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Events carry special meaning

May-30-2005 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

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By SHAWN DAY, Statesman Journal

Laurie and Mark Whitham plan to observe Memorial Day by making a low-key, private journey to their son's grave in Springfield.

It will be their second trip this month to Springfield Memorial Gardens. They went on Mother's Day to mourn the one-year anniversary of Army Spc. Chase Whitham's death. Today won't feel any different.

"We pretty much feel the same every day," Laurie Whitham said. "It doesn't matter how long it's been."

Chase Whitham graduated in 2000 from Marist High School in Eugene, and he enlisted in the Army about two years later. He spent a year serving in South Korea, returned home to Oregon, then signed a waiver allowing him to join the scout platoon of the Stryker Brigade, part of the 2nd Infantry Division based in Fort Lewis, Wash.

He had been in Iraq with his unit for about six months when he and a handful of soldiers took a break from the sweltering conditions and jumped into a 3 1/2-foot-deep pool in a Mosul palace.

A few moments later, an electrical current surged through the pool, killing Whitham and injuring another soldier. Investigators determined a faulty pump and improper wiring were responsible.

For Laurie Whitham, thoughts of her son and his death can claw into her consciousness at any time or place. Walking down the aisles of a grocery store recently, she spotted one of Chase's favorite foods: smoked oysters.

His memory came flooding back. So did the tears.

"I've been real weepy lately," she said. "It comes in waves. You have days when you're reminded of stuff. You can't predict it." [...]


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