North St. Paul soldier killed by sniper in Iraq

Long before Joanne Richardson's third child, a son, joined the Army, he was a bespectacled kid who loved to draw, and had his first and last fight with a childhood best friend in North St. Paul.

Not so long before Spc. Gregory B. Rundell, 21, was killed by enemy sniper fire while manning a guard tower in Iraq Wednesday, the soldier was pulled over doing 90 miles per hour in his mother's beloved car. The recent recruit joked to his little brother in the passenger seat that he might ask the trooper for a military discount.

Richardson, her four remaining children and a throng of puffy-eyed relatives said Thursday night that they wanted people to know those things about Rundell, a warrior who died bravely for his country, but to his family was so much more.

"I would like you all to know that Greg was a good kid," Richardson said at a news conference at the St. Paul National Guard Armory Thursday night. "When Greg decided to join the Army it broke my heart because I knew this day might come."

Lt. Col. Almarah Belk with the Department of Defense said the soldier was killed by small arms sniper fire in Taji, Iraq.

He had been in Iraq for about three months, Richardson said.

About 70 people with strong Minnesota ties have died in connection with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

A 2004 graduate of North St. Paul High School, Rundell was "a unique spirit" who told his mother serving in Iraq would be excellent training for his goal of becoming a police officer. In a letter written from basic training in Fort Benning, Ga., he told her not to worry about him, but to take heart, even if the worst happened.

"Please don't shed a tear for me," he wrote. "Don't worry. I don't want tears of loss, but tears of happiness for what I was able to do.''

Rundell's four siblings, including Sgt. Kyle Richardson of the Minnesota National Guard, who recently returned from Iraq himself, said he discussed the dangers of the war zone at length with his younger brother, who was a member of the 25th Infantry Division Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

"We sat down and I told him if something feels fishy, stop. Trust your gut," he said. "I told him to trust his gut, come back alive, and keep his head low."

But Kyle Richardson believes his brother didn't have a chance when he was shot by a sniper.

In addition to Kyle Richardson, Rundell is survived by a younger brother, Wayne Niven, a cadet in the U.S. Air Force JROTC program at North St. Paul High School, and two older sisters, Desiree and Andrea Richardson.

Aaron Okoneski had been friends with Rundell for the past five years and never knew a time when he didn't have a smile on his face. "He was a really nice kid,'' Okoneski said. "He would do anything for his friends. They were the most important thing to him."

Before he joined the army, Rundell talked about someday drawing for a living. "He was really good at it,'' Okoneski said. "He wanted to be an artist."

A Facebook profile already filled with messages from friends Friday shows photos of a grinning Rundell in his Army uniform, head cocked, hand on his chin, or in a hockey jersey mugging with friends. Among his favorite quotes, he posted this:

"If you want a good life, you gotta sacrifice more of your soul and body. If you want a extraordinary life you must sacrifice everything just to get a little bit of heaven."

Richardson said her son did just that.

"He is a hero in my heart and life," she said. "I stand tall and brave because my son stood tall and brave."

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