Posted: Sunday, April 20, 2003 12:00 am
Pfc. Matthew Bledsoe is serving in the 4th Army Infantry Division in Iraq. He graduated Dec. 16, 2002, from basic training at Fort Benning, Ga. He deployed April 2 from Fort Hood, Texas, to Kuwait. Normally a mortar man, Bledsoe is currently driving a Bradley.
An Eagle Scout, he is a 1999 graduate of West Albany High School. On Dec. 27, he married Melissa Gaines.
His parents are Rich and Patrice Wright, his mother-in-law and father-in-law are Al and Sally Gaines, and his grandparents are Gene and Judy Shrout and Ira and Melba Wright.
Staff Sgt. Kraig Hunnemuller of Corvallis is serving with the 109th Medical Battalion of the Iowa National Guard, attached to the 4th Army Infantry Division.
His unit was activated Jan. 24. At last report he was in Kuwait waiting for equipment to arrive before heading to Baghdad. He and his wife, Leslie, reside in Davenport, Iowa.
The son of Larry and Kay Hunnemuller of Corvallis and grandson of George and Opal Chaffin of Corvallis, he graduated from Crescent Valley High School in 1989.
Navy Fireman Nicole C. Ludington, daughter of Sheri L. Francalancia of Harrisburg and David A. Ludington of Bloomington, Ill., served in the opening phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom while assigned to the amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa.
She is a 2002 graduate of Harrisburg High School and joined the Navy in October.
Marine Corps Pfc. Andrew C. Naegeli of Lebanon is serving with the 1st Light Armor Reconnaissance Battalion in Iraq. He is a 2002 Lebanon High School graduate. He completed his basic training Oct. 4, 2002, at the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot in San Diego.
His parents are Richard and Debbi Naegeli of Lebanon. He has two younger brothers, Nick and Steven.
Pfc. Lisa Tribbet, a 1998 graduate of Philomath High School, is a combat medic with the Army, stationed in Ansbach, Germany.
She will be deployed on May 6 to an unknown destination in the Middle East. Her parents are Dewey and Judy Tribbet of Philomath. Her grandparents are Tod and Bea Shelton of Corvallis.