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Family mourns soldier's death

By Venice Buhain | The Olympian • Published March 17, 2007

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Cpl. Brian L. Chevalier, 21, was a problem-solver and a father who loved serving in the Army and planned to re-enlist, his family in Ohio said.

Chevalier, stationed with the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), died March 14 in Iraq after an explosive device struck the armored Stryker vehicle he was in, the Department of Defense reported Friday. The nine others in the vehicle were injured.

"He was here in September and he was telling us that Iraq wasn't all bad things. He said there were good things happening in Iraq," his stepmother, April Pennington of Crooksville, Ohio, said Friday. She said she and her stepson were close even though "stepmoms aren't 'cool.' "

"He was an outgoing boy," she said. "A problem-solver. Never got in trouble."

Chevalier grew up in Athens, Ga., with his mother, Jane "Fonda" Segar, but the majority of his family is in Ohio, Pennington said. He had nine uncles from the state, and he was close to both of his parents, she said.

"He and his dad looked almost like twins," she said.

Chevalier, who was divorced, also had a 5-year-old daughter, Taylor, his stepmother said.

Chevalier enlisted in the Army in August 2005 and arrived at Fort Lewis in January 2006, said Fort Lewis spokesman Bob Reinert. The 3rd Brigade left for Iraq last summer.

The Associated Press reported from Baqouba, Iraq, that the armored Stryker vehicle that Chevalier was in had been struck by an improvised explosive device, and insurgents emerged from hiding to fire rocket-propelled grenades in unison at the wreckage. The nine other crew members in the vehicle were wounded; six later returned to duty, according to the AP.

Capt. Matt James, Chevalier's former company commander, said the young soldier showed uncommon maturity even when he arrived at the unit.

Chevalier enlisted in the Army after trying other jobs and loved it, Pennington said.

"He wanted more out of his life," she said. "He wanted to make everybody proud, and he did."