Why am I fighting to live if I 'm just living to fight?
Why am I trying to see when there ain't nothing in sight?
Why am I trying to give when no one gives me a try?
Why am I dying to live if I'm just living to die?
From "Dying to Live" by the Edgar Winter Group
I don’t know if the soldier in this diary ever heard the Edgar Winter song "Dying to Live" or what he would have thought about it, but after learning about his life, it seemed like a fitting tribute. Staff Sergeant Larry Ismael Rougle was only 25 years old and yet he was serving his sixth tour of duty when he died. Since his enlistment in the Army in 1999, Larry had spent more time in the war zone than away from it.
For someone so young and so full of life, at times it must have seemed as though he was indeed living to fight. Yet no one ever heard him complain. And even though he had fulfilled his obligation to the Army and could have returned to the safety of civilian life, Larry never turned his back on what he felt was his duty. Please join me over the fold as we celebrate the life of this inspiring, courageous young man.
Staff Sergeant Larry I. Rougle: "They took my baby away...."
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Larry I. Rougle, 25, of West Jordan, Utah, died Oct. 23 in Sawtalo Sar Mountain, Kunar Province, Afghanistan, of wounds when he was engaged by enemy small arms fire during combat operations. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Vicenza, Italy.
Even when he was a small boy, Larry Rougle impressed those around him with his intelligence and eagerness to learn. He was fascinated with everything from politics to finance, and his aunt recalls him reading stock market quotes at an age when most kids were playing video games or riding bikes.
His mother, Nancy, recalled her son’s cheerful nature for the Deseret Morning News:
"My Larry was always pretty happy. He smiled, he was just the greatest," said the soldier's mother, Nancy Rougle, in a telephone interview from her West Valley home.
When the news of his death came Tuesday, she said, "It felt like my life ended, like part of me died."
No one was surprised when he graduated from Granite High School early, at age 17. And family members weren’t shocked by his decision to enlist in the Army, either. His father, Ismael Rougle, served in the Army during the Vietnam War and his uncle, Fernando Lopez, was a veteran of the 1991 Gulf War and had spent time in Iraq.
Still, in spite of the family history, the notion of enlisting was Larry’s, as his father told the Salt Lake Tribune:
"I'd never suggested it," said Ismael Rougle, who had served 25 years in the Army. "But he had it in his mind that this is what he wanted to do. And he was so proud."
Anyway, it was 1999, and no one imagined the nation would be at war any time soon. And military life agreed with Larry. From a different story in the Salt Lake Tribune:
His brother, David Rougle, said that the military "straightened him out 180 degrees."
"It was the best thing for him," David Rougle said. "He was proud to serve. He believed in what he was doing. And he would debate with anyone who said anything differently."
During his career in the Army, Larry married his girlfriend. Their daughter, Carmin Jade, was born three years ago. Although Larry and his wife divorced, he lived for Carmin, who his aunt describes as "the love of his life." An adorable photograph of Larry and Carmin can be seen here.
After the invasion of Iraq, Larry served three tours there, and then completed two more in Afghanistan. Earlier this year, he was once again deployed to Afghanistan. It would be his sixth tour, and he would be a scout sniper on the border near Pakistan. Looking to the future, Larry expected to return home for a mid-tour break in March, and planned to take Carmin to Disneyland, and spend time with his family celebrating his father's birthday and his brother's wedding. But before he returned to Afghanistan, Larry seemed to have a premonition and prepared his family for the worst. Again, from the Salt Lake Tribune:
"He told me that he didn't think that he would be making it home this time," Nancy Rougle said. "I said, 'No, no, let's not talk about it.' I didn't want to believe it."
His younger brother, David, said Larry had also mentioned to him the possibility that this tour of duty might end badly.
"He knew the stakes," David Rougle said. "He tried not to think about it too much. He just said, if I get waxed, don't let there be any drama in the family."
Ironically, David was fully aware of the fact that some soldiers paid the ultimate price for their service.
As a ramp worker at Salt Lake City International Airport, he'd watched the flag-draped caskets of several service members roll out from the bellies of passenger aircraft.
But he never thought his brother would be inside of one of the boxes. "Never," David Rougle said. "Not for a moment. I thought he was coming home."
Source(where you can see a picture of Larry’s family and another of the proud young soldier in uniform)
The family is understandably devastated by the loss of their oldest son. In the words of Larry's heartbroken mother:
"It took my life away. They took my baby away," said Rougle's mother Nancy. "Every day you get up, worry... worry. It never stops."
It seems fitting to end with the words of his aunt, Char Rodriguez, told the Deseret Morning News:
"He was a very proud soldier and loved what he did," Rodriguez said. "His main purpose in serving was to do what he thought was right for poor people of a war-torn country. He was a young man full of dreams that have now come to a stop."
Larry is the sixth member of the armed forces from Utah to die in Afghanistan. One hundred ninety three coalition forces have lost their lives in that country thus far this year, making 2007 the deadliest year for U.S. and allied troops since the war began in 2001.
A memorial service for Larry will be held Nov. 2 at 10:45 a.m., at the chapel on Caserma Ederle, Italy.
The Iraq Coalition Casualty Count reports that total number of US casualties confirmed by the Department of Defense is now 3836, with 2 additional death pending notification of relatives, for a total of 3838. The DoD news releases can be found here. Other sites have stories, video, pictures and remembrances, including Honor the Fallen.
All these service people had friends and loved ones. Please visit the Iraq Veterans Memorial for a moving look at how a few of their survivors remember them. If you'd like to help our soldiers, consider sponsoring a soldier at TroopCarePackage.com or anysoldier.com. Operation Helmetand Fisher House are also wonderful organizations that offer additional opportunity to help out American soldiers.
Finally, if you would like to assist the animal companions of our deployed military, information is available here. Animal companions can provide such joy and comfort.
About the IGTNT series:
IGTNT stands for "I Got the News Today." The phrase most likely refers to the Beatles’ song, and it is meant to symbolize that terrible knock on the door that any number of families got today, bringing with it the news that a loved one has died. IGTNT is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind.
Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and is maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, silvercedes, MsWings, noweasels, blue jersey mom, chacounne, twilight falling, Wee Mama, greenies, labwitchy, roses, joyful, sistwo and me, moneysmith.
If you would like to help out with IGTNT -- even once a month -- please get in touch with silvercedes, Sandy on Signal, noweasels or monkeybiz.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members chronicled here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.