Iraq (OIF/OND/OIR)
-
Fallen

Bismarck, ND


County:
Burleigh

Date of Loss:

Branch of Service:
National Guard

Rank:
Staff Sergeant

Company / Ship / Flight or equivalent:
957th Engineer Company

Regiment / Group / Brigade:
130th Engineer Brigade

Circumstances:

Died Jan. 24 when his convoy was attacked by an improvised explosive device north of Fallujah, Iraq.

Biography:

Staff Sgt. Hendrickson and his wife, Reane, were married just four days before he was deployed. His son, Trevor, was a high school senior in Bismarck. Kenneth Hendrickson could get a group of people to skip on their way home from a restaurant or dance in their seats during a long road trip. He was willing to try almost anything and believed in having fun, said his wife, Reane. His son, Trevor, said Hendrickson always set aside "guy time" for them and was at ease with Trevor's high school friends. "He was really a big kid to me," Trevor said. His mother recalled Hendrickson's descriptions of poverty in Iraq. "He felt he needed to be there," Adeline Reis said. "He never complained." Kenneth Hendrickson held a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Mary and was a computer technician in the Bismarck school system. Prior to that, he taught in several area schools. "He was always really smart," said Morgan Doll, a high school friend. "He liked math and computers and was really good at that." "I have a better sense of humor because of him," she said. "I have a wackier sense of humor than I did before. He (taught me) not to take things as seriously." Compiled from Associated Press reports.

Retrieved 10/01/2013 from "Honor the Fallen", http://projects.militarytimes.com/valor/