Justin Dean Norton

Tuesday, June 27 2006 @ 02:54 AM EDT

The Olympian -- Sgt. Justin Dean Norton wanted to be in the military since he was 5, following in the footsteps of his grandfathers and stepfather.

He enlisted his senior year at Rainier High School and, in November, he was deployed to Iraq.

Saturday afternoon, his parents got a dreaded phone call.

"I was at work and I got the call from a neighbor that I had to get home because there was somebody there to see me," his stepfather, Gary Warnock, said in a telephone interview from his Rainier home. "I just knew something had happened and I was thinking of the worst and hoping for the best."

A Fort Lewis sergeant told them Norton died when an improvised explosive device went off outside the patrol vehicle he was in about 7 a.m. in the Baghdad area. Warnock said his stepson's unit was fired on, and the soldiers got out to investigate when the IED hit. He did not know if anyone else died or was injured in the explosion.

A U.S. Department of Defense spokesman said the department cannot release information by law until 24 hours after a family has been notified.

As of Saturday, at least 2,521 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the war, according to an Associated Press count.

Norton, 21, is the third Thurston County resident to die in the war since it began in March 2003. Master Sgt. Steven Auchman of Lacey was killed in November 2004 during a mortar attack, and Staff Sgt. Abraham Twitchell of Yelm was killed April 2 in a rollover crash during a flash flood.

Family members described Norton as well liked and a good student who enjoyed spending time with his family and friends.

"My brother, he liked to laugh a lot. He liked to joke around," said Dean Norton, 19. "Me and my brother liked to hang out and have fun. We watched a lot of movies together. We were very close. We liked to do everything together."

During Norton's last visit in February, the two vowed to enroll in South Puget Sound Community College to study criminal justice as soon as Norton completed his tour of duty, Dean Norton said.

Norton, a 2003 graduate of Rainier High, played football and wrestled in high school. Dean Norton said the two would play whiffle ball or basketball outside when they were younger.

He loved movies, and had Austin Powers "down to a science," said Warnock, Thurston County's deputy coroner and a candidate for Thurston County coroner.

When Norton decided to enlist, his parents urged him to be an officer, but he wanted to be a soldier.

"He said he loved doing what he was doing. He felt like he was doing a thing that he should, and he was serving his country, and he was fulfilling a commitment he had made," Dean said.

He was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas, which worried Warnock.

"These guys are out probing for targets. Fourth ID has taken a huge, huge hit since they've been in Iraq," Warnock said.

Norton didn't say much about his experiences there, but during his last visit, Warnock could tell from a look in his stepson's eyes that being in Iraq was dangerous.

"He looked worried," Warnock said.

Norton last spoke with his family a couple of weeks ago to tell them his unit was moving to the Baghdad area.

"I just knew. That's where it's all happening," Warnock said.

Norton also is survived by his mother, Chris; his brother, Joshua Warnock; his father and stepmother, Jeff and Sandy Norton, who also live in Rainier; and grandparents in Rainier and Olympia. The family had not yet made arrangements for a memorial service.

1 comments

http://iraq.pigstye.net/article.php/NortonJustinD