U.S. soldier's legacy is living on

It's been more than 2 ½ years since Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Van Der Horn, a 37-year-old father who grew up on the Eastside, was killed by a bomb in Iraq.

His baby boy, Liam, was 5 weeks old when his father left for Iraq and 4 months old when he was killed. Recently, he expressed sorrow for the first time when his father's death was mentioned.

Liam's brother, Max, turns 8 next month. He's really starting to blossom, doing a lot better after counseling curbed the angry outbursts manifesting from his father's death.

As the boys grow older, they should gain comfort in knowing that their father's legacy evolved in the years after his death and that their mother, Teresa, was a partner in building that legacy.

Earlier this year, Van Der Horn's battalion — the 1-187th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), also known as "Rakkasans" — named a patrol base in Iraq after him at the recommendation of an officer struck by Van Der Horn's dedication and loyalty to his squad.

It's a rare honor for a soldier killed in Iraq.

"He was one of the most proactive squad leaders I've ever met," said Cpt. Ryan Barnett, of Marmaduke, Ark., while deployed near Baghdad. "Anytime Chris saw a deficiency, he was the first to speak up and take action to correct the situation. All of it was done for the sake of his soldiers and the overall success of the mission."

Last fall, a bill was introduced in Congress with Van Der Horn's name in the title. It aims to help children such as Liam and Max better cope with their grief, by expanding mental-health benefits. Their mother initiated the legislation.

The bill awaits a hearing in the House Armed Services Committee.

"Certainly, we need to take care of his family," said sponsor U.S. Rep. John Boozman, a Republican representing northwest Arkansas, where Teresa Van Der Horn and the boys now live.

"I would like to turn this tragic situation into circumstances that would benefit others. By all accounts, Chris was that kind of a guy — a soldier's soldier. Hopefully, we can get it done."

Bellevue High grad

Van Der Horn, who initially entered the Army out of Bellevue High School, rejoined in February 2004. Between tours, he worked as a law-enforcement officer in three small Pierce County towns: Milton, Ruston and Fife. His parents, Nancy and Bob Van Der Horn, live in the same house in Beaux Arts Village where they raised Chris and his sister and brother.

The naming of the bill and the patrol base in his honor provides a lift to the family. The naming of the base specifically punctuates what they already knew: He was like a big brother to his squad of mostly younger soldiers, looking out and going to bat for them.

Nancy Van Der Horn recalls one visit with her son when he was stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky. He picked her up at the Nashville airport that evening, drove her to the base, then told her he had to turn right around and go back to Nashville.

"My boys are out drinking, and I need to round them up before they get into trouble," she remembers him saying.

Barnett said if Van Der Horn could react to his recommending the patrol base be named in his honor, "he'd probably ask me to name it after somebody else. He wasn't the type to seek recognition."

A patrol base is a secured outpost where U.S. forces live among local residents in areas once controlled by insurgents.

Capt. David Bolender, a public-affairs officer for the Rakkasans, said about 10 percent of the approximately 150 patrol bases, security stations and temporary combat-projection platforms in Iraq have been named for soldiers killed in action there. The rest are named after landmarks, historical references, fallen soldiers from previous wars, or given numerical designations, he said.

The patrol base named after Van Der Horn will be home to a Rakkasan company assigned to help residents of Sayifiyah rebuild, an American Forces Press Service news release said.

Barnett, now deployed with the 17th Division Military Transition Team, first met Van Der Horn in Iraq when the soldier approached him about a problem he discovered with training a local Iraqi police force to use handguns.

"We were just getting started, so there wasn't a lot I could do," Barnett recalled

So Van Der Horn fell back on his own police training and established a marksmanship course.

"Chris went out on his own and found a way to solve the problem," Barnett said. "He reported back to me and said if there was ever anything else I needed from him, he was willing to do it. That, right there, started our friendship."

Support-group leader

Teresa Van Der Horn, who led a support group for spouses in Fort Campbell, continues to advocate for military families even after moving from the base and into her parents' old house in Arkansas.

After seeing how Max was helped by bereavement counseling, Teresa Van Der Horn contacted her congressman to express concern about mental-health benefits for dependents of service members killed in combat. The coverage for Max's therapy was limited to eight sessions without a medical referral.

"I just don't see how any child is going to be on an even keel after just eight visits," she said. "It's such a trauma."

Boozman met with her for two hours in her home, and later introduced the "Christopher Van Der Horn Military Survivors Mental Health Access Act," which doubles the number of mental-health visits without preauthorization to 16.

Max doesn't understand that a bill in Congress is named after his father, but he does know about the patrol base in Iraq. His reaction: "Can I see it?"

Barnett got to meet Max and Liam after the battalion returned to Fort Campbell from its deployment in Iraq.

"One of the hardest things, what's so very sad, is that I was able to spend those last few months of Chris' life with him when his family wasn't," Barnett said. "It's difficult explaining to them what went on during those months and sharing what a positive impact he had."

Stuart Eskenazi: 206-464-2293 or seskenazi@seattletimes.com