Checotah Soldier To Be Buried In Southwest Arkansas

The first female Oklahoma National Guard soldier killed during wartime will be buried in southwest Arkansas on Friday, November 11, 2011.

Specialist Sarina Butcher, 19, of Checotah was killed November 1, 2011 after an improvised explosive device detonated near her military vehicle.

Butcher's unit was on a resupply mission when the explosion occurred.

11/2/2011 Related Story: Family, Friends Remember Two Oklahoma Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan

The funeral will be at a funeral home in Prescott, Arkansas Friday with burial at a cemetery near McCaskill, Arkansas.

Butcher is also the youngest Oklaoma soldier to die in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. She joined the National Guard in April 2010 and was trained as automated logistical specialist.

"Specialist Sarina Butcher left her friends, family and a young child to help defend our nation," said Maj. Gen. Myles Deering, adjutant general for Oklahoma. "She was a brave young woman who selflessly gave all she had for her country and the other Soldiers that served alongside her. She'll be remembered more for being an outstanding Soldier than being the first female Oklahoma National Guardsmen killed in combat."

In all, 14 soldiers from the 45th have died in Afghanistan since the end of July 2011.