Soldier 'Had Found His Calling'

Combat Medic Celebrated for His Patriotism, Dedication

Army Cpl. Christopher J. West was supposed to return home this month, having completed his first tour of duty in Iraq as a combat medic.

But West died Feb. 4 at the 332nd Air Force Theater Hospital in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered the day before when a makeshift bomb detonated during combat operations in Muqdadiyah. West, 26, of Arlington, Tex., finished his journey home yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery.

"He loved hard, he played hard, he fought hard," his sister, Lauren West, told the Dallas Morning News. "He loved his country. He was so proud to be an American."

She added: "He died doing what he loved. It was the only thing in his life that he felt was challenging him, and he loved it. He felt like he had found his calling."

More than 200 mourners emerged from the dozens of cars that lined Bradley Drive, alongside Section 60 of the cemetery. They followed West's flag-draped wooden coffin as it was carried from a silver hearse to the grave site, where wreaths and flowers formed a backdrop.

Many of the mourners carried long-stemmed yellow roses as they made their way under the gray sky, and after the service, they slowly made their way to the grave and placed the roses atop the coffin.

A folded flag was presented to West's parents, John and Hattie West. He was the 411th service member killed in Iraq to be buried at Arlington.

West "brought an upbeat attitude to the platoon that spread to everyone he met," 1st Lt. Rich Demarais, West's platoon leader, said in a statement. "He was loved by his brothers in the platoon."

West joined the Army in January 2007, and by the end of the summer, he had completed health-care and airborne courses and joined the 82nd Airborne.

He arrived in Iraq in October. He was a combat medic and a paratrooper with the 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based at Fort Bragg, N.C.

He decided he wanted to become the fourth generation of his family to enter the military when he was 4 years old, his sister said.

West was born in Dallas and grew up in Arlington, Tex., where he graduated from Bowie High School in 2000. He studied marketing at Texas A&M University and graduated with honors in 2004.

His military honors included the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and Army Good Conduct Medal.