Army Sgt. Timothy J. Sutton

Died July 11, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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22, of Springfield, Mo.; assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.; killed July 11 when his Humvee struck a land mine in Baghdad.

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Missouri soldier killed during second tour in Iraq

Associated Press

FORDLAND, Mo. — 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 J. 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, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, usually served as a gunner in a tank that swept for mines.

His 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.

Family members said Sutton’s mother was killed in a traffic accident when he was about 2, and he had been living in Fordland with his aunt. Dalton said he re-enlisted in the Army prior to deployment to Iraq in March.

“They gave him a good deal,” she said. “He knew he was going to be redeployed and he knew he had to be there anyway.” She said she believed bonus pay and family medical benefits also were a factor in his decision.

“Things change when you get married,” she said. “And when you’re over there, you have a lot of time to think.”

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Family and friends mourn soldier killed in Iraq

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Friends and family members of a soldier killed in Iraq remembered Sgt. Timothy Sutton as a courageous and happy man.

Sutton “smiled all the way,” said Brian McCabe, a Sunday school teacher at Palmer Heights Missionary Baptist Church in Springfield when Sutton was a teenager.

McCabe read from a memorial written by Sutton’s aunt, Becky Dalton of Fordland, during funeral services at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery on Friday.

Sutton, 22, of Fordland, was on his second tour of duty in Iraq.

He had returned from Iraq in May 2004 and went back in March. He was killed July 11 in Baghdad when the Humvee he was driving struck a land mine, the Defense Department said.

He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, based at Fort Carson, Colo.

Family members said Sutton’s mother was killed in a traffic accident when he was about 18 months old, and he had lived in Fordland with his aunt.

“He showed more courage in the face of hardships, raw deals and war than anyone I have ever known,” McCabe said.

Sutton’s wife, Angela, said the two had talked just before the mission on which he was killed.

“We talked for about four hours on the Internet, ... (and) I told him what I always told him — that I loved him and to be careful,” she said.

Sutton, a 2001 graduate of Fordland High School, spent two years studying drafting and design at Ozark Tech before joining the Army.

Angela Sutton said the two had met online before his first deployment to Iraq. They became friends, got to know each other further after he returned to the United States in May 2004 and were married in December.

“I want people to remember that there are other soldiers out there that need their prayers,” she said. “The only thing the news reports is kind of when something tragic happens, but they’re there and they’re fighting every day.”

— Associated Press