Army Pfc. Steven J. Walberg

Died April 15, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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18, of Paradise, Calif.; assigned to the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; died April 15 in Baghdad of wounds sustained from enemy small-arms fire.

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Sierra foothills soldier killed by small-arms fire in Iraq

The Associated Press

PARADISE, Calif. — An 18-year-old soldier from Paradise, remembered by his high school counselor as a “deep thinker,” was killed April 15 by small arms fire in Baghdad, the Army said.

As a high school student, Steven Walberg-Riotto was active in his church youth group and excelled at math and physics.

“He was a quiet, very bright young man who liked to analyze things and enjoyed challenging himself with math and physics,” recalled Karen Olberg, his counselor at Pleasant Valley High School in Chico. “He liked trigonometry very much. He took advanced courses. I foresaw a bright future for him, perhaps as an engineer.”

But he always wanted to join the military. His aunt, Tammy Riotto, told the Chico Enterprise-Record that her nephew played soldier as a boy. Before enlisting, he trained by carrying heavy backpacks.

He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Riley, Kan.

Walberg-Riotto is survived his mother, Karen Riotto, his father, Steve Walberg, and siblings Leanna and Jason. Funeral arrangements are pending.