Christopher Dale Henderson – Sergeant First Class, United States Army

NEWS RELEASES from the United States Department of Defense
No. 767-07 IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died June 17,2007, in Panjway, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle.

Killed were:

Captain Joshua E. Steele, 26, of North Henderson, Illinois. He was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division (Transition Team), Fort Riley, Kansas.

Sergeant First Class Class Christopher D. Henderson, 35, of Hillsboro, Oregon. He was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st fantry Division (Transition Team), Fort Riley, Kansas.

Sergeant First Class John M. Hennen, 26, of Vinton, Louisiana. He was assigned to theLouisiana National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, Lake Charles, Louisiana.


Jim Henderson described his son, Army Sergeant First Class Christopher D. Henderson, as someone who was “very well organized.”

“If you could find a way to say ‘neat freak’ without saying neat freak, that would describe him,” the elder Henderson said.

His wife, Jennifer Henderson, agreed. “Things are never clean enough for him,” she said. “If it was clean, it wasn’t enough for him. It had to be done right.”

Henderson, 35, of Hillsboro, Oregon, was killed June 17, 2007, by a roadside bomb in Panjway, Afghanistan. He was a 1991 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas.

The handsome blond teen was a diligent student, always did his homework and, of course, kept his room clean. He was a favorite with his high school girlfriends’ parents.

It wasn’t uncommon for the family to take a trip to a local gun club and practice trap shooting. “They showed an interest early on and we just went out as a family,” Jim Henderson said.

He was deployed to Florida during one of the hard-hitting hurricanes in the early 1990s and he also policed the streets in Panama City.

Henderson also is survived by his daughter, 8-year-old Kayley.


The Army said Sergeant First Class Christopher D. Henderson, 35, died Sunday along with two other soldiers in Panjway, Afghanistan, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

He was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, in Fort Riley, Kansas.

Family members said Henderson was born in Klamath Falls and grew up in Hillsboro,Oregon.

Henderson is survived by a wife, Jennifer, and stepdaughter, Kayley, in Fort Lewis, Washington.

“Chris always had a smile on his face and never really had enemies because of this,” his wife said in a statement. “He was always willing to help people and many times went out of his way to help someone.

“Once on a deployment to Kosovo, he told me that a local family’s son had been killed and no one in the family knew how to tie a tie. Chris stepped up and tied the tie for them. This is the kind of man my husband is.”

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Photos Courtesy of Jennifer Henderson, October 2007

HENDERSON, CHRISTOPHER DALE
SFC   US ARMY
DATE OF BIRTH: 05/18/1972
DATE OF DEATH: 06/17/2007
BURIED AT: SECTION 60  SITE 8718
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

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