Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. Paul A. Saylor, 21, of Bremen, Georgia.
Sgt Saylor died in Al Mahmudiyah, Iraq, when his HMMWV accidentally rolled over into a canal. He was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 108th Armor Regiment, Calhoun, Georgia.
The Saylors didn’t want to speak publicly Tuesday. They released a statement through a family friend, Louanne Hutcheson, thanking people for “the hundreds of expressions of sympathy” they had received.
Sgt. Joseph Brown, a member of Saylor’s platoon, said he was like their official photographer. “He must have a thousand pictures of us on his laptop,” said Brown, who is at home in Paulding County recovering from an injury he received in Iraq. “He would create these little slide shows and put music to them.”
Saylor also had a little velveteen bag with a collection of items that he kept secret, Brown said. “Before we’d go out [on a mission] he made us all rub that little bag, for luck.”
Paul A. Saylor made quite an impression in a seventh-grade production of “Arsenic and Old Lace.” Saylor played Mortimer Brewster, the part played by Cary Grant in the 1944 movie.
“He wasn’t as good as Cary Grant, but he still had a little bit of that air about him,” said Jan Cain, Saylor’s former teacher.
“He was more handsome than Cary Grant, too.”
Saylor, 21, of Norcross, Ga., died Aug. 15 in Mahmudiyah when his vehicle rolled over into a canal. He was assigned to Calhoun.
A 2002 high school graduate, he attended North Georgia College and State University, a military college. He was a starter on the football team, acted in school plays and was voted “best personality” in the senior class.
“He will be missed by all who knew him. He was friendly, goodhearted, very dedicated, hardworking. His smile would light up a room,” said Bremen City Schools Superintendent Stanley McCain.
He is survived by his parents, Jamie and Patti.
“Were going to miss him,” said his former principal, Duane McManus.
“Were going to miss that upbeat personality, that smile.”
Army Sgt. Paul A. Saylor was killed in action on 08/15/05.
1 comment:
Paul Saylor was and will always be one of my beloved nephews. We feel his loss every day of our lives. God has provided His great comfort and mercy to help us along this journey and we find peace knowing that one day we will be reunited with our Paul. Many days the pain of losing Paul is great but we have many happy and cherished memories that sustain us. We simply have to close our eyes to see Paul and that big, beautiful smile for which he was known. What I wouldn't give for one more hug, one more I love you and to hear him speak. That day will come and until that time, loving you forever Paul, forever in our hearts.
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