Army Spc. Brian A. Vaughn

Died June 21, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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23, of Pell City, Ala.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; killed June 21 when his unit was conducting combat operations and was attacked by enemy forces using small-arms fire in Ramadi, Iraq.

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Soldier killed in Iraq remembered as fearless

Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A 23-year-old combat medic from Alabama who was killed in the Iraq war knew no fear, his mother said.

Spc. Brian “Alex” Vaughn, 23, died June 21 in Ramadi, Iraq, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces using small-arms fire. Spc. Christopher L. Hoskins, 21, of Danielson, Conn., was also killed in the attack.

Both soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, based at Fort Carson, Colo.

When Vaughn received his first aid certifications at 10 years old, he was ready to save lives, his mother Terry Savage said.

“Anytime we saw a wreck, he was like, ‘Mom, stop the car. I’m trained. I have a card,”’ Savage told The Birmingham News for a story Saturday. “There was no comfort zone for Alex. He knew no fear.”

Vaughn’s father, Jim Vaughn, lives in New York with Alex’s three half-sisters. Alex’s brother, Adam Vaughn, 21, is a Birmingham native.

Savage said she wasn’t surprised when Vaughn became a combat medic. “Those are the ones you see on TV,” she said. “They can’t shoot back because they’re running around taking care of everyone else.”

The Bessemer native died taking care of others.

“If he knew how it was going to end up,” said his aunt Cheryl Vaughn of McCalla, “I think he still would have gone over there.”

Vaughn was scheduled to return to Fort Carson, Colo., in August and planned to leave the Army and return to the Birmingham area, Savage said.

Vaughn’s cousin, Lacey Rosser, said she last communicated with Vaughn on the computer June 10.

“The last thing he said to me was, ‘OK, I’ve got to go out on a mission now. I’ll be seeing you sooner than you think, sweetie. I love you and stay safe,”’ Rosser said. “His big thing was worrying about everybody else.”

Vaughn graduated from St. Clair County High School in Pell City in 2000. He joined the Army in April 2003 and was shipped to Korea. After eight months, his 2nd Infantry Division unit was deployed to Iraq, Savage said.

Savage said Vaughn had not been home in almost two years. She encouraged him to take leave, but Vaughn chose to continue working.

“He said, ‘I can’t leave my guys because if something happens to them I have to be there to take care of them,”’ Savage said. “He felt like they were his and his responsibility.”