Christopher Ward - U.S. Military

Staff Sgt. Christopher M. Ward, age 24, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, died on April 6, 2013, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit in Zabul, Afghanistan with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.

He was assigned to the 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Chris was part of a convoy delivering school textbooks to a school in Qalat, when the convoy was struck by a car bomb. Three U.S. soldiers, a State Department civilian and a Defense Department civilian were all killed in the attack.

Chris grew up in Arcadia, Florida. He was in Junior ROTC and stayed in Arcadia, which is east of Sarasota and north of Fort Myers, to finish high school when his mother moved to Oak Ridge about 10 years ago.

He came to Oak Ridge in July of 2004 and attended Oak Ridge High School before getting a GED later.

He enlisted in the Army in 2006. He had been deployed twice before to Iraq. This was his first tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Family members stated that Chris wanted to be in the military since he was a child.

He is described as a man with confidence and a big smile, who was well-liked and respected by all who knew him. He is their hero, who died protecting others.

Christopher is survived by many loving friends and relatives including his mother,

Light a candle for Chris.
Light his way to Heaven.

Joyce Ward; his grandmother, Nancy Ward; his paternal grandfather; and his brothers, Matthew and Travis.

Pray for all who die young and in a foreign war zone.

Thank you for serving, Chris.

Let us pray that Chris is in heaven. Let us pray that he is at peace and is with God. Amen.