Fallen Soldier: Roy P. Lewsader, Jr.

Staff Sergeant Roy P. Lewsader, Jr, 36, of Clinton, Ind., was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Ks., and served during Operation Enduring Freedom. On June 16, 2007, SSG. Lewsader was killed when his vehicle was hit by a rocket propelled grenade in Afghanistan.

SSG. Lewsader was a graduate of South Vermillion High school and enlisted in the Army on his 17th birthday in 1988. He did two tours of duty in Korea and was on his second tour in support of the current U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq when he was killed.

Staff Sgt. Lewsader’s wife said the soldier loved music and played the guitar. When he packed his bags, gearing up for deployment, she said he dismantled his guitar, so he could take it with him. It was not long before her husband called her from Afghanistan asking, “‘Can you send the amp?’ “Do you know how much it will cost for me to mail that?”

Staff Sgt. Lewsader was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and a Bronze Star medal.

His daughter is a Folds of Honor Scholarship recipient.