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In Memoriam |
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Sgt. Clinton Ahlquist
Fallen Marine made impact in Creede
Posted: Saturday, Feb 24th, 2007
Friends, teachers reflect on Ahlquist’s life
By BRETT MOHAR
ALAMOSA — As friends and family members mourned the death of USMC Sgt. Clinton W. Ahlquist, reflecting on the lives he touched and the memories he made in his three years at Creede High School, offered temporary relief for a grieving community.
“It’s been awfully tough, not just on the kids and teachers at the school but the community as well,” said Creede School Superintendent Buck Stroh, who was Ahlquist’s teacher and principal. “He was a character, no doubt about it. Someone you don’t easily forget.”
Ahlquist was killed during combat operations in Ar Ramadi the Al Anbar province in Iraq on Feb. 20. At the time of his death he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force stationed out of Camp Pendleton.
Moving from Scottsdale Ariz. to Creede midway through his freshman year, Ahlquist had no trouble fitting in to his new school, according Creede High School Principal John Goss. “When he first got here he made a big impression on me. He was the new kid but he made up his mind to carve out his place immediately.”
From the first day he arrived at Creede High School until his the last day of his senior year Ahlquist put a smile on the faces of everyone who crossed his path.
While reflecting on the immense impact Ahlquist made in his short time at CHS one memory in particular stuck out for Stroh. According to the superintendent, on the last day of school his junior year Ahlquist and his best high school friend, Casey Adelman, rode Adelman’s father’s horses to school. The two tied the horses up in the back of the building and continued on to class as normal until school let out when they rode them back home.
“I’d never heard of anyone doing it before and I haven’t heard of anybody doing it since,” said Adelman, who is a student at Portland Community College. “Everybody thought it was kind of cool.”
Ahlquist, Adelman, and Ahlquist’s high school sweetheart, Karly Kolish were inseparable during their high school years. Stroh referred to the group as the Three Stooges. Ahlquist became particularly close with Karly as well as her parents Carl and Francis Kolish. Carl is currently a County Commissioner in Mineral and Francis is the librarian at CHS. According to Stroh, the Kolish’s became second parents to Ahlquist during his stay in Creede.
Although Ahlquist had a humorous side to him, hewas also extremely considerate to his friends and family. “He was the kind of guy who you could tell anything to and he’d be willing to help you out,” said Adelman. “Everybody liked him and he was usually up for anything.”
Ahlquist’s character and personality not only made a huge impact on his peers but also his teachers as well. “He was a really caring loving individual. He had a really infectious way about himself, he could turn a whole room around just with his personality,” said his former journalism and Spanish instructor, Susan Birdsey who is now the principal at Riffle Middle School. “He always made me laugh and put a smile on my face.”
Ahlquist was killed Tuesday when he reportedly stepped on an improvised explosive device while patrolling a Medivac helicopter.
Although his death affected the entire Valley community, the impact he made on the lives of everyone who knew him in the short time he was here will not be forgotten. “He was one of those kids who I always knew would do something great,” said Birdsey. “I was just really proud to be part of his high school career.”