Palmer soldier finds fishing opportunities in Iraq

By CASEY RESSLER

Valley Life editor

As Valley residents prepare for fighting giant king salmon on the rivers, one Palmer man is content with carp.

Sgt. Jared A. Hendrickson is a Marine currently stationed in Fallujah, Iraq, as a vehicle commander in a light armor vehicle. In one of the most hostile environments in the world, Hendrickson has found a little place like home in the most unlikely of spots -- a desert lake in the Iraqi desert that was once the property of Saddam Hussein.

Hendrickson is quoted on the MSNBC Web site in a story about fishing in Fallujah. "We fish big salmon back home," Hendrickson told a reporter from the Reuters news service. "The scenery is different out here in the desert. There are no palm trees in Alaska, but still, fishing reminds me of home."

For Hendrickson's parents, Dean and Rae Ann Hendrickson, the weekly phone calls from Iraq have been comforting. Like all parents and families of those serving overseas, any communication is good communication with loved ones. On April 30, two Marines were killed in action from a suicide bombing while Hendrickson was on patrol.

The complete story can be viewed at www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5030072/

In other military news …

AIRMAN JUSTIN YODER has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. Yoder is a 2003 graduate of the Alaska Military Youth Academy at Fort Richardson.

SEAMAN TERRANCE SHAW recently completed basic training and was meritoriously promoted to his current rank at Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Ill. Shaw is a 2003 graduate of Palmer High School and is the son of Stella Aga of Kodiak and Spencer Shaw of Palmer.

SEAMAN APRIL TAYLOR recently completed basic training at Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Ill. She is a 2003 graduate of Colony High School and is the daughter of Marti and William Taylor of Wasilla.

AIRMAN BRENT BRYANT graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. He is a 2003 graduate of Palmer High School and is the son of Larry Bryant of Palmer.