Byron Fouty ~ Matt's Nephew Found From
May 12, 2007, until July 9, 2008, Gordon Dibler held out hope that his stepson, Army Pvt.
Byron W. Fouty, would safely return home from Iraq. Sadly, Gordon's hopes were dashed on
that date when military officials came to his home and delivered the grim news that the
body of Byron and another soldier captured during an ambush south of Baghdad had just been
recovered and identified.
Byron, 19, and Army Sgt. Alex Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, were kidnapped in
May, 2007, in the volatile area south of Baghdad known as the 'triangle of death.' The
body of a third captured soldier, Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, California, was
found in the Euphrates River a year later. Funeral services for Byron were held at Brightmoor Christian Church, 40800 W. 13 Mile Road Novi, on Tuesday July 22, 2008 at 11:00 AM. Lynch & Sons Funeral Home was in charge of funeral services. Please remember
all American soldiers, |
| The following websites were helpful in gathering information for
this story. www.iraqwarheroes.com/fouty.htm www.themoderatevoice.com |
|
Original
story
On Tuesday, May 15, 2007, the Pentagon identified Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, a soldier serving with the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team- as one of seven soldiers who are either missing or confirmed dead after a weekend ambush south of Baghdad. Four soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter were killed during a predawn ambush Saturday near Mahmoudiya, in a Sunni stronghold 20 miles south of Baghdad. Four soldiers were killed and three are missing and possibly abducted by al-Qaida. The Pentagon has identified three of those killed, but is waiting for more testing before the identity of the fourth dead soldier can be confirmed. Gordon 'Gordy' Dibler, brother of former lead singer, Matt Dibler, is Byron's stepfather. He has been unable to describe his emotions since learning from the military over the weekend that the teenager was unaccounted for. "I don't know how to put words to it". In speaking with the family, we also learned that Byron's sister, Sarah, age 15, is devastated. Sarah had always looked up to her brother as a role model. We couldn't agree more. Byron is a true hero. Family members recalled that Byron was fond of 'playing' with model cars and was an energetic child who loved to laugh. Byron attended Walled Lake Central High School in Waterford Township, Michigan, graduating in 2006. According to his page on MySpace.com, dated April 12, 2007, Byron joined the U.S. Army in June, 2006. After boot camp, he was assigned to operations in Iraq. According to Fox news -and other news sources- massive numbers of U.S. troops (4,000 plus) have questioned hundreds of people in the quest to find the the missing American soldiers. An email from Byron
contained the following thought: To read the original
story as reported by Byron's home county news, Captured soldiers previosly confimed dead were: Pfc. Daniel W. Courneya, 19, of Vermontville; Sgt. 1st Class James D. Connell Jr., 40, of Lake City, Tennessee; Pfc. Christopher E. Murphy, 21, of Lynchburg, and most recently, Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, California. |
Byron had posted this picture on his MySpace page. > >  |
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