Choosing the military

(Courtesy photo)

SPC Christopher Moon

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On July 13, he gave up his life in service to that cause.

Moon, 20, died at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany after he was wounded by an improvised explosive device July 6 while on patrol in the Arghandab River Valley in Afghanistan.

He is the 12th Navajo Nation soldier killed in the Middle East since the U.S. was attacked by Islamic extremists Sept. 11, 2001, according to information provided by President Joe Shirley Jr.'s office.

Moon was an infantryman with the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

On Tuesday, Moon's mother reflected on her son and the choice he made.

"He always had the desire to be in the military, as far back as mid-school," said Marsha Moon, in a telephone interview from her home in Tucson. "We saw his talents in baseball and we tried to get him to go in that direction. But what he wanted to do was join the military."

Moon was a 2007 graduate of Tucson High Magnet School where he was a star baseball player. In 2006 he was named the southern Arizona baseball player of the year, which made him a guaranteed starter his freshman year at the University of Arizona. The prep baseball honor will bear his name from now on.

Moon's prowess and hard work earned him a full scholarship to the UA, and he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves.

Moon gave it all up to join the Army.

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"One day he just said, 'I think I'm done with baseball,'" said Marsha Moon. "He was a natural athlete. He had the God-given talent. He had the ability to play any sport. I don't think he really needed to try hard. He just had that natural ability."

When Moon turned 18, his parents discussed all the opportunities open to him, but left the decision up to him.

"We don't have anybody that served in our family but distant relatives," Marsha said. "He said, 'I want a harder challenge. I think I want to join the military.'"
With his mind made up, Moon's family was supportive.

"Watching him while in the Army, he really opened up our eyes to the military," Marsha said. "Our outlook is different. I mean we supported the military, but he changed our outlook and we're more appreciative."

Moon was a little over half way through his four-year enlistment when he died while undergoing surgery on the wounds he sustained from the IED.

"We would've never known the impact that he made on various communities," Marsha said. "He was young but ... had the leadership qualities. It's not something you teach. Those are the kind of qualities you don't teach at all."

Moon is Kinyaa'áanii (Towering House Clan), born for Bilagáana. His maternal grandfather is Táchii'nii (Red Running into Water Clan) and his paternal grandfather is Bilagáana.

Survivors include his parents, Brian and Marsha Moon; sister, Sunny; grandparents, Loretta and Harry Begay of Gray Mountain, Ariz.; aunts, Charlene "Chucki" Begay of Gallup, and Alberta Begay of Tucson; uncles, Wesley Begay and Harrison Begay of Phoenix, and Kenneth Begay of Cameron, Ariz.; niece, Semira; and many cousins.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, July 24, at 11 a.m. at Christ Community Church, 7801 E. Kenyon Drive in Tucson (off Pantaño Road between 22nd Street and Broadway). Interment will follow at East Lawn Cemetery (5801 E. Grant Road, Tucson).

Shirley on Tuesday ordered flags on the Navajo Nation to be flown at half-staff from sunrise July 20, 2010, until sundown July 25, 2010, in Moon's honor.

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