Please remember the men and women of our armed forces. Whatever your opinion on the war in Iraq, those service men and women deserve our thanks. Cory was a man who lived life honorably and died with honor fighting for what he believed in. I am honored to have known him and his family. God Bless our troops, those who have fought, those still fighting, and those who fight has ended.

-- At Stewart County High School, Cory Hewitt was the R-man.

Renaissance man. He excelled in academics, played both defense and offense on the

gridiron and was a fool for the trombone in the marching band.

During football season, when the horn sounded to signal the end of the second quarter,

Hewitt scrambled to remove his jersey, unstrapped his shoulder pads and slid his jersey

back on. Then he would grab his trombone and dash to join the band on the field for the

halftime show.

When the final note sounded, Hewitt strapped on the pads again for the second half.

''That's what a lot of people will remember him for,'' said Raymond Hewitt, his father,

chuckling. ''That was Cory. He did it all.''

On Tuesday, Cpl. Cory Hewitt gave his all.

The soldier, 26, was one of 17 Americans killed in a military dining hall in Iraq when a

suicide bomber, whom the Army suspects was dressed as an Iraqi soldier, detonated an

explosive device filled with small steel pellets.

Cpl. Hewitt graduated from West Liberty State College Cum-Laude with a degree in Criminal Justice.

Cpl. Hewitt once wrote a piece for the school newspaper, taking the college to task for

how the American flag on campus was being displayed. ''That was kind of a big hit with the family. Cory was patriotic and loyal to friends and

country and God,'' the father said.

Cpl. Hewitt joined the military about two years ago, eventually becoming a member of

the 705th Ordnance Company, a detachment based at Fort Polk, La.

The job of the soldier, who'd been in Iraq since August, was to make sure things that

went ''boom'' did so safely.

But nothing could protect him from a suicide bomber on a mission.

Cpl. Hewitt was born in Wheeling Wv, and was raised in Tenn. He was laid to rest in Sand Hill Cemetary near Wheeling Wv with full military Honors.

AP Article