Marine from Chesapeake killed in Afghanistan

Lance Cpl. Cody S. Childers talked about joining the Marines as early as age 12, family members said.

In June – having made that dream come true – Childers left for Afghanistan.

The 19-year-old Chesapeake native died Friday while supporting combat operations in the country’s Helmand province, the Department of Defense announced Saturday. No other details about his death were released.

“He died because he loved his country and he wanted to make a difference,” aunt Jayme Montague of Chesapeake said Saturday.

Childers, a 2009 graduate of Grassfield High School, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

Childers enlisted in September 2008 and went into active service in August 2009, Marine Corps Forces Command spokesman Dennis Neal said. His primary specialty was as a machine gunner, Neal said.

Family and friends said Saturday that Childers had just survived an IED blast a few weeks ago that left him with a concussion, dislocated shoulder and injuries from shrapnel. He was out of commission for three to four days, the whole time eager to get back to work, they said.

Peggy Ewell described her grandson as an outgoing, lovable guy who enjoyed hunting with his father. Childers was scheduled to return from Afghanistan in February, she said. He was engaged to longtime sweetheart Megan Smithdeal of Chesapeake, with plans to get married in May.

Smithdeal’s mother, Laurie Smithdeal, smiled Saturday as she talked about how unusually patient Childers was while fishing. “He’d stand there all day long,” she said.

Childers also loved to work on his truck, a 20-year-old Ford F-150 they called “Old Red and White.” He bought new tires for it before deploying and couldn’t wait to make more improvements, Smithdeal said.

In the Hickory section of Chesapeake, where Childers’ parents live, “the boys have to have the biggest and the loudest” trucks, she said.

Childers is the son of Randy and Wendy Childers. He has an older brother, Ryan; a younger sister, Cassidy; and an older half-brother and half-sister, Chris Childers and Stephanie Medina. Peggy Ewell and Childers’ grandfather, Wade, also live in Chesapeake.

Hattie Brown Garrow, (757) 222-5562,hattie.brown@pilotonline.com