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New Thursday,
October 26, 2006 TJ
GREANEY ~ Southeast Missourian NEW First Lt.
Camden Bock was on patrol in Family,
friends and teachers remember Bock, a "He
was very bright, very outgoing, very much his own person. From childhood to a
young adult he was always mature beyond his years," said Kate Hampton,
who taught Bock in seventh and eighth grades at Immaculate Conception School
in New Madrid. Bock's
mother, Jill, is managing editor of the Sikeston Standard-Democrat. His
father, Riley Bock, is a former prosecuting attorney for "To
us it's a big personal loss, but it's also a tremendous loss to the community
and to the country," he said. Bock
compared the community response to seeds that lay dormant for years sprouting
again in the rain. "We've heard from people we'd lost contact with for
years, so there is some positive," he said. Bock was
one of five Funeral
plans are still pending because military officials have not yet given a date
when the body will be transported home. Bock, an
honor roll student, joined the National Guard while still in high school. He
was part of the 1140th Engineer Battalion, Company C in At His
father said he was a platoon leader in southern "They're
not allowed to tell you a whole lot, but it was obviously dangerous work. He
didn't want to say anything that would make his mother worry,"
Riley Bock said. "We chitchatted on the phone regularly, mostly about
family stuff. He was always upbeat. He just did the best he could to take
care of his men and do his job." Teachers
and coaches from Bock's time at "He
always aspired to a certain excellence. I think he looked at military as
'these people have a plan' and he liked a plan, liked the idea of
order," said But Bock
never shied away from speaking his mind, she said, recalling that even as a
youngster he regularly gathered classmate's signatures and petitioned for
changes to rules on uniform restrictions or recess time. "He
was very much concerned with what was fair," she said. In a
silent protest about rest-room break rules, Bock constructed a miniature
outhouse out of construction paper and set it by his desk. "He
was never ugly about it, but he kept it there to say 'just in case you think
I don't still disagree with you, look at this,'" she said. Arlen Pixley coached Bock as a wrestler in the 125-pound weight
class. He remembers a leader and fierce competitor who always put the team
ahead of himself. "He
was a very savvy athlete. He was never the strongest when we went into the
weight room, but he made up for it with his mental toughness," he said. Pixley said the news has come as a serious awakening to the
school. "Even
the students here who didn't know him have been affected by it. When they put
their heads down at night, I hope they remember Michael
Jensen, publisher of the Sikeston Standard Democrat, said he got an
unexpected reminder of Bock while cleaning his desk recently. He found a
thank-you note Bock wrote for a gift of golf clubs when he was 11 years old. "That
was him; he was the kind of young man who, because of his upbringing, would
take the time to write a thank-you note," Jensen said. "Words
can't express the sadness we feel right now." Those who
knew Bock are in the early stages of setting up a college scholarship in his
honor. No memorial events have yet been scheduled. The
Associated Press contributed to this report. tgreaney@semissourian.com,
335-6611, extension 245, http://www.semissourian.com/story/1174628.html |