Auburn soldier killed in Afghanistan
04:53 PM PDT on Sunday, April 15, 2007
KING Staff
and Associated Press
FORT BRAGG, N.C. - A soldier from Auburn has been
killed fighting the war in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon says Staff Sgt. Casey Combs,28, died
after his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device. Sgt. David
A. Stephens, 28, of Tullahoma, Tenn., was also killed in the attack.
Combs was an infantryman in the 2nd Battalion, 4th
Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd.
He joined the Army in 2002 and came to the 82nd the
same year.
Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Burrill said Combs joined the
Army because of the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"He was angry that someone would try to attack his
country like that, and he wanted to serve his country," Burrill said.
"Combs never stepped away from a challenge or shirked responsibility."
Combs is survived by his wife, Amber Combs, and his
daughter Hallie, 6, and son Trenton, 2, all of Fayetteville; his father,
Robert Combs, of Orting, Wash., and his mother Lillian Combs, of Auburn,
Wash.
Amber Combs said her husband had been a construction
foreman before he joined the Army.
"He was a good dad, cared a lot about his kids and
like to be home with them," she said.
Funeral arrangements for the soldiers weren't
complete.
(Courtesy King TV, Washington)