AMITY, PA, USA
U.S. Army
CPL, COMPANY C, 1ST BATTALION, 22D INFANTRY, 1 BCT, FORT HOOD, TX
BAGHDAD, IRAQ 10/17/2006
Army Corporal Culbertson was not much into school, but if he was interested in something, he could tell you anything and everything there was about that topic. He was a 2003 high school graduate and had been assigned to Fort Hood, Texas. He died October 17, 2006 in Bagdad when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Three other soldiers were also killed. Corporal Culbertson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. The 800-strong Army battalion, part of the First Brigade of the Fourth Infantry Division based in Fort Hood, Texas, patrolled a vast swath of land west of Baghdad occupied by Sunni Arab insurgents.
After his death, e-mails from men serving with Russell G. Culbertson III mentioned how reliable he was, serving without complaint, even when he missed watching the Steelers win the Super Bowl because he was out on a mission. Several said they have parts to Culbertson’s car in their garages back home. Culbertson was proud of the old, red Camaro he owned and regularly tinkered with it. “He wasn’t big on school, but if he was interested in something he could tell you everything and anything about it,” said his mother, Denise. Culbertson, 22, of Amity, Pa., was killed Oct. 18 by a roadside bomb outside Baghdad. He was a 2003 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Hood. His big sister, Elizabeth, recalled a time when horseplay with her younger brother ended up with her getting a bloody nose. He pleaded with her not to tell their parents. “Ever since then, we were best friends because I didn’t rat him out,” she said. He told his sister he often volunteered for missions, but made her promise not to tell their parents who, he feared, would worry. He also is survived by his father, Russell Sr.