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Created by and for survivors, LSN empowers individuals and communities affected by landmines to recover from trauma, reclaim their lives and fulfill their rights.
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World Landmine News
Landmine kills Missouri soldier in Iraq - Associated Press
Friday, July 15, 2005
FORDLAND (AP) - A Missouri soldier killed in Iraq this week on his second tour of duty had matured during his first stint there, one of Sgt. Timothy Sutton’s former teachers said.
\"He was not much of a patriot before he left, but he was when he got back,\" said Richard Faber, who taught computer-aided drafting to Sutton at Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield. \"He was a lot more mature and serious.\"
Sutton, 22, of Fordland, had returned from Iraq in May 2004 and went back in March. He was killed Monday in Baghdad when the Humvee he was driving struck a land mine, the Defense Department said. Sutton, assigned to the 3rd Squadron of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, usually served as a gunner in a tank that swept for mines.
His Army unit is based at Fort Carson, Colo., which has lost six soldiers this month.
The soldier’s father, Bill Sutton of Fordland, had talked to him Sunday about what was to be one last mission. Sutton didn’t mention details, and his father didn’t ask.
\"He was really up in spirits because he was getting ready to go home on leave,\" the elder Sutton said.
Bill Sutton said his son was proud of the U.S. effort in Iraq and devoted to the soldiers serving under him.
\"He would go out of his way to help them out and do whatever it takes to make them comfortable,\" he said.
Sutton, a 2001 graduate of Fordland High School, spent two years studying drafting and design at Ozark Tech before joining the Army. His aunt, Becky Dalton of Fordland, said continuing his schooling under the GI Bill was one his motivations for enlisting.
Former teachers at the technical school remember Sutton as an energetic student who was serious about a career in drafting.
\"He was always ready for fun, but he had his eye on what he wanted to do,\" said Murl Darby, a drafting and design instructor. \"He was always full of energy and ideas and fun to be around.\"
Faber called Sutton a talented artist who turned out to be one of his best students.
\"The artist’s eye - he had that gift,\" Faber said.
After his return from Iraq last year, Sutton married his wife, Angela, and introduced her to one of his favorite pastimes - hunting. The couple married in December, and Angela Sutton lives in Colorado Springs.
Faber said Sutton hated the sand in Iraq, but felt obligated to go back there.
\"He had a sense of duty,\" he said.
Posted: Friday, July 15, 2005
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