Soldier Honored: Christopher S. Cash

CPT Christopher S. Cash or Winterville, NC was assigned to the 1^st Battalion, 120^th Infantry, Army National Guard, Jacksonville, NC and served during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. CPT Cash was the commander of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle and was killed in action on June 24, 2004. His unit was clearing passage for school children in Baqubah, Iraq when they came under attack by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. CPT Cash had opened the hatch of his vehicle and was relaying verbal directions to those on the outside when he was fatally injured. Another soldier from the unit also lost his life in the attack. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service and the Purple Heart for being injured in combat.

CPT Cash, 36, from Winterville, North Carolina, was an infantry officer and company commander in the North Carolina National Guard. He enlisted in 1987 but returned to college on the GI Bill and received a master's degree in exercise physiology from East Carolina University.

“The North Carolina National Guard lost a great soldier and a great leader, and America lost a great son.” Lt. Col. David Barnhill said, “I'm going to miss that big smile. But if there's one thing that can be good today, it's that as long as America has men like Chris Cash ... then this country is going to remain strong.”