Richard Trevithick
Specialist, United States Army
October 5, 1983 – April 14, 2004
Age – 20
Gaines, MI
9th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany
Killed when an IED his Humvee in Balad, Iraq
United States Army Specialist Richard “Rich” Trevithick was born on October 5, 1983, in Flint, MI, and grew up in Swartz Creek, MI. Growing up, Rich loved to play basketball and baseball. He would spend numerous hours playing outside, playing one on one, against his brother, Ryan. Rich loved to play the card game, Euchre, and was constantly trying to teach his fellow soldiers how to play when he served in Germany and Iraq. Rich attended Swartz Creek High School and graduated in 2002. He decided that he wasn’t quite ready for college and planned to join the military.
Rich enlisted in the Army after graduating high school and he decided that he would go to college after his military discharge to pursue a career in law enforcement. Richard attended basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. After graduating from basic training, he was sent to Schweinfurt, Germany. SPC Trevithick was stationed in Germany until the beginning of 2004, when he started his tour in Iraq. He was a part of the 9th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.
On April 14, 2004, SPC Trevithick was part of a unit returning to base after transporting prisoners in Balad, Iraq. During this trip, his Humvee was hit by an IED but SPC Trevithick continued to drive the Humvee, even after being mortally wounded, until he had safely brought his fellow comrades into the safe zone. Even though he was medevacked to a hospital, he succumbed to his injuries. SPC Trevithick was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds obtained in Iraq and the Bronze Star with Valor from his actions after his Humvee hit an IED.
Here are excerpts from Trevithick’s e-mails home:
“It’s amazing how poor countries are. The kids here have no shoes and they run up to the Humvee every chance they get and ask for food, water and even cigarettes. The first group of kids were even asking for the goggles off my head. I ended up giving them each a dime out of my pocket. … Well I’ll let you know more when I call but I just wanted to let you know I was safe and not to worry. Love you and miss you all. Love, your son and brother, Rich.”
“The other night we had a raid. We did it at night, which made it kind of like the movies. We were going after some pretty important guys that were in Saddam’s Army and now were supplying this area with mortars and rockets. … Not one shot was fired during the raid but we did nab all of the objectives and hopefully will get some info on more people so we can go after them.”