grafenwöhr
training area, Ziebarth recalled, the platoon tested Houghton’s
good humor by duct-taping his arms, legs and mouth, then snapping
a picture. The photo shows Houghton’s grin around the edges of the
tape.
“From first light to lights out,” Ziebarth
said, “his face beamed from cheek to cheek with a wide smile that
couldn’t help but spread optimism and motivation.”
During his months in Iraq, his platoon
carried out 400 combat missions. Houghton personally led many of
them, including the one near Samarra early on the morning of July
10 — his first day back after two weeks of leave in Texas. As he
watched from the open commander’s hatch of his Bradley fighting
vehicle, a rocket-propelled grenade exploded near his face.
At least three of Houghton’s soldiers
— Sgt. Charles Fray, Pfc. Adrian Stone and Pfc. Nicholas Blodgett
(who was killed 11 days later in a separate attack) — rushed to
his aid.
Respects were paid to Capt. Andy Houghton at
a memorial service held in Schweinfurt, Germany. Houghton died
in a Washington, D.C., hospital nearly a month after being injured
in a rocket attack in Iraq. (courtesy
of U.S. Army)
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By the time he reached a field hospital,
Houghton had lost two quarts of blood and had no pulse or blood
pressure, according to the family’s Web site, www.andyhoughton.org.
But a nurse on duty matched his blood type and gave him a direct
transfusion, allowing him to transfer to Walter Reed Army Hospital
in Washington, D.C.
Houghton lay comatose for a month with
his parents, George and Cindy, by his side. His brother, Matt,stayed
with him, too, leaving to attend his graduation from Army Officer
Candidate School.
Houghton died Aug. 9, three days after
a hemorrhagebadly damaged his brain. That day, the Army promoted
him to captain.
Houghton was buried Monday at West Point,
and friends memorialized him Wednesday in Houston as well as in
Schweinfurt.
“When he received his wounds, he was among
men who loved him, and he was doing what he wanted to be doing:
leading soldiers,” Ziebarth said.
“From this point on, when I make the toast
at Army gatherings ‘to our fallen comrades,’ there will be a young,
blond-haired lieutenant, with circular wire-rimmed glasses and a
smile as big as the day is long, staring back at me.”
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