No. 440-05

IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 5, 2005

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. Stephen P. Saxton, 24, of Temecula, Calif., died May 3 in Baghdad, Iraq, when his unit was conducting a route security mission and an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Saxton was assigned to the Army’s 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.

For further information related to this release, contact Army Public Affairs at (703) 692-2000.

Family grieves for fallen Inland soldier



MOURNING: An Army sergeant and father of three dies when a bomb explodes in Baghdad.

11:20 PM PDT on Thursday, May 5, 2005



By ROCKY SALMON / The Press-Enterprise

A week ago Sgt. Stephen Patrick Saxton was ecstatic about taking a mid-tour leave from Iraq to see his newborn daughter, family members said.

On Tuesday, a roadside bomb ripped through the 24-year-old Temecula man's Humvee on a combat mission in Baghdad, killing the father of three, according to the Department of Defense.

"He was a very special young man, and he is going to be missed greatly," said Saxton's mother, Deborah, from her Temecula home as she talked through stifled sobs.

Saxton was an air defense artillery sergeant with the Army's 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment, stationed out of Fort Carson, Colo.

Lt. Colonel David Johnson said those stationed at the base were saddened by the news.

"It's always a sad day when we lose a soldier and a part of our family," said Johnson, who is a public affairs officer for the 7th Infantry Division. "But we all have to continue leaning forward and pushing for the same goal he was pushing for."

Saxton's wife, Maegan Saxton, could not be reached for comment at her Fort Carson home. Saxton is survived by three children -- Katelynn, 4; Joseph, 2 and Sierra Rose, 3 weeks old; and three brothers -- Michael, 30; Andrew, 28; and Peter, 22.

Stephen Saxton grew up in Temecula, attending Margarita Middle School and graduating in 1998 from Temecula Valley High School.

"He always loved school," said Deborah Saxton, breaking into a small laugh. "When I took him to preschool he wasn't like the other kids. He would run into the school."

In middle school, Saxton competed on winning math teams and in science Olympiads. In high school, he wrestled for one year and played football for four.

After graduating, Stephen Saxton married Maegan. In October 2002 he enlisted with the Army.

Saxton's older brothers and father, Dennis, served in the military, but Deborah Saxton said that was not the reason why her son enlisted.

"He always wanted to go to college, and with the Army he had an opportunity to serve the country and to get a good education," she said.

The elder Saxtons said they expressed concern with their son enlisting and made sure he knew the dangers.

"He understood it," Deborah Saxton said. "And him and his wife discussed it a lot, and he figured it was best for the family."

After being stationed in Germany, Stephen Saxton was deployed to Iraq, where he spent almost a year. After a few months in Colorado, Saxton was deployed to Iraq in March for his second tour of duty.

In April, Maegan Saxton gave birth to Stephen's third child. Family members said Stephen Saxton was excited about coming home and seeing his daughter.

"The last time I ever spoke to him, he was so excited about his baby girl," Deborah Saxton said. "Everyone is going to miss him so much."

Reach Rocky Salmon at (951) 375-3739 or rsalmon@pe.com

May. 06, 2005

Carson soldier dies in Baghdad blast

By TOM ROEDER THE GAZETTE

A Fort Carson soldier died when a bomb detonated near his Humvee in Baghdad, the Army reported Thursday.

The 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment’s Sgt. Stephen P. Saxton, 24, of Temecula, Calif., died Tuesday while patrolling a convoy route. It is the fourth regiment fatality since the unit deployed in March.

Saxton, a father of three, was eight days from his 25th birthday. He was serving in his second yearlong tour in Iraq.

His mother, Deborah Saxton, said that in a recent phone call Saxton expressed joy over a plan to come to Colorado this month to see his child Sierra Rose, born three weeks ago at Fort Carson.

“Anything he decided to do, he always gave it his best,” she said from her California home.

