Eight Oklahoma servicemen died during the first year of the war in Iraq, along with one soldier with close ties to the state and a civilian University of Tulsa Law School graduate. (See "OKLAHOMANS")

President Bush announced the start of the war one year ago Friday.

Following is a chronology on the deaths of the Oklahomans in the war.

(Note: See individual names and death dates for profiles)

APRIL 3: Sgt. 1st Class Randall Rehn, 36, was among three soldiers killed when coalition aircraft reportedly bombed an Army artillery position south of Baghdad.

Rehn, a career soldier from Fort Sill, was reared in Longmont, Colo., but was buried at Broken Arrow (Ok.) at the request of his wife because she planned to seek employment in the Tulsa area, where the family has relatives.

Rehn, a veteran of the first Gulf war, had planned to retire after the current war ended, an uncle said.

She talks about him sometimes in the present tense.

"He is a platoon sergeant." Not was.

"He drives a Humvee." Not drove.

"He loves being a soldier." Not loved.

RaeLynn Rehn doesn't seem to be conscious of doing it. And it seems so natural to think this way about her husband that, at first, others don't seem to notice either.

After all, the presence of Sgt. 1st Class Randall Rehn is still very much felt in this house -- even though he's never been here.

He lived in Lawton. But when his wife packed up and moved to the Tulsa area last year, she brought photos of him and put them on the mantel.

His chair sits in the living room.

His clothes hang in the bedroom closet.

"I want to have his pictures up and talk about him and let him be alive," RaeLaynn said. "That's the only way I know how."

In Iraq with a unit from Oklahoma's Fort Sill, Sgt. Rehn was killed April 3, 2003 -- exactly one year ago Saturday. He was 36.

"Didn't suffer at all": The toilet was overflowing and RaeLynn needed to come home from work to fix it.

Her mother had driven down from Muskogee the night before and was still at RaeLynn's house in Lawton.

"Why can't you fix it yourself?" she asked her mother that morning.

"No," her mother answered. "You need to come home."

RaeLynn was on the way when it dawned on her that perhaps the toilet wasn't broken at all.

"I knew how the news would come," she said. "They always come to tell you in person."

She stopped around the corner from their house to brace herself.

"If there's a strange car in the driveway," she said, "I know what it's going to be."

But the driveway was empty.

"And I was so glad," RaeLynn said. "I thought, 'OK. Maybe there is something wrong with the toilet.'"

Then she glanced across the street and noticed a parked van with a government license plate.

"I went inside and said 'Just tell me what you have to tell me.'

"I already knew."

Rehn was one of three soldiers, all based at Fort Sill before the war, who were killed by a U.S. fighter jet that mistakenly bombed an Army artillery position south of Baghdad, according to a military investigation.

"He was alseep at the time, and also, it was instant," RaeLynn said. "So it helps me to know that he didn't suufer at all."

'Mourn for her': A year ago, when officials first announced that Randall Rehn would be buried in Broken Arrow, the local media couldn't help but wonder why.

His parents lived in Colorado.

His unit was stationed in Lawton.

His wife came from Muskogee.

There was no obvious connection with the Tulsa area.

RaeLynn can now clear up the mystery.

"About a month before I got the news, I started thinking a lot about what I would do if he didn't come back," she said. "I had a plan, if I needed it."

The plan was to leave Lawton and enroll at the Universtiy of Tulsa, working toward a master's in business administration.

She expects to graduate in 2006.

"Now that I'm a single parent, it's up to me to support our daughter," RaeLynn said. "I'm going to need a good job."

When Randall Rehn shipped out for Iraq, Megan was 4 months old -- too young to understand.

Now 19 months old, Megan will point at her father's picture and say "da-da."

And when they visit the cemetery, Megan will say "da-da" again, pointing at his tombstone.

"That's my biggest grief issue," RaeLynn said. "Our daughter isn't going to know him as a father. And I mourn for her more than for myself."

'They deserve it'" Randall Rehn didn't have to go.

In fall 2002, as his unit prepared to deploy to Kuwait for the expected conflict, military commanders transferred him to another unit that wasn't leaving.

"I guess they don't think I can do my job," he complained to his wife.

His wife urged him to talk to his commanders about it.

"If you feel like you need to say something," she told him, "then say something."

He did. And the next day he was back with his unit.

"He could have kept quiet and not gone anywhere," RaeLynn said. "But that's not what Randy is about."

His death hasn't caused her to regret urging him to speak up. And it hasn't eroded her faith in the military, either.

"I never talk about the politics," RaeLynn said. "People ask me if I support the war or don't support the war. And I don't have any strong feelings one way or the other.

"But as far as supporting the troops, I'm all for that. I support them 100 percent. They deserve it."

Friends and relatives in Colorado have established a scholarship fund in Randall Rehn's honor. To donate to the Randall Scott Rehn Foundation, send checks in care of Wade Smith, 919 N. Seventh Place, Johnstown, CO 80534.

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Michael Overall 581-8383
michael.overall@tulsaworld.com