He was a young man who was struggling to better himself, But was cut down by an errant bomb in Iraq
At the age of 20.
Just a few years ago, Pvt. Nolen Ryan Hutchings
Graduated from Boiling Springs High School
Outside of Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The school celebrated his life recently,
Turning a classroom into a memorial
For a Marine who gave his life for his country.
He was an average student, his teachers say,
But one with a big smile and a big heart.
"He just never missed the opportunity to say a kind word
Or to let people know that he was thinking of them,
" Said Kerise Broome,
His former English teacher.
Those who knew him say Hutchings,
Like so many teenagers, had his share of problems.
Court records show he was arrested
For trespassing and petty larceny
While still in high school.
But more importantly, his family said,
Toward the end of his life, Hutchings was trying to find his way.
"Typical problems, typical kid,
" His adopted father Larry Hutchings said.
"But when he did get into trouble,
He settled his own mistakes."
During his sophomore year in high school,
He reached out to Northbrook Baptist Church
In Boiling Springs for help.
"He did it on his own," his mother Carolyn Hutchings said.
"No one pushed him into that.
And every time them doors were open, he was there."
He joined a youth group with the church
And went on a few missions to help spread the faith.
But even there, church members confirm, he struggled.
"He tried to do right," member Craig Seay says.
"He's like you and me and everybody else,
He messes up sometimes.
But he tried to do the best he could."
Hutchings' longtime ambition had been to
Join the Marines, and upon graduation,
He did just that. He was determined,
He seemed, to straighten himself out,
And make his family and his hometown proud.
Teachers at Boiling Springs High
Say he returned repeatedly, in uniform,
To the campus to renew acquaintances and sing
The praises of the Marine Corps.
He seemed leaner, happier, and prouder
Than ever, the teachers say.
Then came the war, and he was sent to Iraq.
In the southern city of Nasiriya on March 23,
His armored vehicle unit came under attack by Iraqis.
A coalition A-10 jet provided air cover for the Marines
But apparently mistakenly attacked Hutchings' unit.
For three weeks, as his family agonized,
He was listed as missing in action.
On April 12, the official word reached his family of his death.
Hutchings' body was returned to South Carolina.
During the funeral, Col. William Callahan,
Chief of staff of the young man's unit,
Handed Hutchings' mother a Purple Heart awarded to her son posthumously.
"Let there be no doubt that Ryan is the genuine American hero,"
Callahan told The Greenville News.
By Brian Cabell
CNN
