Pfc. Cody J. Eggleston
Pfc. Cody Eggleston and his wife, KariePfc. Cody J. Eggleston married in June, turned 21 in September, and left for Iraq the next day. He had been in the combat zone less than a month when he was wounded in a Oct. 16 mortar attack northeast of Baghdad.
On Friday, the Eugene native died of his wounds at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland, the Defense Department said.
"He really didn't have time to experience life," said his uncle, Rick Eggleston, of Fairbanks, Alaska.
Cody J. Eggleston was the 125th service member with strong ties to Oregon or southwest Washington to die in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Born in Eugene, grew up in Redmond
Eggleston -- "C.J." to friends -- was born into a longtime Eugene family. His grandfather, Walter Eggleston Sr., was a Lane County sheriff's sergeant who moved to Alaska in the 1970s with his sons. One son, Rick, stayed. The other, Wally, returned to Oregon and started a family. C.J. Eggleston was his son. He grew up in Redmond.
C.J. Eggleston would return to Alaska several times during his life. The first was as a young boy, when his parents divorced in the early 1990s and Wally Eggleston took the children north to work. The second was at 16, one summer in high school.
In these visits, he became close to Rick Eggleston's children. With them, he loved to fish and ride four-wheelers.
He returned to Alaska once more, in the fall of 2007, as a soldier.
"He was a 6-foot-3 giant, and a gentle giant, I'll tell you that much," Rick Eggleston said.
Struck up a romance
C.J. Eggleston had requested an Alaska posting and landed at the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division in Fort Wainwright. He told his uncle he wanted to make Alaska his new home.
But then, last November, he struck up an online romance with a woman from North Carolina with a 6-year-old daughter. They met in the spring and wed at the Chena Hot Springs Resort near Fairbanks. His new plan was to move to North Carolina and become a state trooper after completing his military service.
On Sept. 18, he shipped out for Iraq, where he served as a second gunner on his vehicle, the solider who feeds bullets into the machine gun as the first gunner fires.
Wanted to be "out front," he told his father
Wally Eggleston said he spoke to his son for more than an hour that day. He said his son was scared but proud to be serving on the front lines where he could protect fellow soldiers and friends.
"If I am out here, I want to be out front," Wally Eggleston said his son told him.
He added, "It's totally destroyed me losing my son."
Best friend also died in attack
The mortar attack that killed C.J. Eggleston also took the life of Pfc. Heath K. Pickard, 21, of Palestine, Texas, who was Eggleston's best friend, his father said.
Memorial details are pending.
Eggleston is survived by his wife, Karie, and stepdaughter, Raegen, of North Carolina; father, Wally, of La Pine; stepmother, Vicky , of La Pine; sister, Amber, 19, assigned to the USS George Washington in Japan; and stepsister, McKenzie, 11, of La Pine.
by Steve Suo, The Oregonian
On Friday, the Eugene native died of his wounds at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland, the Defense Department said.
"He really didn't have time to experience life," said his uncle, Rick Eggleston, of Fairbanks, Alaska.
Cody J. Eggleston was the 125th service member with strong ties to Oregon or southwest Washington to die in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Born in Eugene, grew up in Redmond
Eggleston -- "C.J." to friends -- was born into a longtime Eugene family. His grandfather, Walter Eggleston Sr., was a Lane County sheriff's sergeant who moved to Alaska in the 1970s with his sons. One son, Rick, stayed. The other, Wally, returned to Oregon and started a family. C.J. Eggleston was his son. He grew up in Redmond.
C.J. Eggleston would return to Alaska several times during his life. The first was as a young boy, when his parents divorced in the early 1990s and Wally Eggleston took the children north to work. The second was at 16, one summer in high school.
In these visits, he became close to Rick Eggleston's children. With them, he loved to fish and ride four-wheelers.
He returned to Alaska once more, in the fall of 2007, as a soldier.
"He was a 6-foot-3 giant, and a gentle giant, I'll tell you that much," Rick Eggleston said.
Struck up a romance
C.J. Eggleston had requested an Alaska posting and landed at the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division in Fort Wainwright. He told his uncle he wanted to make Alaska his new home.
But then, last November, he struck up an online romance with a woman from North Carolina with a 6-year-old daughter. They met in the spring and wed at the Chena Hot Springs Resort near Fairbanks. His new plan was to move to North Carolina and become a state trooper after completing his military service.
On Sept. 18, he shipped out for Iraq, where he served as a second gunner on his vehicle, the solider who feeds bullets into the machine gun as the first gunner fires.
Wanted to be "out front," he told his father
Wally Eggleston said he spoke to his son for more than an hour that day. He said his son was scared but proud to be serving on the front lines where he could protect fellow soldiers and friends.
"If I am out here, I want to be out front," Wally Eggleston said his son told him.
He added, "It's totally destroyed me losing my son."
Best friend also died in attack
The mortar attack that killed C.J. Eggleston also took the life of Pfc. Heath K. Pickard, 21, of Palestine, Texas, who was Eggleston's best friend, his father said.
Memorial details are pending.
Eggleston is survived by his wife, Karie, and stepdaughter, Raegen, of North Carolina; father, Wally, of La Pine; stepmother, Vicky , of La Pine; sister, Amber, 19, assigned to the USS George Washington in Japan; and stepsister, McKenzie, 11, of La Pine.
by Steve Suo, The Oregonian
