Army Spc. Sonny G. Sampler

Died July 8, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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23, of Oklahoma City, Okla.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany; killed July 8 during a mortar attack on the Iraqi National Guard Headquarters in Baghdad.

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Oklahoma soldier killed in Iraq

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma City soldier who was killed in an insurgency attack in Iraq this week was a happy, giving young man, family members and friends said Friday.

Spc. Sonny Gene Sampler, 23, was one of five U.S. soldiers who died Thursday at a military headquarters in Samarra, Iraq, when insurgents detonated a car bomb and fired mortars at the building.

Rellon “Skeeter” Sampler said the family learned of his younger brother’s death Thursday afternoon.

“He was a first-class kid,” Skeeter Sampler said. “He’d do anything for you. He always had a smile on his face.”

Sonny Sampler grew up in Altus and moved to Oklahoma City with his family. He attended John Marshall High School before getting his General Equivalency Diploma.

In 2001, Sonny Sampler joined the Army, which his friend, Dylan Toombs, said Sampler saw as a way to better himself.

“He wanted to kind of make something of himself and have a direction in life,” Toombs said. “He thought when he came out of the military he would have a pretty straight head on him.”

But Toombs said the main reason Sonny Sampler gave for joining was so he could save money and help his family.

Skeeter Sampler said the last time he talked to his brother, Sonny Sampler said he was looking forward to coming home for two weeks of leave beginning Aug. 1.

Toombs said he spoke to Sonny Sampler two weeks ago.

“He was pretty much just telling me what was going on where he was staying,” Toombs said. “I didn’t like talking to him much about that kind of stuff.”

“You don’t want to talk to him very much in that situation because you don’t want to make too many promises. You never know what is going to happen next.”

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Soldier remembered for his generosity, heroism

OKLAHOMA CITY — The words “hero”, “helper” and “apple of his mother’s eye” all were used Friday to describe an Oklahoma soldier who was killed while serving in Iraq.

Red, white and blue flowers surrounded the flag-draped coffin of Spc. Sonny Gene Sampler, who was remembered by family and friends at a service in Oklahoma City.

Sampler, 23, was one of five U.S. soldiers killed July 8 at a military headquarters in Samarra, Iraq, when insurgents detonated a car bomb and fired a mortar barrage at the building.

Sampler had a generous spirit, cousin Mark Province recalled.

He told a relative recently that he wanted to use his paycheck to help a fellow soldier buy diapers and food for a new baby.

When Sampler called from Germany in December to tell his family he didn’t have the money to come home for Christmas, his mother cried. He sold his belongings to buy a ticket back to the United States to surprise her.

Sampler moved to Oklahoma City with his family while he was in high school.

Maj. Gen. Douglas Dollar called Sampler a hero.

“This young man was willing to go to a strange land and fight for people he doesn’t know,” Dollar said. “It’s clear he was dedicated to a life of service.”

Sampler is survived by his parents, Kim and Gene Sampler; a brother, Rellon “Skeeter” Lee Sampler, and two sisters, Gina Renee Reinke and Vicki Lynn Sampler.

— Associated Press