Army Specialist 'Gave It His All' (WP)

[diamond14]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A650-2004Apr9.html

Army Specialist 'Gave It His All'
Accident in Iraq Claims Soldier

By Lila Arzua
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 10, 2004; Page B02

Clint Richard Matthews already had done a tour in the Army, but the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks prompted him to reenlist -- and ultimately give his life for his country

Matthews, 31, of Bedford, Pa., was a specialist with the Army's 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment. On March 17, his Bradley Fighting Vehicle veered to the edge of a road in Baji, Iraq, and the road gave way. The armored vehicle, which has a 25mm cannon and runs on tracks like a tank, tumbled 60 feet down an embankment and flipped over into a river below. Matthews suffered severe head trauma and died March 19, just as his family was rushing to see him in Germany. Another soldier, Spec. Tracy L. Laramore, 30, of Okaloosa, Fla., also died in the accident.

After high school, Matthews did a tour of duty in Hawaii as an infantryman. Upon his return, Matthews joined the National Guard. Although he missed the full-time military life, he took a series of jobs in a plastics factory, a steel mill and a few restaurants.

Until the date that changed so many lives -- Sept. 11, 2001 -- affected him as well. This time, Matthews served overseas, including in the Balkans, before learning he would be deployed to Iraq.