Middletown Journal -- Kenneth Morrison's initial reaction was understandable.

"I don't want to talk to you about my son," he said Sunday night during a phone interview from his Trenton residence. "It's too soon."

A week ago today, Morrison's son, Sgt. 1st Class Lawrence Morrison Sr., was killed in Baghdad of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee while he was on patrol.

Relatives said Morrison, a medic, was with a Marine Corps unit at the time, although he was regularly attached to the 490th Civil Affairs Battalion of the Army's Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Lawrence Morrison, 45, was born in Middletown on March 28, 1960, later moved to Kentucky, graduated from Frenchburg High School, attended Morehead State University and eventually settled in Yakima, Wash., with his wife, Becky, 14-year-old stepson, Zach, and son, Larry Morrison Jr., a military policeman.

The more Kenneth Morrison talked about Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the bravery shown by his son, and thousands of other American soldiers, he became more comfortable.

"What they're doing over there, well, it's right," he said. "When I see them people who are against the war, it makes me sick."

Morrison was called into the Army Reserves from inactive status last spring. He left the United States in June and was scheduled to return by late next month, according to his family. He had already served from 1979 to 1995, but he never saw combat.

Within the last month, he received non-life threatening injuries to his right arm, his family said. His father wasn't surprised his son volunteered for Monday's mission.

"I'm sure his right arm was the first one up," his father said. "He was a hero."

Kenneth Morrison, 73, said he taught his son the importance of patriotism as a child. The young Morrison was instructed to salute the flag and stand at attention for the Pledge of Allegiance and national anthem.

"That boy was an All-American Boy," his father said.

He was trained in a variety of medical specialties, finishing out his service as the noncommissioned officer in charge of the base clinic at the Yakima Training Center. He graduated from Airborne and Air Assault schools.

Morrison will be recommended for two Purple Hearts, the U.S. Army announced late last week. Besides the posthumous Purple Hearts, Morrison will be recommended for the Bronze Star

Medal, the Combat Action Badge and Iraq Campaign Medal, according to the command statement.

The Purple Heart is typically granted for significant injuries inflicted by the enemy in combat. The Bronze Star is handed out for heroic or meritorious combat service.

Lawrence Morrison's funeral is scheduled for Friday in Yakima. He became the NUMBER HERE military casualty with ties to the Middletown area since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003.

After being notified of his son's death Monday, Kenneth Morrison called family members, many who live in the Trenton area.

"It astonished me," Ginger Deaton said of her nephew's death. "It's just terrible."

While Kenneth Morrison supports the United States' military actions in Iraq, he doesn't understand why his son died.

"I'm mad at God right now," he said. "I wish He had taken me not my boy."

A few seconds later, he added: "But I still love this country."

His son died feeling the same way.