San Antonio Express -- The war in Iraq has claimed the life of another soldier from San Antonio, a seasoned medic who also served in Gulf War I.

Sgt. 1st Class John S. Stephens, 41, was killed Thursday when his vehicle was struck by an explosive during combat operations in Tikrit, the Defense Department said Tuesday. He's the 26th person from San Antonio to die in service in Iraq.

On a street where Stephens and his family lived in a new neighborhood just east of Kirby, neighbors have been dazed and depressed.

"People have been standing around outside, talking about it," said Darrell Loving, a friend of the family who rents the gray brick house that Stephens and his family lived in and still own.

"It really was a shock," Loving said. "We didn't think he'd be too much in harm's way."

A grainy photo released Tuesday by the Army reveals a different image: a soldier fully clad in desert camouflage, carrying an assault rifle, with a helmet and visor obscuring the face of a neighbor and family man.

"He was a good guy," Loving said. "He worked really well with his kids."

Stephens, born and reared in Oregon, joined the Army in April 1985.

He and his wife, Bea, lived in San Antonio for at least six years, from about 1997 to 2003, residing at first at Fort Sam Houston, then in a house close to Converse, before settling into their home in the Highland Farms neighborhood, near Kirby.

Their three children, including a boy and girl who were Stephens' stepchildren, attended schools at Fort Sam Houston early on.

Their youngest child, a boy who's now 15, went to Kirby Middle School while they lived off the post. Their oldest son, 26, is a soldier at Fort Rucker, Ala. Stephens also had a stepdaughter, 24, and two grandchildren.

Stephens was a health care specialist assigned to a transition team serving with the 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Riley, Kan.

His previous combat experience included participation in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, followed by a tour of Bosnia.

Family members told the Oregonian newspaper that Stephens went by the name Scott and planned to retire when his deployment ended so he could complete work on a master's degree in computers, then apply for a job with the Central Intelligence Agency.

"You've heard of dedicated Marines? He was a dedicated soldier," Gene Stephens, the sergeant's father, told the Portland newspaper.

A funeral and burial in Stephens' hometown, La Grande, Ore., are planned. Relatives in Oregon couldn't be reached Tuesday.

During his latest tour of duty, which began in November, his wife and son have been living in Germany with her father, Loving said.

She called Loving on Friday night and broke the news. Since then, he's told neighbors on their block, where he's rented the Stephenses' house for two years.

For the neighbors, it's been hard to come to grips with the reality that the family they knew and talked to almost daily has been devastated by the war, now in its fifth year, Loving said.

As for Loving, there's a feeling that he, as an American, owes the family a great deal more than a month's rent could ever cover.

"They've been real nice to me," he said. "It's just a sad situation."