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Olney Man Killed In Iraq Firefight
Army Sgt. Kenneth Levi Ridgley, formerly of Olney, was killed in Mosul, Iraq, March 30 after insurgents opened fire on U.S. soldiers who were about to investigate a suspicious car at a checkpoint.
Ridgley, 30, a 1993 graduate of East Richland High School in Olney, died after a bullet from an automatic weapon struck him between shields of a bulletproof vest, the Associated Press reported.
He was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, stationed in Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Wash.
Ridgley joined the Illinois Army National Guard while a senior in high school. He attended Southern Illinois University, where he was a roper on the school rodeo team. Three years after fulfilling his National Guard obligation, he joined the Army.
He served a tour in Iraq at the beginning of the war and returned for a second tour in October.
Herald & Review (Decatur, IL) – Wednesday, April 6, 2005
Sgt. Kenneth "Levi" Ridgley, 30 of Olney, the son of Betty and Clarence Richards of Olney, died Wednesday, March 30, 2005 in Mosul, Iraq, the result of injuries received in combat.
Military services performed by U.S. army military personnel from Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
Sgt. Ridgley was born on September 10, 1974 in Olney, the son of Betty (Ridgley) Richards and Clarence Richards of Olney. He married Charity Strausbaugh on August 7, 2004 in Lakewood, Wash. She survives.
He was in the U.S. Army stationed in Mosul, Iraq. He attended elementary and junior-high in Pearl, Miss. He was a graduate of East Richland High School in Olney and attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He joined the U.S. Army in March 2002. He was also a member of American Legion Post #30 in Olney.
Sgt. Ridgley is survived by his wife, Charity Ridgley of Steilacoom, Wash.; a son, Dillon Ridgley at home; his mother and father of Olney; a brother, Stan Richards; three sisters, Sonja Terry, Sher Richards and Peggy Flauta; his father and mother-in-law and other relatives.
He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Don and Golda (Fulk) Ridgley and paternal grandparents, John and Emma Richards.
Published in Olney Daily Mail (IL)
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Sam L. Jarvis (1966)
All our respect for you as a soldier and prayers as a fine young man. Sir, thank you for your service in our millitary! We did not know each other, but I drove a school bus while you were in hi school, and heard nothing except how great a student you were, at that time. God be with you Sgt Ridgley, and your family, please Lord.