| 'A fine young man' News of Robert Seidel's death hit hard for those who knew him well, while words of praise came easily for a person so widely respected Published on May 20, 2006 By Geoffrey D. Brown News-Post Staff EMMITSBURG -- "My words can't describe him," said Catoctin High School football coach Doug Williams. Robert Seidel III, class of 2000, had it all. "He could do anything in the future. If he was still alive, Lord knows what he would have been able to do," Mr. Williams said. "He sounds like he's make believe, but I'm telling you, he's that kind of guy." U.S. Army 1st Lt. Robert Seidel III was killed Thursday in Iraq when a Humvee he was in hit an improvised explosive device. The family learned of his death that day. The U.S. Department of Defense had not released any further information about Lt. Seidel's death Friday; a spokesman at Fort Drum, N.Y., said he could not provide details. Lt. Seidel was a rifle platoon leader with the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y. Lt. Seidel was one of two 2000 Catoctin High School graduates, close friends, to be selected for the nation's elite armed forces academies. Lt. Seidel graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2004, and Ensign Ryan Rippeon graduated the same year from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. Ensign Rippeon's mother, Victoria Rippeon of Lewistown, said that in middle school, Lt. Seidel and her son won writing contests from the Thurmont American Legion, both with essays about patriotism and the flag. She and her husband and Lt. Seidel's family worked concession stands for four years while the boys played football. Once they reached college, the boys regularly got together for the Army-Navy football game. "It's just a devastating loss," Ms. Rippeon said. "He was just an outstanding person. I hope through all this, through such a loss, that some good will come out of our sons and daughters being over there. I really hope they're making a difference, because they're everything to us." She said she e-mailed Ensign Rippeon, whom she believes is on a destroyer, but she hasn't heard and doesn't know if her son knows about his friend's death. "I think at this point all we have to say is that we think it's a sad thing. We're going to miss him a lot," said Lt. Seidel's grandfather, Robert Seidel Sr. of Emmitsburg, as he struggled to speak. Lt. Seidel's parents, Robert Seidel Jr. and Sandy Seidel, live in Gettysburg. Gov. Thomas Johnson High School principal Marlene A. Tarr, who had been Lt. Seidel's principal at Catoctin, remembered someone who did everything right. "He was an outstanding kid. Good student, great athlete, great sense of humor, great family. He was a fine young man," she said. Ms. Rippeon, who teaches art at Thurmont Elementary School, said Lt. Seidel was extremely intelligent and that he attracted people naturally with his wit and charm. Lt. Seidel played four years of football at Catoctin High and was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Mr. Williams said. He would play any position, willing to sacrifice personal glory for the good of the team. His sense of humor also set him apart, Mr. Williams said. "He was the funniest daggone kid. He had a dry sense of humor," Mr. Williams said. "He'd say something, and it'd take you five minutes to get it. He'd bring a smile to your face." Mary DeMarco always kidded Lt. Seidel's uncle, Richard Seidel, on his regular early morning stop at Market Bagel and Deli in Frederick. "We always teased him to bring in his nephew, because he was so good looking," Ms. DeMarco, the deli's manager, said Friday. "We said when he comes home you have to bring him in here." As a favor to her loyal customer, she'd hung the young soldier's picture on the wall. Richard Seidel didn't go to the deli Friday. He was with his family at his father's home in Emmitsburg, waiting for his brother and sister-in-law, who had just received a visit from a military officer about their son. Catoctin High math teacher Carol Forman taught Lt. Seidel honors geometry and calculus. She didn't know about her former student's death until she walked into school; the news was a shock. "He always liked to make you laugh," she said. Kelly Ann Hinchcliffe of Durham, N.C., who graduated from Catoctin High the same year as Lt. Seidel, said when she learned of her classmate's death, the first thing she remembered was his great sense of humor. "I cried when I read his story. I feel so sorry for his family," she said. "When I saw his name, I immediately remembered him and could picture his face." Lt. Seidel last spoke with his mother and father on Mother's Day. |
