Army says dead soldier was wearing body armor

The Army on Tuesday said all Fort Carson soldiers wear their body armor and helmets on patrol in Iraq, including a 3rd Brigade Combat Team soldier whose family said he was killed after being told he didn't need a protective vest for a "friendly" patrol.

The family told newspapers in Missouri and Alabama that Spc. Steven Fitzmorris was sent on a patrol last week in Baghdad without the Kevlar and steel armor because the unit was headed to a safe area. The family said the information came from "unofficial" Army sources.

Rosemarie Fitzmorris-Currier, the soldier's mother, told The Opelika Auburn News in Alabama that the Army was also late in telling the family about the death.

"I am not going to let this story be hidden under layers of military garbage," she told the newspaper. "My son deserves better than that."

Fitzmorris-Currier and other family members couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

Leaders in Fitzmorris' unit on Tuesday said they feel for the family, but made every attempt to track them down and also said family members have been misinformed on what happened on the Aug. 25 patrol.

In an e-mail from Baghdad, brigade spokesman Maj. Mike Humphreys said Fitzmorris and other soldiers were on their guard when they went into the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Adhamiyah to meet locals and distribute fliers.

Assigned to the brigade's 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment, Fitzmorris was part of a group of artillery troops who had been pulled from guard duty at Baghdad's Green Zone compound to beef up patrols in the neighborhood.

Like every patrol in the area, Fitzmorris and his comrades were ready for battle when they rolled out.

"Fitzmorris was in full gear," Humphreys said, describing the heavy combination of body armor, protective goggles and a Kevlar helmet that soldiers wear to protect themselves from bullets and shrapnel.

Adhamiyah is now seen as one of Baghdad's safer neighborhoods, but as recently as last fall it was a hide-out for insurgent groups that roamed its trash-filled streets. Humphreys said the reduced danger hasn't led to soldiers taking ofl protective gear.

But all the armor wasn't enough to save Fitzmorris. A Fort Carson official said he was shot in the neck by a sniper who aimed for the inches-wide gap between his body armor and helmet.

Humphreys said soldiers scrambled to save Fitzmorris.

"The soldiers did not get the sniper that day, the focus was on treating and evacuating Fitzmorris," Humphreys wrote.

Fitzmorris made it to a hospital but died within a few hours.

After the death, Army officials worked to find Fitzmorris' family, but Humphreys said information on Fitzmorris' relatives was apparently out of date.

Fitzmorris' widow and two young children were located in a few hours.

"By the time the mother had been found, it was about 24 hours," Humphreys said.

Humphreys said the Army is working with troops and their families to get updated contact information that will allow people to be found rapidly if the worst happens.

And in Adhamiyah, the hunt is on for the sniper who killed Fitzmorris.

"We have intensified our search for snipers in the area, specifically the one that killed Fitzmorris," Humphreys said, noting that the Army is offering cash to locals who help find the shooter.

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Contact the writer: 636-0240 or tom.roeder@gazette.com