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Soldier charged with murder in sergeant’s Missouri death
A soldier has been charged with murder in the death of a fellow service member at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, the Army announced Thursday.
The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel charged the 21-year-old Spc. Wooster Rancy on Wednesday with murder and obstructing justice in the death of Sgt. Sarah Roque, 23. Roque — who was from Ligonier, Indiana, and worked as a mine-detecting dog handler — was reported missing Oct. 20. Her body was discovered in a trash bin on the base two days later.
Fort Leonard Wood officials said last week that they were investigating Roque’s death as a homicide and that they had taken a person of interest into custody last Thursday. Officials also stressed that there was no broader threat to base personnel or the community.
But Army investigators have released few other details about what happened, including the cause of Roque’s death or a possible motive.
Officials said the suspect is from North Miami, Florida, and joined the Army in 2022. He serves as a combat engineer with the 509th Clearance Company, 5th Engineer Battalion, and conducted basic combat training at Fort Leonard Wood. He is being held in pretrial confinement and is awaiting a preliminary hearing.
Roque enlisted in 2020. Her awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. She was a member of the 5th Engineer Battalion and enlisted in 2020.
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What makes a martini a martini?
Nowadays, what makes a martini a martini? Robert Simonson, who wrote a book about the martini, said, “It’s funny: it’s strict and loose at the same time.”
Everyone seems to have an opinion about the cocktail: “Ingredients, proportions, garnishes – it’s all subject to debate,” Simonson said. “I’m a purist. I would think it needs to be gin and vermouth. But I’m willing to bend and say, ‘Okay, vodka and vermouth as well.’ [However,] if there’s no vermouth in there, I don’t know how you can call it a cocktail.”
Simonson says the martini was probably named after a vermouth company. It was invented in America in the 1870s or ’80s when bartenders mixed gin with vermouth, a fortified wine made with herbs and spices. “It’s a very big player in cocktail history,” he said.
In the early 20th century, the “very-dry” martini became very-popular: Ice cold gin or vodka, garnished with a lemon twist, or an olive, or an onion, but only a little vermouth (or maybe not even a little).
Samantha Casuga, the head bartender at Temple Bar in New York City, says the reason why many people might not want vermouth in their martini is because, for years, vermouth was stored improperly. “It should be in the fridge,” she said.
Casuga’s classic martini is two parts gin, one part vermouth, with a twist of lemon. She suggests that you probably shouldn’t order it the way James Bond does – shaken, not stirred. Casuga says she’s always stirring, but some people like the show behind the bar when a bartender shakes their cocktail. “Definitely, people love a good shake,” she said.
People also love to have a martini made just the way they want it. But Casuga understands why they might be so specific: “To have your own preferences, not only listened to and then executed, is, like, that’s luxury itself.”
Writer Robert Simonson says that a martini can also add a little luxury to your Thanksgiving. “It actually makes very good sense for Thanksgiving,” he said. “It will whet your appetite for the meal to come.
“There are very few American inventions more American than the martini. So, an American holiday, American drink.”
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Story produced by Mary Raffalli. Editor: Remington Korper.
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