Army Spc. Rian C. Ferguson

Died December 14, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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22, of Taylors, S.C.; assigned to the Regimental Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment based in Fort Carson, Colo.; killed Dec. 14 when he fell from the light medium tactical vehicle in which he was riding outside forward operating base Quinn, Iraq.

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Fort Carson soldier killed in Iraq

Associated Press

FORT CARSON, Colo. — A South Carolina soldier based at Fort Carson has died from his injuries after he was thrown from a vehicle when it hit a bump near Al Asad, Iraq, the Army said.

Spc. Rian C. Ferguson, 22, of Taylors, S.C., died after the accident, the Army said. He was assigned to the Regimental Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

The accident occurred at about 10 a.m. Iraqi time. Ferguson was taken to a nearby post and treated by the 945th Forward Surgical Team but died from chest trauma, the Army said.

Ferguson’s father, Jimmy Ferguson, told the (Columbia) State that his son was a “lively person with lots of friends.”

Jimmy Ferguson said he knew little about the incident because the military has told him very little.

Ferguson told his wife on Dec. 14 after the news of Saddam Hussein’s capture that perhaps Rian would be coming home soon. A few hours later, his wife spotted two soldiers headed to their home and let her husband answer the door.

“She didn’t want any part of it,” he told the newspaper. “I knew it was something ugly.”

Ferguson said his wife is doing as well as can be expected, under the circumstances.

Rian Ferguson was a 2000 graduate of Riverside High School in Greer. He joined the Army before telling his parents, his father said.

“It was a decision he made on his own,” said Ferguson, a truck driver.

His son worked in the transportation unit and occasionally asked questions about the trucking business. Jimmy Ferguson was surprised his son followed his career path.

“I kind of wasn’t expecting him to do that,” the elder Ferguson said.

The soldier is also survived by his older brother, Reggie.

“When you are in this war, anything can happen,” Jimmy Ferguson said.

“He was doing what he wanted to do,” he said.

Ferguson was the 33rd soldier attached to Fort Carson to be killed in Iraq, including two National Guard members.