Ronald J. Tucker

Ronald J. Tucker

Headquarters Company 1-22 Infantry

4th Infantry Division (Mechanized)

KIA April 30, 2008

Beloved son, brother and friend SPC Ronald James Tucker died on April 30, 2008 while on a mission in Baghdad, Iraq.
Ronnie was a 2005 graduate of Fountain-Ft. Carson High School and a life long Fountain resident. He is survived by his mother,
Susan L. (Santo) Arnold and step-father, David S. Arnold of Fountain; sisters, Samantha Tucker (Jesse) of New York City
and Daisy J. Tucker of Rota, Spain; brothers, Richard Tucker of Denver and Brandon S. Arnold of Fountain; grandparents,
Retired 1SG Robert S. and Mrs. Ko Won Soon Santo of Fountain; aunt, Stephanie G. (Santo) Roberts (Russell);
cousin, Jazmyn; cousin, Randy; uncle, Steven S. Santo of Greencastle, Indiana; cousin Caleb S. Santo of Lawrence, Kansas
and his beloved "Boo" Amanda Lovern of Round Rock, Texas. Ronnie was preceded in death by his father, Ronald Alan Tucker.
A funeral service will be held on Monday, May 12, 2008 at 10AM at Pikes Peak Christian Church, 4955 Bradley Road,
followed by burial at Evergreen Cemetery. Condolences may be shared at www.legacy.com or www.mem.com.

Published in The Gazette on May 11, 2008

SPC Ronald Tucker''s decorations

Friday, May 02 2008 @ 04:52 PM EDT

Colorado Springs Gazette --A 21-year-old soldier from Fountain died in a Baghdad bombing, the Army announced today.

Spc. Ronald J. Tucker was on patrol with his unit from Fort Hood, Texas,
on Wednesday when the vehicle he was riding in was hit by a roadside bomb.

Another soldier in the vehicle, Capt. Andrew R. Pearson, 32, of Billings, Mont., also died in the bombing, the Army said.

Both men were assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, which started operations in Iraq last month.

Tucker, a 2005 graduate of Fountain-Fort Carson High School, joined the Army in 2005 and was trained to be a mortarman.
He was assigned to Fort Hood in August 2006 and went to the Middle East earlier this year.

"Ronnie had a passion to be successful," said Fountain-Fort Carson dean of students Mitch Johnson,
who had known Tucker since he was a first-grader. "He was a hard-working student."

Johnson said Tucker was the kind of kid most school administrators don't notice, because he worked so hard and kept his nose clean.

But Ronnie stood out for the right reasons, including his sense of humor.

"If there was a good practical joke to be played, you could count on Ronnie having that grin on his face," Johnson said.

Johnson said it was no surprise that Tucker joined the Army after high school.

"He was a young man who had been around the military influence here the whole time he was in school."

Tucker is the third Fountain-Fort Carson graduate to die in Iraq.

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Ronnie Tucker is kneeling, second from left,
in this photo taken in Baghdad.

SPC Ronald Tucker

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OFFICE OF GOV. BILL RITTER, JR.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THURSDAY, MAY 8, 2008

Gov. Ritter has ordered U.S. and Colorado flags lowered to half-staff on state and federal buildings across Colorado,
pursuant to H.R. 692, on Monday, May 12, 2008, in observance of a memorial service
for Army Specialist Ronald J. Tucker, 21, of Fountain.
Specialist Tucker died in Iraq on April 30 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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SPC Ronnie Tucker

It is with a heavy heart that I write about the life of SPC Ronald J. Tucker
for the brief period I was privileged enough to have known him. I first met SPC Tucker while I was on rear detachment
during the unit's last rotation in Iraq. He had, unfortunately, been shot in the eye with a paintball gun,
and I had to help out with some of the paperwork for that incident. When the unit redeployed, I was assigned as the Mortar platoon leader,
and SPC Tucker was now one of my Soldiers. I truly feel privileged to have known him and to have been able to watch him grow
and develop as a Soldier. SPC Tucker had a unique sense of humor about him. He had the uncanny ability to make light of any situation.
Sometimes I would see him being disciplined by his NCOs for some mistake he made, with sweat pouring down his face;
he would still bear that goofy Ronnie Tucker grin on his face. That was just SPC Tucker's personality.
SPC Tucker was the driver and radio-telephone operator for our Fire Direction Center vehicle.
This was the only vehicle to come back from Iraq with the platoon after the last deployment. This was also the worst tracked vehicle
in our platoon's inventory. Being the driver for this track, and responsible for the bulk of the maintenance on this vehicle,
SPC Tucker had his work cut out for him. He spent countless long hours working on his vehicle to get it fully mission capable.
I told him that this vehicle must be completely ready to go by the time we go to the National Training Center in California.
He often came to me seeking different Technical Manuals for different parts of the vehicle, but sure enough,
he had it fully mission capable for NTC. During these times, though, he would sit down and talk to me about life.
SPC Tucker often confided in me and would ask me questions about my life in general. I remember him talking about his girlfriend with me.
He would ask me things about relationships and I would usually make some joke that I'm definitely not the person to be asking
about advice on relationships but I thought of something that a great family man, Captain Andrew R. Pearson once told me.
Captain Pearson and I would often debate the single life versus married life. I would always ask him,
"How do you know when you are with the right one?" Captain Pearson told me,"Matt, when you know, you just know, and you'll know,
believe me you will know." So I passed those words of wisdom on to SPC Tucker, and from the things we've talked about here,
I think that SPC Tucker knew. SPC Tucker always looked for ways to improve. He would come up to me several times a week
asking what he could do more. Last week he came up to me to get the Technical Manual printed off for the generator on his vehicle
to fix the fuel line on it. We talked more about life, relationships, and careers, both of our futures.
There is no doubt in my mind that SPC Tucker would have excelled in the army, or in anything that he chose to do in life,
because he was doing so right in front of my eyes. On the afternoon of the 30th of April 2008 the world lost two of its finest young men.
These men will not be forgotten. Their contributions, to the people that loved them, and even to people that did not know them,
will not be forgotten. There is an Old Norse proverb in a book I just finished reading that states, "Animals die, friends die, and I shall die,
but one thing never dies, and that is the reputation we leave behind at our death." The reputations each of these men left behind
are both unquestionably solid. It is now our duty to remember Specialist Ronald Tucker and Captain Andrew Pearson
for their greatness in life and to honor their sacrifice for our freedom.

- 1LT Mathew Thompson

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Ronnie Tucker

Photo from the Iraq/Afghanistan War Heroes website

Burial:
Evergreen Cemetery
Colorado Springs
El Paso County
Colorado, USA

Grave marker for Ronald J. Tucker

Photo by Andrena's Daughter from the Find A Grave website

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The JROTC program at Fountain Fort Carson High School hosts a memorial
Air Rifle Match competition in Ronald Tucker's name.

For information view the websites by clicking on the following links:

Ronald J Tucker Memorial Open Air Rifle Match

Fountain Fort Carson Shooting Sports

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