Army Sgt. David A. Stephens

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. David A. Stephens, 28, of Tullahoma, Tenn.

Sgt. Stephens was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died April 12 in Miri, Afghanistan, when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device during combat operations. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Casey D. Combs.

Two paratroopers — one a Tullahoman — from the 82nd Airborne Division have died from a roadside bombing in Afghanistan, bringing the number from the division killed in a week to six.

Sgt. David Stephens, 28, of Tullahoma, and Staff Sgt. Casey Combs, 28, of Auburn, Wash., were wounded Thursday in the bombing near Miri, Afghanistan, the division said Saturday.

The 3,700 members of their task force observed a moment of silence to honor them.
Four other paratroopers from the Fort Bragg-based division died Sunday in Iraq following a bombing.

Stephens was a combat medic and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion of the 4th Brigade Combat Team. He joined the Army in March 2005, came to the 82nd in February 2006 and was a 2002 graduate of the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in abnormal psychology.

"Sgt. Stephens was an inspiration to all the paratroopers of his unit," said 1st Lt. Dennis Curry, 2-508th Rear Detachment commander. "He always volunteered to help others."

Stephens is survived by his wife, Megan Stephens, and his 3-month-old daughter, Sienna Stephens, both of Spring Lake, N.C.; and his father Charles Stephens of Tullahoma, Tenn.

Megan Stephens said her husband was a Bob Dylan fan and took an iPod filled with Dillon songs on the deployment. He had been selected for officer candidate school but turned it down to train as a medic because his mother had died of a heart attack and he wanted to help people, she said.

Army Sgt. David A. Stephens was killed in action on 4/12/07.