Army Pvt. Cory R. Depew
helped build peace garden
By Mary Ann Wyand
BEECH GROVE—When Army Pvt. Cory R. Depew was home on a two-week military leave last fall, he helped build a peace garden at Holy Name of Jesus Parish and spoke to students in his stepbrothers’ classes at Holy Name School.
The 21-year-old Beech Grove resident, who grew up in St. Susanna Parish in Plainfield, was killed on Jan. 4 near Mosul, Iraq, when Iraqi insurgents attacked his patrol with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades. Two other soldiers were injured in the attack.
Depew was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 14th Calvary Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, based in Fort Lewis, Wash. He returned to Iraq on Oct. 3 and called home for the last time on Jan. 2.
Father Gerald Burkert, pastor, celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial for Depew on Jan. 13 at Holy Name Church. Burial followed in a family plot at a cemetery in Austin in southern Indiana.
His mother, Holy Name parishioner Sheryl Ann May of Beech Grove, said her son would receive a military funeral and be honored posthumously with a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and spurs because he was a Calvary scout.
“Cory was just so full of life,” May said during a Jan. 9 interview at Holy Name Church. “Everybody who ever met Cory will remember him. He was just not somebody you could forget. He loved children and was a wonderful father to his [18-month-old] son, Brendan.”
May said her oldest son also was a loving stepbrother to 11-year-old Wyatt and 7-year-old Elliot, and enjoyed talking with the students in the second-grade and fifth-grade classes last fall.
“While he was home, he helped plant trees and bushes in the peace garden,” she said. “He liked to help people, and was proud of what he was doing.”
Depew attended Roncalli High School in Indianapolis during his sophomore year and graduated from Southport High School in Southport in May 2003. He enlisted in the Army in September 2003 and completed basic training at Fort Knox, Ky.
“He was just putting his life together,” May said. “He was just beginning his adulthood. He was so concerned about his son. He felt bad that he wasn’t there for Brendan, but he felt like this was what he needed to do. He loved his country and he loved being in the Army. He was so proud of what he was doing. You heard it in his voice when he called home. He wasn’t scared to be there. He felt he was doing what he was called to do. He knew from the eighth-grade that he wanted to be a soldier.”
May said her son “didn’t talk much about what was going on over there, but he did say that there were good people over there. He said, ‘Not all Iraqis are bad people. There are good people that want us here and appreciate what we’re doing. We’re doing the right thing. They want freedom. They want to have a better life. We’re fighting to save those people too.’ ”
She said his commanding officer called from Iraq on Jan. 8 and said, “I want you to know that we have lost a light because Cory brightened our day every day. Our troop is devastated at his loss.”
May said prayers have helped her make it through each day since she was notified of her son’s death last week.
“I feel them in my heart,” she said. “I would not have been able to survive this if it had not been for the prayers. … It is the only thing that holds me up some days.” †