HAMPTON (CITY), VA, USA
U.S. Army
SGT, COMPANY C, 1ST BATTALION, 68TH ARMOR, 3 BCT, FORT CARSON, CO
BAGHDAD, IRAQ 03/17/2008
Army Sergeant Christopher C. Simpson, age twenty-three, died March 17, 2008 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device during combat operations. A second soldier also died in this incident. Sgt Simpson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
Christopher Simpson was from Hampton, Virginia. He attended Jordan-Elbridge schools until ninth grade, then attended schools in Rome, N.Y., where his mother lived. His mother, Mary Catherine McLaughlin, now lives in Hampton, VA. “Everybody else came first, and he came second. He was adored by so many people.” said his mother, Kate McLaughlin said.
Christopher’s father, Scott Simpson, a first sergeant with the Air National Guard and was in a meeting Sunday at the Mattydale base when his son called not long before Chris died. His father remembered taking his son to Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, N.Y., when he was younger and watching him sit in the cockpit of an A-10 attack jet. But when Christopher joined the armed forces, he decided he didn’t want to follow his father into the Air Force. He wanted to drive a tank or something more in the thick of things. He was proud of what he did. Christopher Simpson’s 21-year-old brother, Richard, is in the Marines.
Christopher had returned to Iraq in December for his second combat tour in three years. He was based at Fort Carson, Colo., with the 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. He joined the Army in 2004 and had spent most of 2006 with the Brigade in Iraq.
Christopher’s father expressed their appreciation for the Patriot Guard Rider’s kind, dedicated and patriotic participation in Chris’s funeral and noted that an adventurous Christopher had just purchased a new Buell motorcycle. Christopher was a proud patriot himself. He was a sharp, engaging, and enthusiastic young man who had plans to get an engagement ring for his fiancée’. He was a soldier’s soldier, always leading by example. He was a leader in his battalion, and always first into harm’s way.
On behalf of the Lukenbill, the Fries and the Simpson families, I wanted to get this short note off to thank you for Sergeant Christopher Curtis Simpson’s recent Patriot Guard detail. From the Easter Sunday morning showing at the Air National Guard airfield for Christopher’s Military Escort Learjet arrival home, to the cold, hard, driving wind during our six-plus hour wake on Tuesday, to Christopher’s full military honors funeral service on Wednesday; we can’t begin to express our gratitude.
Christopher was a wonderful son, grandson, uncle, nephew, cousin, friend and fiancé; to know him was to love him. Please pass along our heart-felt thanks to all who stood with the New York State Patriot Guard Riders and honored Christopher. Your efforts have been a blessing to our families. Thank you for a mission well done.
Sincerely, Scott Simpson
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