Staff Sgt. Christopher Swanson of Rose Haven, Maryland was the captain of the soccer team at Southern High School and graduated in 1999. As a teenager, he traveled on mission trips with members of First Baptist Church in Upper Marlboro, preaching the gospel on Florida's beaches and teaching lessons about love, honor and integrity to gang members in Ohio. In West Virginia, he helped build part of a church, moving concrete and hammering nails in the afternoon sun. At Southern High School in Anne Arundel County, where he was captain of the soccer team, he was the student who spent his free period in the principal's office. Not because he was in trouble, but because he wanted to help. He was always lending a hand, running errands, sorting mail, making copies. He was destined to be a career soldier and said he was a dedicated servant. With his father, he enjoyed fishing and following the Ravens and Orioles. Now his father leaves an empty seat for his son at the games. He was serving his third tour in Iraq and had also been deployed in prior operations to Kosovo. During his tenure in the Army, Swanson received various awards to include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, Kosovo Campaign, Army Good Conduct, Iraq Campaign, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary, NATO, and Global War on Terrorism Service Medals. He was also the recipient of a Presidential Unit Citation, a Bronze Star and has two Purple Hearts pending. Additional survivors include his grandparents, Roger and Tillie Swanson, and Peggy and Conrad C. Sloan. He was 25.
Army
2nd Battalion
6th Infantry Regiment
1st Armored Division
Baumholder, Germany
Army
2nd Battalion
6th Infantry Regiment
1st Armored Division
Baumholder, Germany
Staff Sgt. Christopher Swanson of Rose Haven, Maryland was the captain of the soccer team at Southern High School and graduated in 1999. As a teenager, he traveled on mission trips with members of First Baptist Church in Upper Marlboro, preaching the gospel on Florida's beaches and teaching lessons about love, honor and integrity to gang members in Ohio. In West Virginia, he helped build part of a church, moving concrete and hammering nails in the afternoon sun. At Southern High School in Anne Arundel County, where he was captain of the soccer team, he was the student who spent his free period in the principal's office. Not because he was in trouble, but because he wanted to help. He was always lending a hand, running errands, sorting mail, making copies. He was destined to be a career soldier and said he was a dedicated servant. With his father, he enjoyed fishing and following the Ravens and Orioles. Now his father leaves an empty seat for his son at the games. He was serving his third tour in Iraq and had also been deployed in prior operations to Kosovo. During his tenure in the Army, Swanson received various awards to include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, Kosovo Campaign, Army Good Conduct, Iraq Campaign, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary, NATO, and Global War on Terrorism Service Medals. He was also the recipient of a Presidential Unit Citation, a Bronze Star and has two Purple Hearts pending. Additional survivors include his grandparents, Roger and Tillie Swanson, and Peggy and Conrad C. Sloan. He was 25.
Army
2nd Battalion
6th Infantry Regiment
1st Armored Division
Baumholder, Germany
Army
2nd Battalion
6th Infantry Regiment
1st Armored Division
Baumholder, Germany
