Byron Blake Hendrick

Cmdr. Byron Blake Hendrick, MD, MPH, 48, of Four Points Bridge Road, Emmitsburg, died Saturday, May 1 at Frederick Memorial Hospital.

He was the husband of Rebecca Ann Mills Hendrick, whom he married May 27, 1983.

Born Sept. 2, 1955, in Atlanta, Georgia, he was the son of William Robert Hendrick of Stockbridge, Ga., and the late Nellie Marie Porter Hendrick.

Cmdr. Hendrick served in the United States Navy and Marine Corps with distinction during war and peace for more than 20 years as an enlisted hospital corpsman and later as a Navy Medical Officer.

His military assignments included: Chief Preventive and Operational Medicine Consultant, Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center, Defense Intelligence Agency; Preventive Medicine Officer, 11 Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Joint Task Force Preventive Officer, Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit-7, Sigonella, Italy; Preventive Medicine Resident, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md.; Staff Physician, Naval Medical Clinic, Kings Bay, Ga.; Battalion and Regimental Surgeon, Third Marine Regiment, First Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (deployed with the First Marine Expeditionary Force during Desert Shield/Desert Storm).

His military decorations include; Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal (2 awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Joint Services Unit Commendation, Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, Navy Fleet Marine Force Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal (2 awards), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal (with Marine Corps globe and anchor), Armed Forces Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Services Ribbon (3 awards), NATO Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait), and Expert Pistol Shot Medal.

Cmdr. Hendrick earned an MD degree in 1985 from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, and a master of public health degree in 1994 from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. His bachelor of science degree in chemistry is from the University of South Carolina-Columbia. He loved hunting, fishing and spending time with his family.

Surviving besides his father and wife are a son, Miles Byron Hendrick, at home; adopted daughter, Jennifer Nicole Hendrick Portz and husband, Michael of Jacksonville, N.C.; adopted son, James Thomas Hendrick and wife, Lee Annette of Clarksville, Tenn.; granddaughter, Kayla Ann Hendrick of Clarksville, Tenn.; grandson, Spencer Todd Davis of Clarksville, Tenn.; sister, Karen Haineault of Quitman, Ga.; three brothers, Robert Hendrick, Ph.D., of Mableton Ga., James Hendrick of Atlanta, Ga., and Roland Hendrick of Stockbridge, Ga.; and one great-aunt, Gladys Porter of Fayetteville, Ga.

Cmdr. Hendrick's is at Robert E. Dailey & Son Funeral Home, P.A., 1201 N. Market St., Frederick, where the family will receive friends from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, May 5.

Funeral services will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 5, at the funeral home with Chaplain Paul Ramsey, chaplain of Fort Detrick, officiating.

Interment will be in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., at a later date.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made in Cmdr. Hendrick's name to the Byron B. Hendrick Memorial Fund c/o Navy Federal Credit Union, Germantown Member Service Center, 11528 Middlebrook Road, Germantown, Md. 20874.