The tall, blonde, blue-eyed girl who felt just as comfortable at a sorority function as she did in a military science course was not your stereotypical ROTC cadet.

As her friends and family members pointed out at her memorial service Friday, there was nothing typical about Ashley Henderson-Huff at all.

UGA Army ROTC held the ceremony at the Chapel to honor the 2004 University graduate who was killed in the Iraq War. After the service, the Cadet Lounge in the Military Building on Baldwin Street was dedicated in Henderson-Huff’s honor.

“It’s not a cliché or hyperbole to say that Ashley, and those like her, are truly what make America great,” Lt. Col. John Fickel, professor of military science, addressed the crowd of about 150 people.

The speakers, which included family members, fellow cadets and former sorority sisters, talked about Henderson-Huff’s influence on those around her and her ability to balance her responsibilities to both Army ROTC and the Sigma Kappa sorority.

Randy McElwee, retired senior military instructor, spoke about the first time he met Henderson-Huff. After cutting her forehead when she tripped during a run, she refused to allow her injury to keep her from attending a sorority event that evening.

“I thought if the sorority girls are this tough, the University of Georgia must be quite a place,” McElwee said.

Ashley Klanac, Henderson-Huff’s roommate at the Sigma Kappa sorority house, spoke of how the events of Sept. 11, 2001 deeply affected her friend.

“She was sitting alone at her desk,” Klanac said about that day. “She said, ‘If we go to war, I will go.’”

Henderson-Huff was killed by a suicide car bomber in Mosul, Iraq, on Sept. 19, 2006. She was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge. The ceremony was held one day before the third anniversary of her death.

The newly renovated Cadet Lounge has computers, couches and a flat screen television. A plaque with an engraving of Henderson-Huff and a young Iraqi girl hangs on the wall surrounded by several framed photographs of the soldier.

“It offers a place for cadets to come and socialize and develop our operation orders,” said Carole House, a senior from Midland and Army ROTC cadet, at the dedication.

Funds for the renovation were raised by the Army ROTC Bulldog Battallion.

Paige Pipes, a junior from Dacula, talked about the legacy Henderson-Huff leaves for younger cadets.

“Definitely selfless service,” Pipes said. “She made the ultimate sacrifice for her country, and she did it doing what she believed was right.”

Klanac referred to her former roommate and sorority sister as a “jack-of-all-trades.”

“She could do it all,” Klanac said. “She could do everything from riding horses, to being a sorority girl, to being in the ROTC. Anything she pursued, she excelled at.”

In addition to Henderson-Huff’s family members and friends, representatives from Army ROTC and Sigma Kappa sorority were in attendance.