 ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH -- An Army colonel with ties to the St. Louis area was killed Sunday while serving in Iraq, according to his family's pastor.
Col. Stephen Scott, 54, was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad overseeing the transition of security forces to the Iraqi government, said the Rev. David McAlpin of the First Baptist Church of Harvester in St. Charles. He had been working at the Pentagon in recent years, but grew up in the St. Louis area.
Scott was exercising Sunday in the protected Green Zone when the building was struck by mortar fire and he was killed, McAlpin said the family was told by military officials.
A military official said Sunday that two U.S. soldiers died and 17 were wounded in an attack on the Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi government headquarters in central Baghdad, The Associated Press reported. The Department of Defense had not identified those victims as of Monday night.
Scott received the Bronze Star in 2003 for his service as a battalion commander during a previous tour in Iraq, a Department of Defense website says.
According to the transcript of a February teleconference posted on the website, Scott was working to help equip the Iraqi army. He said he had been struck by the positive relationships he'd established with Iraqis in a short amount of time.
"I've managed to actually make friends with the Iraqis, and they're so anxious to embrace not only our know-how and the way we've established our procedures and doctrine and training and leadership capabilities, but also just the way we engage with each other," he said, according to a transcript posted at defenselink.mil.
"It's been a remarkable experience for me in the two and a half months that I have been here. ... I'm real excited about what the future brings for Iraq and their capability to stand themselves up as an Iraqi army."
Scott says that he "spent the last two and a half years up in Washington doing what I thought was important for the U.S. forces, but having come over here and spending a lot of time with my partners in the Iraqi army, I'm 100 percent behind what we're doing. They're on track. They're on schedule. Their hearts are in the right places."
Scott had written a letter to McAlpin on Easter and said he was coming back to the United States in July. He also sent a bulletin from church services he attended.
McAlpin described Scott as a goal-oriented man who loved to learn.
"He was quite outgoing. He was very easy to get along with," McAlpin said.
McAlpin said Scott's funeral likely will take place next week, and that Scott is survived by two adult children who live in the St. Louis area.
==Another news story==
KDSK --A St. Charles County family has learned that their loved one has become one of the latest casualties in Iraq.
Relatives of Army Colonel Stephen Scott, 54, said military officials notified them late Sunday night that Scott was killed in Baghdad's Green Zone earlier that day. 
Kathleen King, Scott's sister, said military officials showed up at the O'Fallon home she shares with her mother after 11 p.m.
"And as I answered it, I saw the two men, with their uniforms on...knowing what that meant," King said.
She said her brother was fulfilling his life-long military mission. He first enlisted in the military at age 18. She was surprised his life came to an end under these circumstances.
"The Green Zone, which was the safe zone...couldn't be called that any longer. My brother, being a colonel, we thought him going back, this time, would be safe. And so did he. We talked to him, all the time," she said. "And he kept telling us how safe he was; that they were protected there, at the embassy." When asked what she'd like people to know about her brother's service, King highlighted Scott's love of country.
"I'd like them to know they had a good man over in Baghdad...doing what he was supposed to be doing for our country, protecting us," she said. "Trying to give the Iraqi forces and their leaders what they need."
When Scott was in the St. Louis area, he attended services, along with his mother Patricia, at First Baptist Church of Harvester. David McAlpin, Scott's friend and pastor, read a note he received from Scott, which was written on Easter Sunday.
"He says, 'I am well. And I am not alone or afraid. Keep us in your prayers. I hope to see you again, in July.' And he says 'wishing you and your church family safety and security. Colonel Stephen Scott,'" McAlpin said.
Mark Scott says family and faith were priorities for his brother.
"He was all about the military," said Mark. "He was doing a job that he thought was right. He had integrity; he was a Christian man. He cared about the Lord. And today, that tells us we know where he's at."
The return of Colonel Scott's remains and funeral plans are still pending. Family members say he will be laid to rest at Jefferson Barracks. |
Sir, I would just like to say thank you for your service and sacrifice for our Country. And to your family and loved ones, I wish to extend my deepest sympathy.
A grateful citizen