Michael Futch, The Fayetteville Observer, N.C. –
Two Fort Bragg paratroopers were killed in action Thursday by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said Sunday.
Killed were 1st Sgt. Russell R. Bell, 37, of Tyler, Texas, and Staff Sgt. Matthew S. Sitton, 26, of Largo, Fla.
Bell and Sitton died in the Kandahar province of wounds suffered when they encountered an enemy IED. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.
Published reports say Bell joined the service as an infantryman in January 1996, and this marked his fourth combat deployment to Afghanistan in the past seven years.
On Sunday evening, Bell’s father said family members were returning to Tyler from a ceremony held upon the arrival of his son’s remains at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
“It was his life,” said Jim Bell, his father. “In fact, on July 19, we got an email from him where he said, ‘I only have four Mondays to go in active service (in Afghanistan) and then will be turning it over to the new guys coming in.’ ”
He would always thank the family, Jim Bell said, for the support they gave him and his soldiers. He always said in his emails, “Pray for my boys,” his father said.
In that July 19 email, Russell Bell wrote, “The boys are doing well. Spirits are pretty high right now.”
Bell was married, and his wife, Latoya, and his 1-year-old son, Gage, live in Fayetteville. To show how gung-ho his son was regarding his military service, Russell Bell intentionally married his wife two years ago on Sept. 11, the date of the terrorist attacks in 2001.
“He was a private individual,” his father said. “He did not want anybody to know about the awards, the medals he received. He always felt that was something the military gave people. He would rather have them give it to someone else, because he was just doing his job.”
Bell’s awards include the Bronze Star Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal with Valor, the Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster and the Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters.
In March 2006, reports say, Sitton joined the Army as an infantryman. This was his second combat deployment to Afghanistan.
His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster and the Army Achievement Medal.
