Two Fort Bragg Soldiers Die In Car Bomb Explosion In Iraq

[SR-25]

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Two psychological operations soldiers from Fort Bragg were killed last week in a car-bomb explosion in a town near the Syrian border, the Pentagon said Monday.

Spc. Jonathan J. Santos, 22, of Bellingham, Wash., and Sgt. Michael G. Owen, 31, of Phoenix, Ariz., were killed Friday in Karabilah, the Defense Department said.

Their vehicle was attacked "while conducting vehicle-mounted loudspeaker operations with the 1st Marine Division," according to a statement from the Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg.

Both were assigned to the Army's 9th Psychological Operations Battalion from Fort Bragg.

Owen was the leader and Santos a member of a three-man team. The third member was wounded in the attack, the special operations command said.

Owen and Santos were sent to Haiti last March in support of a U.S.-led interim force deployed to calm the violence that led to the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Both soldiers were deployed to Iraq in September.

Owen joined the Army in 1992 and completed the psychological operations specialist course at Fort Bragg in 2002. He is survived by his wife, Crystal, of Fayetteville, and his parents, Howard Owen and Kay Hutchinson of Arizona.

Family members said Owen had a passion for law enforcement and was living out his dreams in the Army, where he found camaraderie with other soldiers and received a real-world education.

"He took pride in everything he did and he loved his job. He got where he wanted to be because he worked hard at it," said Glenn Owen, Michael's father.

During his tenure in the Army, Michael Owen served in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Haiti before he was sent to Iraq six weeks ago.

Owen spoke four languages including French and Bosnian and met his met his wife of three years at Fort Bragg.

"He was quiet, he was reserved, he was modest and he was humble. He was always so respectful of anyone he came in contact with, never boasted about what he was doing," Gary Owen said of his nephew. "We could all take lessons from him."

Family and friends will spread Michael Owen's ashes on the peak of Lookout Mountain in north Phoenix, a wish he expressed to his wife before heading to Iraq.

Santos entered the Army in July 2001 and trained as an Arab language specialist, completing his certification two years ago.

He is survived by his mother, Doris Kent, of Bellingham, Wash., and his father, Les Santos, of Oshkosh, Wis.

His mother said Santos died less than four hours after the explosion. "He didn't make it into the hospital," she said.

He had enlisted in the Army's Delayed Entry Program in 2000 and entered the service with a four-year commitment after graduating the following spring.

"He didn't want me to pay for college," Kent said. "He said he wanted to do it on his own." 7 Kent said her son loved being with people and was an avid reader.

"When he was in Iraq he gathered about 75 books, so somebody named him 'the librarian,"' she said.

Sehome High School's wrestling coach Scott Schroyer remembered Santos, a member of his team, as a quiet, solid, hardworking person who went out of his way to help his teammates and did whatever was asked of him.

"Wrestling's a sport where you've got to be emotionally tough and you've got to show courage and he did that," Schroyer said. "I remember one match in particular his senior year at the district tournament, he sort of rose up and upset a kid that he probably wasn't supposed to beat."

Santos' two younger brothers attend Sehome High School and Fairhaven Middle School.

His father, Leslie Santos, serves in the military and is now stationed in Wisconsin, Kent said. The young man's stepfather, Christopher Kent, and both his grandfathers were also in the military, Doris Kent said.

She had spoken with her son twice since he went to Iraq; the last time was two weekends ago.

Kent said an Army chaplain and another soldier knocked on the family's door at 6 a.m. Saturday.

"You know what they came to say," she said. "You don't really want them to say anything. ... If they say it, it makes it real."

[Field_Sailor]

Rest in peace Brothers.