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Funeral
services set for fallen soldier
Funeral services for fallen Sgt. Kenneth Raymond KR
Booker are set for Sunday, December 9 at 1:00 p.m. at the Switzerland
County High School Gymnasium in Vevay. Visitation will be held
Saturday, December 8 from 4-8 p.m. at the high school and again
on Sunday from noon until time of the service. Interment will
be in the Slawson Cemetery, Bennington, with military rites conducted
by the honor guard of the Fort Knox Ceremonial Unit.
The 25-year-old soldier from Vevay was killed in action in Mukhisa,
Iraq, on November 14, serving his third deployment in Operation
Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. Booker died of injuries sustained when an
improvised explosive detonated near his vehicle.
Joining the Army just after graduation, Sgt. Booker was a member
of the 82nd Airborne division from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
He served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation
Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. His exemplary service earned him an assignment
in military intelligence at Fort Lewis, Washington. The soldier,
however, preferred working in the field, rather than an office,
and requested transfer back to infantry. Joining a Stryker Brigade
Combat Unit at Fort Lewis, Sgt. Booker had returned to Iraq for
his third deployment.
Sgt. Booker received many awards, among those: the Bronze Star,
Purple Heart, two Army Commendation Medals, Army Achievement Medal,
two Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq
Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global
War on Terrorism Service Medal, Non-Commission Officer Development
Program, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Combat
Infantry Badge, Parachute Badge, and Expert Rifle Weapon.
The accomplished soldier was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 23rd
Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry
Division. Friends and family say he will be remembered for his
clever sense of humor, love of hunting and target shooting, his
outgoing nature and above all, his outstanding dedication to his
country.
Sgt. Booker was born February 5, 1982, in Madison, the son of
Charles Raymond Booker and Becky (Daughrity) Booker Graham. He
is survived by his father and stepmother, SSG Charles Raymond
and Brenda Shorty Booker of Vevay; mother and stepfather,
Becky and Robert Graham of Milton, Kentucky; brother, Kaleb Daniel
Booker of Madison; wife: Betzaida Booker of Fayetteville, NC;
paternal grandmother, Inez Booker of Moorefield; paternal grandfather,
SFC Raymond H. Booker (retired) of Burkesville, Kentucky; paternal
great grandmother, Dorothy McMackin of Moorefield; two stepbrothers,
Keith Briner and wife, Angie of Indianapolis; Robert Graham Jr.
of Houghton, LA; stepsister, Katrina Soles of Houghton, LA; two
aunts, Alice Powell and husband Darrell of Madison; Eula Butler
and husband, Shan of Vevay; great, great aunt, Ruby McMackin of
Bennington; niece, Hailey, nephew, Blayden, and cousins, Jason
Rook, Jeremy Stevens, Jarrid Stevens, Andrew Peelman, and Angela
Powell.
He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, James and
Cathy (Temple) Daughrity, great grandfather, Charles L. McMackin.
Sgt. Booker was raised in Switzerland County and was a graduate
of Switzerland County High School Class of 2000. He attended the
Mt. Sterling Baptist Church in Vevay, and was a member of the
Switzerland County FFA.
Haskell & Morrison Funeral Home of Vevay is in charge of the
arrangements. Memorials may be made to the Sergeant Kenneth Raymond
Booker Memorial Fund c/o the Community Foundation of Switzerland
County, PO Box 46, Vevay, or the Slawson Cemetery. Online condolences
may be sent to the family via the funeral homes website
at www.haskellandmorrison.com.
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