Colonel killed in Green Zone Wednesday, April 09, 2008
By NIKI DOYLE
Times Staff Writer niki.doyle@htimes.com
Sister says Stephen Scott on treadmill in U.S. Embassy
When Col. Stephen Scott left for the Pentagon and later for Iraq, he never put a "For Sale" sign in the yard of his New Market home.
Scott, 54, seemed to be on the fast-track to becoming a general with his recent assignment to train and arm the Iraqi troops, said his sister, Kathleen King.
Now, his home sits empty, and his family members - all St. Louis natives - are planning his funeral after military officials told them Sunday that Scott had been killed in a mortar attack on Baghdad's Green Zone.
"He loved Alabama," King said. "That's why he never sold the house there. He fully intended to go back."
Scott, a member of the Huntsville Track Club and an avid runner, was on a treadmill in the U.S. Embassy's fitness facility Sunday when a mortar round crashed into the building, killing him and two other soldiers, King said.
"He loved to run marathons," King said. "He ran 5, 10 miles every day. If it had to be, at least he was doing something he loved and was somewhere he wanted to be."
Scott moved to Huntsville about 12 years ago when the St. Louis-based Aviation and Troop Command closed, King said. He worked with the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center on Redstone Arsenal, said his longtime friend Al Reed.
Scott served as a battalion commander in 2002 and worked with the Secretary of Defense staff to provide immediate response to soldiers' needs.
It was an ideal assignment for Scott because he loved helping fellow soldiers and their families, Reed said.
"He just ate it up," he said. "The more he helped the soldiers, the better off he was."
Scott grew up in a military family - his father, Kenneth Scott, was a command warrant officer.
He received a Bronze Star in 2003 and has received dozens of other awards. His latest deployment came in early December and he was scheduled to return home in June, King said.
Scott spoke to his family - including his mother, Patricia, and his two daughters, 25-year-old Rachel and 22-year-old Rebecca - almost every day, telling them how much he loved his work there, King said.
"He had made so many friends in the Iraqi government, and he was so impressed with their willingness to do this on their own," she said.
Scott's funeral will be at the First Baptist Church Harvester in St. Charles, Mo. He will be buried in Jefferson Barracks, but King said the family has not yet set a date for the services.
King said the response from the community has been overwhelming. The Patriot Guard has asked to escort the casket, and local fire departments have offered to fly American flags on their ladder trucks during the funeral.
"People are coming from everywhere," she said. "It's the most incredible thing.
"I'm sure my brother's looking down, and he's smiling at this."
Poster Comment:
he's smiling?
Rockets spread fear in Baghdad's Green Zone
posted 11 days ago by richard9151
Americans in Green Zone under siege
posted 12 days ago by Ada