Spc. Sarina N. Butcher, 19, of Checotah, Okla., died Nov. 1, in Paktia province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked her vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
She was assigned to the 700th Brigade Support Battalion, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma National Guard, Tulsa, Okla. She attended Checotah Public Schools for two years before joining the Army National Guard. She graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., in March.
Spc Butcher is the first female Oklahoma National Guard soldier to be killed during wartime and is also the youngest Oklahoma soldier to die in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Women were first allowed to join the Oklahoma National Guard in 1971.
Sarina is survived by her Mother, Dana Bailey and step-father, Howard of El Dorado, Arkansas, her father; James "Jamie" Mills and step-mother, Cheryl of Checotah, Oklahoma, her daughter, Zoey Alexis Nicole Butcher of El Dorado, Arkansas, her Paternal grandparents; Clayton and Martha Mills of Checotah, Oklahoma, Maternal grandmother; Betty Terrell of Hope, Arkansas, her brother; Anthony "Tony" Mills of Ely, Nevada and his fiancée, Raechelle Drayton, and niece, Kaylie Griggs, her sister; Hana Richelle Bailey of El Dorado, Arkansas, and a host of other family and friends.
She was assigned to the 700th Brigade Support Battalion, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma National Guard, Tulsa, Okla. She attended Checotah Public Schools for two years before joining the Army National Guard. She graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., in March.
Spc Butcher is the first female Oklahoma National Guard soldier to be killed during wartime and is also the youngest Oklahoma soldier to die in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Women were first allowed to join the Oklahoma National Guard in 1971.
Sarina is survived by her Mother, Dana Bailey and step-father, Howard of El Dorado, Arkansas, her father; James "Jamie" Mills and step-mother, Cheryl of Checotah, Oklahoma, her daughter, Zoey Alexis Nicole Butcher of El Dorado, Arkansas, her Paternal grandparents; Clayton and Martha Mills of Checotah, Oklahoma, Maternal grandmother; Betty Terrell of Hope, Arkansas, her brother; Anthony "Tony" Mills of Ely, Nevada and his fiancée, Raechelle Drayton, and niece, Kaylie Griggs, her sister; Hana Richelle Bailey of El Dorado, Arkansas, and a host of other family and friends.
Spc. Sarina N. Butcher, 19, of Checotah, Okla., died Nov. 1, in Paktia province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked her vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
She was assigned to the 700th Brigade Support Battalion, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma National Guard, Tulsa, Okla. She attended Checotah Public Schools for two years before joining the Army National Guard. She graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., in March.
Spc Butcher is the first female Oklahoma National Guard soldier to be killed during wartime and is also the youngest Oklahoma soldier to die in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Women were first allowed to join the Oklahoma National Guard in 1971.
Sarina is survived by her Mother, Dana Bailey and step-father, Howard of El Dorado, Arkansas, her father; James "Jamie" Mills and step-mother, Cheryl of Checotah, Oklahoma, her daughter, Zoey Alexis Nicole Butcher of El Dorado, Arkansas, her Paternal grandparents; Clayton and Martha Mills of Checotah, Oklahoma, Maternal grandmother; Betty Terrell of Hope, Arkansas, her brother; Anthony "Tony" Mills of Ely, Nevada and his fiancée, Raechelle Drayton, and niece, Kaylie Griggs, her sister; Hana Richelle Bailey of El Dorado, Arkansas, and a host of other family and friends.
She was assigned to the 700th Brigade Support Battalion, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma National Guard, Tulsa, Okla. She attended Checotah Public Schools for two years before joining the Army National Guard. She graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., in March.
Spc Butcher is the first female Oklahoma National Guard soldier to be killed during wartime and is also the youngest Oklahoma soldier to die in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Women were first allowed to join the Oklahoma National Guard in 1971.
Sarina is survived by her Mother, Dana Bailey and step-father, Howard of El Dorado, Arkansas, her father; James "Jamie" Mills and step-mother, Cheryl of Checotah, Oklahoma, her daughter, Zoey Alexis Nicole Butcher of El Dorado, Arkansas, her Paternal grandparents; Clayton and Martha Mills of Checotah, Oklahoma, Maternal grandmother; Betty Terrell of Hope, Arkansas, her brother; Anthony "Tony" Mills of Ely, Nevada and his fiancée, Raechelle Drayton, and niece, Kaylie Griggs, her sister; Hana Richelle Bailey of El Dorado, Arkansas, and a host of other family and friends.
Inscription
Loving Daughter, Granddaughter, Mother & Sister
Mother of Zoey
SPC US Army Afghanistan
Operation Enduring Freedom
