THE WAR COMES HOME: MEMORIAL DAY

Former Army Spc. Ray France wanted to be like his military mentor. Since Sgt. Steven Checo died in Afghanistan, France has remembered him by writing letters that he burns. France later returned to Orlando after an injury in Iraq (Hilda M. Perez, Orlando Sentinel / May 14, 2008)

THE WAR COMES HOME: MEMORIAL DAY

Remembering a soldier: 'I'd like to tell you about your son.'
Enduring memory inspires letters never sent



Darryl E. Owens Sentinel Staff Writer
May 26, 2008


Sometime this morning, former Army Spc. Ray France plans to write a letter that he'll likely never send. As he writes, he'll be surrounded by war memories. a license plate bearing the infantry's crossed muskets. His Purple Heart. Perhaps most precious of all, a photo showing him and his superior, Sgt. Steven Checo. Each Memorial Day, France has penned letters to Checo to keep fresh in his mind the many important things he will never forget about his Army mentor. How Checo saved his career. How Checo became his best friend. How he watched Checo die nearly six years ago in Afghanistan.

But this year he's not writing to his dead comrade. Instead, France will start the letter this way:



Dear Mrs. Checo, I'd like to tell you about your son.Growing up mostly in Orlando, France, 26, always wanted to be in the military. After graduating from Mid Florida Tech, he joined the U.S. Army Airborne Infantry.Soon after arriving at Fort Bragg, N.C., home to the 82nd Airborne Division, France was struggling. With most soldiers on a four-day leave, he was left to complete some unfamiliar chores. As the new guy, he was clueless."I'm freaking out, throwing stuff around the room," he said.Then someone knocked on the barracks' door. It was Sgt. Checo.



They had never spoken. Yet, Checo offered him sage advice: We've all been where you are. Shut your mouth and do what you're told and you'll make it.Checo taught France to assemble his bulletproof vest, tie up his gear and even how to use the commissary.



France listened because he was scared. And he learned."I wanted to be that soldier, be like Sergeant Checo," France says. "He helped me, but as much as we were friends, he'd be mean, at times. But the thing about him was that he would always come back when nobody was around and say, 'I know I had to smoke you . . . but you've got to learn you can't do that.' Even though he was a buddy, he was still a leader. And that's what makes him a good soldier."

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