DISPATCHES FROM IRAQ
'Happy, you'll be missed'

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

FORWARD OPERATING BASE McHENRY, Iraq — Schofield Barracks soldiers knew it was expected, inevitable — that among their ranks, there would be some who would not come home. Under a clear blue sky yesterday at this small U.S. outpost in northern Iraq, the odds against that happening didn't matter.

Sgt. Jose Faulk, of Wai'anae, and the 2-11 Field Artillery Regiment, gives a final salute for Pfc. Ernest "Happy" Sutphin, who was killed in a Humvee accident in Al Huwija, Iraq. Faulk was also injured in the accident. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

The 21-year-old North Carolina man and fire support team member died March 18, seven days after he was crushed in a Humvee rollover.

Sutphin was gone, and all that remained at FOB McHenry was an 8-by-10-inch photo of the smiling soldier known as "Happy," along with desert boots, helmet and dog tags dangling from an M-16 rifle.

But it was enough.

Bagpipes played as Sgt. Jose Faulk, who also was injured in the March 11 Humvee accident, sank to the ground on both knees before the memorial, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he tried to control his emotions. Then he rose to his feet, saluting the soldier he trained.

"I knew that I pushed him hard, but I also knew that he was well trained," Faulk said at the memorial attended by several hundred 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry soldiers. "If you knew him, you knew he placed his needs after others."

The memorial for Pfc. Ernest Sutphin included his boots and a photo of the soldier who was called "Happy" because of his "goofy smile." Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

"I mean, we were ready to go. We received enemy direct fire that night — bullets flying by overhead," he said. "That first night, his training was put to the test, and he never faltered once.

"I'm proud to say I worked with Happy ... He taught me as much as I taught him," Faulk added. "But to me, he'll always be the man who watched my back, my brother."

In a ceremonial roll, fellow soldiers' names were called out:

"Sgt. Felix," followed by, "Here, first sergeant."

"Pfc. Fish." "Here, first sergeant."

"Pfc. Sutphin."

"Pfc. Ernest Sutphin."

"Pfc. Ernest Harold Sutphin."

Pfc. Ernest Harold Sutphin died March 18 after he was crushed in a Humvee rollover.

"I did not lose a soldier, I lost a member of my family. I lost one of my brothers," said 1st Lt. Robert Heatherly, Alpha Company's fire support officer.

Heatherly recalled Sutphin's "goofy smile," which earned him his nickname. He remembered him getting beat up by the waves while body boarding at Waimea Bay, and how Sutphin loved to play the game "Risk."

"Before we left, I knew we would lose soldiers," Heatherly, 24, said. "I never knew I would be losing one of my younger brothers."

Sutphin, whose job with Alpha Company, 1-27, was to call in indirect fire support, was riding in the back of a Humvee with seven other soldiers at about 7:30 p.m. March 11 when the vehicle rolled over during a patrol north of the town of Huwijah.

Lt. Col. Joseph R. Connell, 2-11's commander, said the driver, wearing night vision goggles, was momentarily blinded by light from an oil burn-off fire as he crested a berm and was making a left-hand turn as the lead vehicle out of four.

Soldiers from Company A, 1-27 Infantry Regiment, salute during the playing of taps at a memorial service for Pfc. Ernest Sutphin, an artillery forward observer who was attached to their unit and died from injuries after the Humvee he was riding in rolled over. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Faulk received lower back and hip injuries, but is expected to make a full recovery. Another soldier broke his wrist, and three others received concussions.

Sutphin had a severely bruised lung and head trauma. Army officials say a physician's assistant was at the scene in 15 minutes. Four of the soldiers initially were flown by helicopter to Kirkuk Air Base, about 40 miles to the northeast.

Sutphin and three others were then medevaced to Baghdad, and Sutphin was flown from there to Landstuhl, Germany.

He never regained consciousness. His family was with him for two days before he died on March 18, officials said.

"I can't express in words the depth of the loss that we have endured," Connell said, noting the greatest loss was to Sutphin's family. "Ernest was a great soldier who was doing his job to defeat the enemy and protect his fellow soldiers." Fire support, or "fisters," is a relatively small and tight-knit community with only about seven soldiers per infantry company.

Heatherly said Sutphin had been in the Army for 16 months, the last nine under his command.

"It didn't take long for him to learn and catch on, and he became an integral part of the team," Heatherly said.

Heatherly recalled being back at Schofield Barracks, having some problems getting soldiers back and forth on post, and asking Sutphin and some others why they didn't have a vehicle.

"They said, 'We don't have enough money to have a vehicle,' and I said, 'Sure you do, you live in the barracks, you don't have any expenses,' " Heatherly said. "And he (Sutphin) told me he sends a lot of his money to his mom. I knew from (other) people he was also paying for his sister's cell phone bills, so he was taking care of his family."

"He was just a very, very good-natured kid," Heatherly added. "It's one of those things. You never understand why such terrible things happen to such good people."

Midway through the memorial, Spc. Joshua Gaither, strumming a guitar and with his rifle slung across his back, sang Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here."

"That was for my roommate, my teammate, my fellow soldier and friend," Gaither told everyone assembled. "Happy, you'll be missed."