"He was quirky and he could make you laugh just by the dumb stuff he did. He was outgoing, very athletic and he enjoyed being with friends... he was just a good person" Kevin Clouser says of his son, Zachary.
Memorial Day is a national day set aside to honor those who have died in military service to our country. So it is most appropriate that today's Lives Behind the Banners article focuses on this young Army soldier killed in action in Iraq almost 3 years ago.
His Hometown Hero banner hangs on Main Street in downtown Lock Haven in front of the Wine and Spirits shop between Vesper and Grove streets.
Specialist Zachary Ryan Clouser was killed in action July 18, 2007 at age 19.
According to reports, Clouser was in Iraq with his unit - Alpha Company of the 1-26, the First Battalion of the 26th Infantry, a storied unit that dates to World War I, the Big Red One, named for the large numeral on the unit's shoulder patch.
That day, Alpha Company was on patrol in Adhamiyah, a northwest suburb of Baghdad, when they were attacked with a 500-pound improvised explosive device buried deep in the road. Clouser was killed, as were Sergeant 1st Class Luis E. Gutierrez-Rosales, Specialist Richard Gilmore III and Specialist Daniel E. Gomez.
He was the son of Kevin Clouser and stepmother Ginger Asper-Clouser of West York, and Debra Etheridge and stepfather Ronald Etheridge of Dover.
Zach had been in Iraq for nearly a year and would have turned 20 that year. While Zach's hometown was Dover, Clinton County can call him one of its own as Zach had a lot of family in the Lock Haven area including grandparents the late George and Jane Lange. His Uncle George Lange's family lives in Woolrich and Uncle Greg Lange's family lives in Jersey Shore.
Kevin says that as soon as his son turned 12 years old he started taking him hunting. Father and son hunted pheasant and dove in York County, and they often visited Clinton County to hunt deer. "We have a cabin in Haneyville and we spent a lot of time there hunting.
"Zach graduated from Dover High School in 2005 and entered the Army shortly after that. He was in Germany for about a year after he graduated from Fort Benning, Ga., and from there he went to Iraq. He was over there almost a year. We did some fishing down in York before he went back.
"In Iraq he went out on patrol, he went into buildings on routine patrols. He was a gunner and also drove a Bradley. While he was in Iraq our communications were frequent. He carried his cell phone with him and he would call me at least twice a week. We were very close. Anytime he was home we would go hunting and fishing."
Zachary was born on Aug, 6, 1987 in York. He enlisted in the United States Army on Sept. 27, 2005. He completed One Station Unit Training as an 11B Infantryman assigned to B Company, 2nd Battalion, 54th Infantry at Fort Benning, Ga., On Feb. 1, 2006, he was assigned to 1st Platoon, "Apache" Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry "Blue Spaders" in Schweinfurt, Germany as a M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle Driver. Specialist Clouser deployed August 6, 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-08.
He participated in numerous combat patrols in Northeast Baghdad and Adhamiyah, Iraqi in support of Operation Together Forward II and the Baghdad Security Plan where he served as both his platoon Sergeant's M1151 Up-Armor HMMWV Machine Gunner and M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle Gunner. Specialist Clouser was an integral part of 1st Platoon "Death Dealers". He was always dedicated to mission accomplishment and was described as having displayed "unwavering courage and commitment to his fellow soldiers, leaders, and the United States Army".
Specialist Clouser's awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal (Posthumous), Purple Heart (Posthumous), Army Commendation Medal, National, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon with Numeral 2, and the Combat Infantryman Badge (Posthumous).
Zach is described by family and friends as very athletic growing up and in high school; he loved baseball, basketball, football, bowling and precision archery and was an avid outdoorsman, who enjoyed hunting and fishing. He was also a member of several local car clubs.
Zach had six siblings, two sisters and four brothers - Megan Williams, Matt Asper, Zachary Asper, Shawn Ethridge, Ronnie Ethridge and Shalina Etheridge.
His stepmother Ginger Asper-Clouser explains that Zach was close to all his brothers and sisters, "They all have numerous memories of the pranks they would pull on each other throughout the years. The separate families had different interests but Zach enjoyed both families and was close with everyone. He spent a lot of time with his Dad and they were very close."
Ginger said Zach loved to go to the cabin in Haneyville with his grandparents, Dave and Lucy Clouser. A favorite pasttime with them and his cousin, Miriaha, was spotlighting deer and looking for wildlife when they were children. That love for the wildlife and outdoors never left him. "
"Miriaha and Zach were inseparable as children. When they were about 7 years old, they called 911 and when the police arrived, they ran and hid under the bed. This is a favorite story told by his grandparents because Zach was always up to something," she said.
Ginger recalls that Matt, Zach and Zach, yes, the step-brothers had the same name, all hunted and fished together and Zach had a close friend, Norman, who was his hunting buddy also. His other brothers and sister, Shawn, Ronnie and Shalina shared their love of music with Zach.
Zach's sister Megan was expecting her second child on July 24, 2007 and Zach's last conversation with her the day before he died was about how excited he was to see his nephew born. He wanted to have a webcam in the hospital so he could see his little linebacker as he called him. Megan says that her son, Shawn Jr., now 2 years old, frequently talks to someone in his room while playing and he says it is his Uncle Zach.
Kevin and Ginger have a memorial garden in their backyard. All the flowers, trees, shrubs and a flag pole were donated by friends so the family would have a place to honor Zach.
"We were babysitting our grandchildren this past weekend, which usually we do at their home, but this time we brought them to ours. Shawn Jr. stopped dead in his tracks when he went into the backyard and saw the flag. He looked up and said, 'That's Uncle Zach's flag.' He is always in our hearts."
Megan said, "Zach was not only my brother but he was also my best friend. We got into some trouble growing up and we couldn't stand each other, but the older we got the closer we got. When I moved out on my own, I would wake up in the morning to him sleeping on my couch. Zach always knew how to make me feel better when I was down, and always make me laugh. He will live on forever in my heart and not a day goes by that I don't think about what we would be doing if he was still here. I miss him dearly."
Zach was also very close to Megan's daughter, his niece, Kaile.
"I remember he took her to the mall with him to pick up girls. She was only around 2 at the time. He would have loved knowing that he had two little nephews to play football and basketball with and to teach them how to hunt and fish," Megan said.
Zach's nephew, Shawn Jr., was born July 24 2007, just six days after Zach's death and his nephew Da'Von Zachary was born a year later on July 11, 2008.
"I think it's kind of ironic" says Megan, referring to how both boys were born within the two weeks surrounding their uncle's passing, "It was almost like it was meant to be."
Zach's aunt, Joan Marshall, who is responsible for his Hometown Hero banner on Main Street, states, "As far as the banners, I think they are great and the articles that are published are amazing. I wish that Memorial Day had meant this much to me before we lost someone that we loved."
"It was just something he wanted to do and I am proud of him for what he did," Kevin said of his son's service ... and sacrifice ... for his country.
