The family of Pfc. Cleston Raney has had little to say about the soldier's death in an explosion March 31, 2004. Family members released a collective statement shortly after learning of his death, and have since said nothing else.
In the statement, they indicated they had tried to talk him out of joining the Army, or at least postponing his enlistment. Raney would not do so. "Once we realized the strength of his convictions," the statement added, "the family put our own fears on the back burner to support his sense of purpose and overwhelming need to make a difference 100 percent."
Raney , 20, of Rupert, Idaho, was one of five soldiers killed March 31, 2004, in Habbaniyah, Iraq, when a bomb detonated under the armored personnel carrier he was in.
They acknowledged some anger over his death. "It has left a deep heartache that makes it difficult to swallow or even breathe," their statement said. They described the soldier as "a quiet, respectful young man not yet old enough to buy his first beer or put his first coin in a slot machine, if that would have been his inclination, yet ... old enough to vote and to give his life for the numerous freedom each of us take for granted every day."
Acknowledging pride in the soldier's "courage, honor and a belief in a level of duty we may never comprehend," they expressed hope for "drastic changes" so that "not even one more American family has to experience the loss."
More than a year afterward, that position had not changed much. Gloria Trivitt, Raney 's aunt, turned down an invitation to visit with President Bush following a presidential trip to Idaho. "I think it's a photo op," she said. "The president sent me a letter with his regrets, and that's all I want to hear."
