Army Spc. Christine M. Ndururi

Remember Our Heroes

Army Spc. Christine M. Ndururi, 21, of Dracut, Mass.

Spc. Ndururi was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas; died Nov. 6, 2007 in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, from a non-combat-related illness.

DRACUT -- She called her mother from Rhode Island on Monday morning to say she was heading to Iraq.

A day later, Christine Ndururi, a 21-year-old Army specialist from Dracut, was dead. The 2005 Dracut High School graduate died in Arifjan, Kuwait, from what military officials are calling a "noncombat-related illness."

Inside Ndururi's home on Woodbine Path yesterday afternoon, the grief and confusion were palpable. A muted television broadcast the news of the day. Nothing about Christine. Family members sat in silence and nibbled on food. Christine's father, Wilson Wachira, said the lack of information coming out of the Department of Defense is troubling.

"Right now, we have nothing. We will know more when Christine's body is brought home," said the Kenya native, who came to the United States in 2002. "We do not know what happened. She was not sick on Monday."

Wachira said his daughter was a born-again Christian who loved singing in her church choir and always looked forward to attending worship services.

Army Spc. Christine M. Ndururi died from a non-combat related illness in Kuwait on 11/06/07.