Remembering Spc. Sarina Butcher
By: Brian Kushida
Updated: November 11, 2011
Family, friends, and military members are remembering a U.S. soldier whose life was cut short.
Checotah, Oklahoma resident and Crossett, Arkansas native 19-year-old Spc. Sarina Butcher died November 1 in Afghanistan after an IED detonated near her military vehicle while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Her body was laid to rest Friday.
"She was really outgoing and there was no one that wasn't her friend," said mother Dana Bailey.
Butcher entered the military in hopes of filling the boots of her brother and grandfather before her. Some say the 19-year-old left a young woman, but came back a hero.
"I tried to instill in her, good traditions and things about the military. She always looked up to me as her hero, but today, she's my hero," said grandfather James Clayton Mills.
Some say to her country, she left a legacy of valor and patriotism. Mills says Sarina's spirit lives on through her daughter.
"Sarina used to sit and talk, throw her hand on her hip. Zoey does the same thing at two and half years old. So she's going to up and be another Sarina," Mills said.
Butcher's death comes just weeks before she was due home to visit her family.
Checotah, Oklahoma resident and Crossett, Arkansas native 19-year-old Spc. Sarina Butcher died November 1 in Afghanistan after an IED detonated near her military vehicle while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Her body was laid to rest Friday.
"She was really outgoing and there was no one that wasn't her friend," said mother Dana Bailey.
Butcher entered the military in hopes of filling the boots of her brother and grandfather before her. Some say the 19-year-old left a young woman, but came back a hero.
"I tried to instill in her, good traditions and things about the military. She always looked up to me as her hero, but today, she's my hero," said grandfather James Clayton Mills.
Some say to her country, she left a legacy of valor and patriotism. Mills says Sarina's spirit lives on through her daughter.
"Sarina used to sit and talk, throw her hand on her hip. Zoey does the same thing at two and half years old. So she's going to up and be another Sarina," Mills said.
Butcher's death comes just weeks before she was due home to visit her family.
