Christopher J Rivera Wesley

Portland, Oregon

December 8, 2003

Christopher J. Rivera Wesley joined the Army so he could see the world. When his grandmother died in Guam, he was a world away, fighting in Iraq.

The two were close, and Wesley had lived with her for a time when she became ill.

"We thought he'd be able to come here and pay his respects to his grandmother," his uncle Joseph Wesley said from Guam. "He tried to come home, but it didn't work out. Now this happens, and we're all taking it very hard."

Wesley had graduated from Beaverton High School in 1995 and joined the Army. He left to live with his grandmother in Guam before re-enlisting.

"He loved the challenge, and he loved the Army," said Cpl. Joshua Schuyleman, who served with him.

Wesley died Dec. 8 when his Stryker combat vehicle tumbled off a dirt road in central Iraq and landed upside down in an irrigation canal. He was based at Fort Lewis.