Note: This article was originally published on Nov. 2, 2004. We’re re-posting it now for our Colorado’s Fallen tribute.
Northglenn – Ryan Fox, a science teacher at Northglenn High School,
found out just before his fourth-period class Monday that one of
his former students had died over the weekend fighting in Iraq.
But Fox could still close his eyes and see Andrew Riedel sitting in
his classroom. The boy was smiling, wearing bluejeans and a
T-shirt. Ready to learn. Eager to succeed.
“I was just shocked,” said Fox, one of Riedel’s junior-year teachers. “The first thing you do is visualize him sitting
there in your class. I could see his face. It’s tough.”
Riedel, 19, was a 2003 graduate of Northglenn High School. After
graduation, he joined the Marine Corps, which he served as a lance
corporal.
Riedel’s death saddened many at the school. Some students knew him;
several went to the school’s counseling office for support.
Many teachers said they had watched him grow from a boy to a man.
“He was a very energetic kid, always on time, motivated,” said Hugo Garcia, who taught Riedel science in eighth and 10th grades.
“He always wanted to do his work. He was the kind of kid who
always checked on his grades.”
Riedel’s family learned about his death Sunday afternoon. The
family’s pastor said they were awaiting details.
In a news release Monday, Marine Corps officials said Riedel was
serving with the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in Anbar province
when he died “due to enemy action.”
A car bomb near Fallujah, in Anbar province, killed eight U.S.
Marines on Saturday.
Outside Riedel’s parents’ Northglenn home Monday, yellow ribbons
tied around a tree fluttered in the chilling wind. United States
and Marine Corps flags hung proudly, just feet from a driveway
basketball hoop. The cars of friends and family members lined the
block.
The family declined to comment.
“It is hard to believe that this good-natured and kind-hearted
young man will no longer be a part of our community,” Sunni Nucci,
a social studies teacher at Northglenn High, wrote in a statement.
“I have only fond memories of Andrew as a student and a person and
was so proud of him when he graduated.”
Several teachers described Riedel as hard-working, focused, disciplined. Garcia said that science did not
come naturally to Riedel, but the student worked hard to succeed.
Fox said he had trouble picturing Riedel so far away, serving in
Iraq. But he said word of Riedel’s death had brought the war
tragically close.
“You hear every day in the news about a Marine being killed,” he
said. “But until you put a name or a face with the newscast, it
doesn’t really hit home.”