Saxton’s wife, Maegen, and children, Joseph Thomas, 2, and Katelynn Elizabeth, 4, live in Colorado Springs. Funeral arrangements were pending.

Deborah Saxton said he lifted spirits of those around him. “He just always looked for the bright side of things.”

Members of his regiment spent Wednesday trying to root out insurgents in Baghdad’s southern suburbs, a spokesman said by phone from unit headquarters near Baghdad International Airport.

U.S. forces have faced growing guerrilla activity, including a series of bombings. Saxton is the fourth Fort Carson soldier killed in the offensive.

Fort Carson has lost 106 soldiers in the war.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0240 or

troeder@gazette.com

Copyright 2005, The Gazette

Posted on Fri, May. 06, 2005

Father of three killed in Iraq had yet to meet baby daughter

Associated Press

TEMECULA, Calif. - Sgt. Stephen Patrick Saxton, a husband and father of three who couldn't wait for his mid-tour leave from Iraq to see his newborn daughter, was killed when a bomb hit his humvee, officials said.

The roadside bomb killed Saxton, an air defense artillery sergeant with the Army's 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment, during a combat mission in Baghdad Tuesday, the Department of Defense said.

"The last time I ever spoke to him, he was so excited about his baby girl," said his mother Deborah Saxton, from her Temecula home. "Everyone is going to miss him so much."

Lt. Col. and Army spokesman David Johnson, said those at Fort Carson, Colo., where Saxton was stationed, mourned their fellow soldier.

"It's always a sad day when we lose a soldier and a part of our family," Johnson said. "But we have to continue leaning forward and pushing for the same goal he was pushing for."

Saxton's mother Deborah said her son knew the dangers of the military and talked about them with his wife Maegan before enlisting in October 2002.

"He understood it," she said. "And him and his wife discussed it a lot and he figured it was best for the family."

Saxton was a well-rounded student-athlete in high school who was equally drawn to the math team and the football team, his mother said. He opted for the military, in part to earn money for college.

"He always wanted to go to college, and with the Army he had an opportunity to serve the country and to get a good education," she said.

Saxton is survived by his wife Maegan, his daughters Katelynn, 4, and Sierra Rose, 3 weeks, and his son Joseph, 2.

Fallen soldier believed in mission

By Hector Gutierrez, Rocky Mountain News

May 7, 2005

Army Sgt. Stephen P. Saxton was determined, in essence, to serve three families when he died Tuesday in Iraq.

Saxton's first family was his high school sweetheart and wife, Maegen, and his three children, Katelyn, 4, Joseph, 2, and his new baby daughter, Sierra, whom he never got to see.

"He would do anything for his family," Elizabeth Wawersich, Saxton's mother-in-law, said Friday.

Saxton's second family was the Iraqi people. Saxton, who was assigned to the Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Fort Carson, was on his second tour in Iraq when a roadside bomb detonated near his convoy. Saxton would have turned 25 on Wednesday.

"Of course we asked him how he felt about going back, and he hated being away from his family," Wawersich said, recalling a conversation she had with her son-in-law in December. "Seeing how the Iraqi people needed him, all the suffering he saw over there, all the good they were doing for the Iraqi people, and the warm reception they got from the Iraqi people, he said it was worth going over there and the right thing to do."

Saxton's third family was the soldiers he lived and served with. "He never took credit for himself, and he always included the soldiers who were with him," Wawersich said. "He would never say, 'I did this' and 'I did that.' It was always inclusive of all they did there."

Saxton was one of four sons born in Orange County, Calif., to Dennis and Deborah Saxton. He enlisted in the Army in 2002, following in the footsteps of his father and two older brothers.

Services will be held in Temecula, Calif., on Thursday, with burial at Riverside National Cemetery. A second memorial will be May 24 at Fort Carson.

2005 © The E.W. Scripps Co.

