Cullum Peni

Cullum Peni
Lieutenant Colonel Cullum J. Peni
Nickname	Jerry
Born	June 26, 1962 Long Island, NY
Died	June 21, 2009 Baghdad, Iraq
Buried at	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1987-2009
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Unit	Air Education and Training Command
Battles/wars	Operation Iraqi Freedom
Awards	Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal (3) Air Medal Aerial Achievement Medal (2) Joint Service Commendation Medal Air Force Commendation Medal (3) Air Force Achievement Medal Combat Readiness Medal (2) Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal

Lt Colonel Cullum Peni (June 26, 1962 – June 21, 2009) born Cullum James Smit, was a German-American born Man known amongst U.S. Air Force Officers for his Tour of Iraq as a Medical Supervisor. Peni was Killed In Baghdad. His Death is still under investigation.

Lieutenant Colonel Peni entered active duty in 2004. Driven to join the Air Force with his fascination with Medicine He enlisted as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force at the age of 35. By 2004 He was promoted to Lt. Colonel and went on a 3 year Tour of Duty in Iraq. He was involved as a Medical staff co-ordinator for the remainder of his time and when U.S. Troops moved into Baghdad to eliminate Terrorist Forces Colonel Peni went with them as a Co-ordinator in the sky. He died from a suspicious gunshot whilst he was out on routine air patrol- presumed to have been accidental friendly fire from a sniper. Cullum was born June 26 in St. Francis Hospital (Roslyn, New York) a premature birth which cause his German mother Lynn McCarran to give birth to her son via a vasectomy. His father Redsar Smit was in Brooklyn at the time renewing his Medical license, when news of his newborn son had reached him Mr Smit rushed to the Hospital to comfort and support his new son. Nothing else is known about Cullum during his childhood. Cullum was a very private person, and after hearing what Terrorists could do to Civilians back home, he took the last name of a New Zealand Military Soldier with the surname Peni and then enlisted into the U.S. Air Force as a Captain. It took awhile for Cullum to adapt to his new name but he eventually accepted that name as his own.

The exact date Cullum had his name changed is unknown.

For More information, see USAF.

http://www.macon.com/197/story/68006.html 

Persondata
Name
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 26, 1962
Place of birth	Long Island, NY
Date of death	June 21, 2009
Place of death	Baghdad, Iraq