Local soldier killed in action
Sandra Hustava Friday received the notice no mother ever wants to receive: her son, 1st Sgt. Christopher C. Rafferty was killed in action in Afghanistan. “He died looking for his soldiers, making sure they were all accounted for,” said his mother, who lives in Brownsville. “They said there was a surprise mortar attack and he was hit with shrapnel. He fell forward on his face and lost consciousness. He never regained consciousness and died on the way to medical treatment.”
The incident occurred Thursday in Sharana, Afghanistan, where Rafferty, 37, was building roads as part of the 37th Engineer Battalion from Fort Bragg, N.C. He and his wife, the former Wendy Hyatt of Daisytown, had purchased a house in Fayetteville, N.C., not too long ago, his mother said.
“They were in Germany for five years, then he was in Iraq for 18 months. He’s been in Afghanistan for the past six months or so,” Hustava said.
Hustava said her son met both of his loves while he was still in high school – his wife, and the military.
“He married his high school sweetheart. They met at a dance in Malden. They would have been married 15 years in August,” Hustava said. “He joined the military in high school. He was 16 years old and joined the National Guard. I signed the papers. He went to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, at 17. He left on my birthday, March 17.”
According to Maj. James Crabtree, the public affairs officer at Fort Bragg, N.C., Rafferty joined the U.S. Army on Sept. 12, 1988 and was assigned to Fort Bragg Aug. 1, 2005.
Hustava said her son would have been able to retire from the U.S. Army in two and a half years and was up for a promotion when he returned from Afghanistan. He was due for a two-week leave in October and would have completed his tour of duty in Afghanistan next March.
“He loved everything about the military. He loved his soldiers. He said, ‘Mom, I train them hard. I give them more than they need so if they are ever in war, I won’t have to worry about them,'” Hustava said.
She has been hearing from some of those same soldiers over the past several days, as word has spread about her son’s death.
“I got a call today from Afghanistan from one of his soldiers. I’ve had calls from Iraq,” Hustava said. “Anytime they needed him, he was there, even if they called in the middle of the night because they needed to talk.”
Hustava said her first husband, A. Christopher Rafferty, died in 1979. Her son will be buried on his parents’ wedding anniversary, Aug. 4, in Arlington National Cemetery, following ceremonies in Dover, Del., and Arlington, Va., Aug. 2 and 3.
Hustava said her son also had a special relationship with his stepfather, Michael Hustava.
“Last year when we renewed our wedding vows for our 25th anniversary, my husband asked him to be our best man. He was our ring bearer the first time,” Hustava said.
Hustava said that while her son was small in stature, only 5-feet-6, he had a lot of charisma.
“He would just tease and tease and tease. When he put on his serious face he looked like a stranger,” Hustava said.
Hustava said her son grew up in Beallsville and graduated from Bethlehem Center High School, where he played drums in the band. Hustava said her son wrote a cadence for the band that was used for years after his graduation. The family moved to Brownsville 20 years ago, in her son’s senior year, but he stayed with his grandparents so he could graduate with his class. His grandmother, Dorothy Rafferty, still lives in Vestaburg, Hustava said.
Rafferty and his wife have two daughters, Samantha, 13 and Kayla, 11, in Fayetteville, N.C. He is also survived by two sisters, Allison Rafferty of Erie and Deana Marie Anderson of Carmichaels. His sister Deana has two boys, one of whom is currently in the Army awaiting deployment. Both Rafferty and his nephew, Jason Anderson, were in Iraq at the same time. Hustava said her daughter Deana also has a stepdaughter, Jamie Nicole Pauley.
Hustava said her son Christopher was also predeceased by a brother, Matthew, who died 36 years ago from crib death.
“This is the second son I’ve buried. A parent shouldn’t have to bury her children,” Hustava said.