Temecula graduate killed in Iraq

By: DEIRDRE NEWMAN - Staff Writer, North County Times

TEMECULA ---- On his second tour of duty in Iraq, Stephen Saxton had been back in the war-torn country about two months and was due to travel home this week to see his newborn daughter.

But before that could happen, the 24-year-old Army sergeant was killed Tuesday when an explosive detonated near his Humvee in Baghdad. He was a member of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, based in Fort Carson, Colo.

Saxton, who grew up in Temecula, graduated from Temecula Valley High School in 1998. He followed in the military bootsteps of his father and two older brothers, who all served in the Army.

Saxton and his wife, Maegen, who is also from Temecula, had three children ---- Katelynn, 4; Joseph, 2; and Sierra Rose, who was born 3 weeks ago.

His mother, Deborah Saxton, spoke of her memories of her son during a phone interview Friday.

"He was a very positive individual, he was very loyal, he was always on the go," she said. "He liked to be involved in a lot of different things."

He participated in football throughout high school and was on the varsity team his senior year, although he didn't play often, Coach Bud Kane said. Stephen Saxton was the epitome of the selfless player who put the team first, Kane said.

"Lots are starters, but if they don't get the ball, they quit," Kane said. "(Saxton) rarely got on the field, but added to the team in practice and the positive attitude he brought."

Another football coach described him as being very respectful.

"(He was) one of those kids you're very proud of because their parents did such a good job with them," said Jeff Waugh, who used to coach freshman football and now teaches Advanced Placement government and economics at the school. "He was a sweet boy."

Saxton was a defensive back who played mainly on the scout team, which serves as the opposing team during practices. He was unanimously selected by fellow team members as the scout player of the year his senior year, his mother said.

He entertained the thought of joining the military after high school, but it didn't work out at that time, his mother said. The desire lingered, however, and he finally joined the Army in October 2002, she said.

His family tried to make sure he understood the potential repercussions of his decision to enlist, his mother said.

"His father and I both asked him, 'Are you sure this is something you want to do?' knowing the climate in the country and world at that time," Deborah said. "He was still determined that that was what he wanted to do."

Saxton wanted to take advantage of the education and electrical training he could get in the Army, his mother said. But he didn't realize exactly what kind of electrical training he was getting into, she added.

"His uncle is a journeyman electrician ---- that's what he thought his job was going to be," she said. "He misread the job description. It wasn't inside wiring for construction. It was inside wiring for missiles."

During his first tour in Iraq, which started in May 2003, he served with a unit that guarded the airport, his mother said. That tour ended in March 2004. In August, he was assigned to the regiment in Colorado, so he and his family moved there.

When he got there, he learned the unit was supposed to go to Iraq this December, but the departure date got moved up to March, his mother said. So Saxton missed the birth of his third child.

He was looking forward to taking a leave sometime this week to head home to Colorado and seeing Sierra Rose for the first time, his mother said.

Saxton's wife is "doing as well as can be expected," his mother said.

"She's hanging in there," Deborah Saxton said. "The base has a lot of good support there and the military family there is very supportive. There are a lot of wives there that are in the same position as her."

Maegen will be moving back to Temecula with the children when she is done taking care of her husband's military matters at the base, Deborah said.

Deborah and her husband, Dennis, are doing their best to carry on as their son would have wanted them to, Deborah said.

"He made us very proud and so I'm going to make him very proud of me," she said, as the sound of tears welled up in her throat. "(Dennis) has his moments, but he's determined too. Our son would not want us to wallow or anything else. He would insist that life goes on and so that's what we're gonna do."

Stephen is survived by his wife, his three children and brothers, Micheal, 30; Andrew, 28; and Peter, 22. His body will be arriving at Dover, Md., where a military escort will accompany his casket for the journey to Temecula, according to his parents. A Mass will be held and he will be buried with full military honors at Riverside National Cemetery. No date has been set yet.

Contact staff writer Deirdre Newman at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2623, or dnewman@californian.com.

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