Charles Patrick McClure

Battery A 4-42 Artillery

4th Infantry Division

DOI 05/02/2013

Specialist Charles P. McClure died of injuries in a vehicle accident when the HUMVEE he was in
rolled over during training exercises in Kuwait on May 2, 2013.

Also killed in the accident was Specialist Trinidad Santiago Jr.

An Oklahoma soldier supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Kuwait died, Thursday, May 2, 2013.
According to the Department of Defense, 21-year-old Private First Class Charles P. McClure of Stratford died of injuries
sustained in a vehicle accident in Camp Buehring, Kuwait.McClure was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 42nd Filed Artillery Regiment,
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division in Fort Carson, Colo.McClure joined the U.S. Army November 1, 2011. He deployed
in February of this year to Kuwait.He was awarded the National Defense Service Ribbon, Global War on Terror Service Medal
and the Army Service Ribbon.

PFC Charles P. McClure

SPC Charles P. McClure, son of Karrie Gladden Sandfort and Andy McClure, was born January 8, 1992 in Neosho, Missouri.
He passed away Thursday, May 2, 2013 while serving in Kuwait, having attained the age of 21 years, 3 months and 24 days.

As a young boy, Charles grew up in the Plato, Missouri area and also the Cabool, Missouri area. He graduated from
Stratford High School in Stratford, Oklahoma.

Shortly after graduation, Charles enlisted in the United States Army. He did his basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri before
being stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. He loved being a soldier and was proud of the fact that he was getting to serve his country
in Kuwait while fighting for our freedom. He had attained the rank of Specialist.

In his spare time, Charles enjoyed reading and playing video games. He especially loved eating pizza and had it every chance he could.
Most importantly, he loved spending time with his family and treasured every moment he could with them. He will be sadly missed
by all those that knew and loved him, but his memory will live on in our hearts.

Charles leaves to cherish his memory, his mother: Karrie Gladden Sandfort of Columbia, MO; father: Andy McClure of Cabool, MO;
four siblings: Kayce McClure of New Bloomfield, MO, Kayla McClure of Little Rock, AR, Alton McClure of Columbia, MO and
Karissa Sandfort of Columbia, MO; maternal grandparents: Garry and Karen Williams of Plato, MO; maternal grandfather:
Jerry D. Gladden of New Bloomfield, MO; paternal grandparents: Jim and Doris McClure of Lynchburg, MO; other relatives and friends.

Funeral services were held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, May 11, 2013 in the Memorial Chapels and Crematory of Waynesville / St. Robert
with Chaplain (CPT) John Jacobsen officiating. The songs “Go Rest High on that Mountain”, “Amazing Grace”, “Suppertime” and
“Some Gave All” were played. Several family members recalled their wonderful memories of Charles. Serving as escorts were
the United States Army.

Burial with military honors followed in the Missouri Veterans Cemetery – Fort Leonard Wood. Military honors were provided by
the United States Army of Fort Leonard Wood and Major General Paul J. LaCamera, Commanding General of Fort Carson, Colorado
presented the flags to Charles’ sister, mother and father. Services were under the direction of Memorial Chapels and Crematory
of Waynesville / St. Robert.

Obituary from the Memorial Chapel website

PFC Charles P. McClure

Decorations of Charles P. McClure

Fort Carson remembers two soldiers killed in Kuwait crash
by Jakob Rodgers jakob.rodgers@gazette.com May 10, 2013

Capt. Marc Shim invoked the Bible's book of Ecclesiastes, while thinking of the two men pictured to his left.

He recalled how there would be a time for weeping and laughter. A time for birth. A time for death.

'Some of those times came earlier than we thought, ' Shim, a Fort Carson chaplain, said.

Shim spoke to a chapel filled with mourners who gathered Thursday to remember two Fort Carson soldiers who died May 2
when their vehicle crashed at Camp Buehring in Kuwait.

Spc. Trinidad Santiago Jr., 25, and Spc. Charles P. McClure, 21, were the first two casualties in the 4th Infantry Division's
1st Brigade Combat Team since the unit deployed in February to Kuwait.

One of the soldiers was a battle-tested veteran. The other died on his first deployment.

Santiago, of San Diego, found out shortly after leaving for Kuwait that his wife, Belgica Santiago, is pregnant.
They met while he was on leave from his first deployment, a tour to Afghanistan.

Under an ultrasound picture posted on his Facebook page, he mentioned his baby's due date.

'They (doctors) said Oct. 19th, ' wrote Santiago, who also had a stepson. 'Hopefully I'll be home by then. '

On Thursday, soldiers remembered Santiago's penchant for scoring well on physical fitness tests. He'd often finish his run
ahead of his comrades - then run back and finish with them.

'Spc. Santiago was never satisfied with his own success, ' said Capt. Joseph Paolini, of the 1st Brigade Combat Team.

McClure, who joined the Army in November 2011, was promoted posthumously to specialist. The Stratford, Okla., native recently
earned the highest score in his platoon for the crew cannoneer's written exam, Staff Sgt. Russell Pickron said.

His greatest strength, though, came in his ability to help comrades in times of strife. His most useful tool: an ever-present smile.

'He had a bright future in the United States Army, ' Pickeron said during the service.

Their deaths weighed heavily on the unit Thursday.

The nine-month tour is a change after a decade of war zone deployments. Rather than fighting insurgents, the 1st Brigade planned
to spend much of its time performing military exercises across the Kuwaiti desert.

The deployment serves as a show of force against nearby Iran, while also helping the U.S. protect its interests in the region,
say Middle East observers and experts.

Comrades thought everyone would come home this time.

'It plays with the mind, it does, ' said Sgt. Justin Bryant, who served in the soldiers' unit, the 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery Regiment.

Shim recognized that grief.

His advice: Don't fight the pain. Accept it, and those times of sadness will pass.

'We must acknowledge that grief, ' he said.

From the Colorado Springs Gazette website

BURIAL
Missouri Veterans Cemetery at Fort Leonard Wood
Fort Leonard Wood, Pulaski County, Missouri

Grave marker for Charles P. McClure

Photo by Carol Kelley from the Find A Grave website

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