Lacey family mourns loss of Fort Lewis soldier

Fort Lewis soldier dies in vehicle accident in Mosul

By Diane Huber | The Olympian • Published July 18, 2008

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LACEY – The widow of Staff Sgt. David Textor, a Fort Lewis soldier killed this week in Iraq, said he will be remembered as a devoted father of five and a dedicated soldier.

"He wanted to fight for his country and fight for his children. That was his main motivation," Colette Textor said at their Lacey home.

David Textor, 27, was killed Tuesday in a vehicle accident in Mosul, the U.S. military announced Thursday. He was in Iraq as a weapons sergeant with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group.

Textor enjoyed family activities, including camping, going to the park, bike riding and taking walks, his wife said.

He coached youth soccer while the family lived in North Carolina, and he planned to resume coaching locally when he returned from Iraq, she said.

"He was a wonderful person. He was an awesome father. He loved spending time with me and the kids," she said. "We like to watch movies together. He would play with all the action figure toys with the boys."

The children, three of whom the couple had together, range from age 1 to 14. "He always said, if we ever won the lottery, he would have six more," she said.

Textor deployed in May, his first deployment to the Middle East, the command news release said.

Three other soldiers were injured in the accident that killed Textor, said Lt. Gen. Robert Wagner, commanding general of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, speaking Wednesday at the 1st Special Forces Group headquarters at Fort Lewis.

A Special Operations Command spokesman said Thursday that the incident was under investigation and that the command doesn't release information about wounded or injured soldiers.

Textor is the fifth soldier from 1st Group to be killed in Iraq and the 200th from Fort Lewis to be killed while deployed worldwide since Sept. 11, 2001.

Textor played football, wrestled and ran track in high school in Randolph, N.Y., where he grew up, and joined the Army in 2002. He was an infantryman with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, before winning a spot in November 2006 in the Special Forces, which are specially trained in combat.

In addition to his wife and children, he is survived by his father of Pine City, Minn.; his mother and stepfather of Roanoke, Va.; and five sisters. Funeral services haven't been scheduled.

The News Tribune contributed to this report. Diane Huber covers education and features for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-357-0204 or dhuber@theolympian.com.