Army Pfc. Tavarus D. Setzler

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pfc. Tavarus D. Setzler, 23, of Jacksonville, Fla.

Pfc. Setzler was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died Oct. 2, 2008 of wounds sustained when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in Majar al Kabir, Iraq.

Soldier’s remains to arrive at Naval Air Station
The Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Hundreds gathered at Jacksonville Naval Air Station to greet the flag-draped coffin of a Florida soldier killed in Iraq.

Pentagon officials say Pfc. Tavarus D. Setzler of Jacksonville died Oct. 2 when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Majar al-Kabir, Iraq.

Setzler was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood.

His family prayed over his coffin after it was taken out of a jet Friday. Police and veterans on motorcycles then escorted the family off the base, past hundreds of service members and civilian base employees.

Pfc. remembered as being motivated, dedicated
The Associated Press

Tavarus D. Setzler had been in the Army for less than a year and had been in Iraq for about six months. He proposed to his girlfriend after returning from boot camp in Texas.

“He was wearing a big old ring, and I said ‘Oh, that’s what happens now — you go to Texas and come back with a ring?’” his fiancee, Brittnie Jones, remembered saying. “‘Where’s my ring?”‘ Setzler gave it to her later that day, not long before heading off to Iraq.

Setzler, 23, of Jacksonville, Fla., was killed Oct. 2 when his vehicle struck an explosive in Majar al-Kabir. He was a 2005 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Hood.

“He was an outstanding student,” said Navy Lt. Dean Williams, a senior naval science instructor at his high school. “For ROTC, he was the kind of student you want. He was motivated and dedicated and very well disciplined.”

His brother Shawn Baker last heard from his brother on Sept. 29, three days before his death. It was the day before Baker’s birthday.

“It was an e-mail and it said he was coming home soon,” Baker said. “It said, ‘Happy birthday, old man. I’ll see you in November.’”

Army Pfc. Tavarus D. Setzler was killed in action on 10/2/08.