Columbia soldier's funeral held on Tuesday

Steven Fitzmorris, a Columbia soldier, was remembered during his funeral on Tuesday.

By Eva Dou
Sept. 5, 2008

Samantha Jo Baker, center, follows soldiers as they move the casket of her husband, Army Spc. Steven Fitzmorris, to a hearse for transport to his burial site at Memorial Park Cemetery following his funeral on Tuesday. Fitzmorris was killed in Baghdad on Aug. 25.

Past the line of flags outside Memorial Funeral Home, family and friends of Army Spc. Steven Fitzmorris gathered Tuesday to say goodbye.

Fitzmorris, 26, was killed Aug. 25 by sniper fire while patrolling the Adhamiyah neighborhood of Baghdad, according to a U.S. Department of Defense news release. He was deployed in December to Iraq for a 15-month tour as part of the Third Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment of Fort Carson, Colo.

"He was a good kid," Fitzmorris' mother, Rosemarie Fitzmorris-Currier, said on Thursday from her sister's home in Arab, Ala.

Steven Fitzmorris is survived by his wife Samantha, 22, his son Joshua, 3, and his daughter Kinsey, 2.

Although the funeral on Tuesday was private, a public memorial was held Sunday when the body arrived by jet to the Columbia Regional Airport and was carried by motorcade to the funeral home.

The Patriot Guard, a national group of motorcyclists that counters potential protests at military funerals, came to pay tribute, along with local residents lining the streets and waving flags.

"We came to show respect for the family," Patriot Guard Ride Captain Hollie Bastian said. "We come when the family asks us to."

Standing at attention in two rows near the tarmac, 70 Patriot Guard riders from Missouri, Iowa and Illinois greeted the casket Sunday morning.

Bastian said as the flag-draped casket came into view, she heard Fitzmorris' son say, "There's daddy."

"At that point I was standing for that little boy, who would only remember his daddy through pictures and stories," Bastian said. "He was wide-eyed taking it all in, just like his sister and in their hands were tiny red, white and blue teddy bears."

A police escort and Patriot Guard riders on motorcycles accompanied the hearse from the airport to the funeral home.

Last week, Fitzmorris' mother told the Arab (Ala.) Tribune that according to unofficial Army sources, Fitzmorris had been ordered to go out on patrol without his Kevlar vest because it was a "safe zone."

However, Fort Carson spokeswoman Karen Linne said Wednesday that Fitzmorris was wearing all of his protective gear when he was shot, including a Kevlar vest, neck guard, groin guard, protective eyewear and gloves. She said she had no record of Fitzmorris being told about a "safe zone."

Fitzmorris-Currier acknowledged the official report Thursday. Although she would not speak at length, she said, "There is only the official version. There is no other version."

The family of a killed soldier is usually contacted immediately after death, but that was not possible in this case, Linne said. The Army was unable to reach Fitzmorris' widow until the day after he died because of incorrect addresses on Fitzmorris' emergency data form.

The two listed addresses, one in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the other in Columbia, were both outdated. Fitzmorris died at 12:51 p.m. on Aug. 25. His wife was contacted just past noon on Aug. 26.

Linne said Fitzmorris' death is still under military investigation.

"The compiled report will be available to the family when the investigation is complete," Linne said.

Bastian said Fitzmorris is the first Columbia soldier killed in action since the Patriot Guard's inception five years ago.

The group has swelled to more than 137,000 members nationwide as of April. Although many members are veterans and their family members, Bastian said anyone who wants to help honor soldiers is welcome to join.

"It's easy to forget because this war doesn't affect the common citizen the way previous ones did," Bastian said. "We need to remember that these soldiers need our support."

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Columbia soldier's funeral held on Tuesday

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