Area Family Mourns Loss Of Soldier In Iraq

ELWOOD, Ind. -- An Elwood family is trying to come to grips with the combat death of a soldier in Iraq.

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Soldier's Father Remembers Son

Army Spc. Raymond White, 22, died Thursday when his unit came under small arms fire while on patrol.

His family said he died protecting his comrades during an ambush in Baghdad, and that he saved the lives of several soldiers at the price of his own.

"He could have ducked down and let everyone fight for themselves, but he knew better. He wasn't about to do that. He wanted to fight and make sure those guys were safe, down to the very end," Raymond White's father, Henry, said.

White said his son was only a child when he made up his mind to follow in his footsteps and join the military. After high school he spent 18 months at the New Mexico Military Institute, RTV6's Jennifer Carmack reported. He quit to join the army shortly after 9-11, and was deployed to Baghdad early this year

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Slideshow: Deadly Week For Hoosier Soldiers

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"He told me, he said, 'Dad, I've got a calling. I've got a calling, and I've got to go serve my country," Henry White said. "He would always, always go out of his way to help you, even if he never knew you."

White said his son called home every week. Their last conversation fell on Veterans' Day -- one day before he was gunned down, Carmack reported.

"He called me and he said, 'Dad, I'm doing fine. I'm doing OK, and I said, 'Please, please, God, please be safe. Keep your head down,' and he said, 'Dad, don't worry. We're OK," White said.

Three servicemen with ties to Indiana were killed in Iraq last week.

On Friday, Marine Sgt. Morgan Strader was killed in Fallujah. The 23-year-old grew up in Brownsburg, but lived in Tennessee.

Strader re-enlisted in July because he said his unit needed, him, RTV6 reported.

Another Hoosier, Army Command Sgt. Maj. Steven Faulkenburg, 45, of Huntingburg, was killed Tuesday during fighting in Fallujah.

A total of 31 Indiana soldiers have been killed in Iraq.