Army Pvt. Guy Husted

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pvt. Guy Husted

He had been in Iraq just two months when an improvised explosive device exploded near his Humvee on Nov. 19.

"I remember him telling me, ‘I didn’t even get to shoot my gun,’" said his stepmother, Deborah Husted of Bremerton.

Guy’s injuries included a broken leg, a back injury, a ruptured eardrum and bruises and cuts, according to family members. He also suffered some memory loss.

He spent some time recovering from his physical wounds at the home of his wife’s family in California, before returning in late January to Fort Campbell, Ky., where he was stationed with the 101st Airborne Division. But his psychological wounds remained, and though family members said he seemed eager to return to service with his unit in Iraq, he had not been cleared to return to the war.

He was found unconscious in his bed Jan. 31 at Fort Campbell, according to his father, retired submariner Robert Husted of Bremerton. He was rushed to the hospital, Robert Husted said. By the time Guy was resuscitated, he was brain-dead.

His wife, Leslie, conferred with family members before making the final decision to cease life support.

"As much as it hurt, we knew what he wanted," Robert Husted said.

Guy Husted was awarded the Purple Heart on Dec. 15, 2005.

Described by his mother as "a loving, caring young man," he enlisted in September 2004. Guy Husted wanted to join the Navy and follow in both his parents’ footsteps, but at about 6 feet tall and 260 pounds, he didn’t meet the Navy’s weight requirements.

Husted and brother Kyle, 20, a Marine stationed in Hawaii, were determined to serve their country, their father said.

"The boys basically came out and said we want to start a tradition," Robert Husted said.

Lisa Aulenbach, their mother, said she was more apprehensive after she heard that Guy was being assigned as a scout, a role that would put him in harm’s way. But now she’s worried about the younger son, an aviation electrician who is scheduled to deploy to Iraq in September.

"I feel terrible about it," she said. "I don’t want Kyle to go to Iraq."

Guy was born Dec. 31, 1982, in Portsmouth, Va., and moved to Bremerton in 1984 when his dad was stationed at Bangor submarine base.

He played the violin in the Bremerton Youth Symphony and was active with Cub Scouts until his parents divorced when he was 12, Aulenbach said.

After the divorce, he became more withdrawn, preferring to play video games, watch movies or go bowling with friends, Aulenbach said. He also enjoyed fishing with his dad near the Hood Canal Bridge.

He is survived by his parents; his wife, Leslie of Fort Campbell; brothers Kyle Husted of Hawaii and Nicholas Bearden of Bremerton; sisters Jessica Bearden and Sarah Moore of Bremerton; grandparents Jeannette Aulenbach of Orwigsburg, Pa., and Charlotte Myers of Oxford, Iowa; and numerous aunts and uncles.

Army Pvt. Guy Husted died 02/02/06.