Tavarus D Setzler- OurWarHeroes.org - Tribute sites by Q Madp

Tavarus Danard Setzler

Jacksonville, Florida

October 2, 2008

Age

Military

Rank

Unit/Location

Army

Pfc

2d Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division

Fort Hood, Texas

Killed when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in Majar al Kabir, Iraq.

Army Pfc. Setzler was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. He died of wounds sustained when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in Majar al Kabir. Tavarus graduated in 2005 from Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, Florida, where he was a member of the ROTC. He was an outstanding student who was motivated, dedicated and very well disciplined. After graduation he went to work for Washington Mutual Bank but wanted to get out, see the world and do something positive with his life. In November, 2007, Tavarus joined the Army and deployed to Iraq in June. His awards and decorations include the Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.

From The Killeen Daily Herald kdhnews.com 06/20/09:

1st Cavalry's 4th Brigade Combat team honors FALLEN at memorial

Posted: Saturday, June 20, 2009 12:00 pm | Updated: 8:10 am, Thu Aug 16, 2012.
Amanda Kim Stairrett The Killeen Daily Herald | 0 comments
By Amanda Kim Stairrett
Killeen Daily Herald
FORT HOOD – Aurora Fernandez looked at the rows and rows of soldiers in front of her and realized her son would have been right there among them.
Instead they stood at parade rest in her son's and four others' memories.
The 1st Cavalry Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team honored five soldiers from their ranks who died during the last year in Iraq. The brigade recently returned to Fort Hood from the Middle East and honored the five fallen soldiers during a ceremony by the division's Operation Iraqi Freedom Memorial.
The names will be permanently etched into the memorial's black granite walls once the rest of the division returns from Iraq early next year.
"They are now part of a long line of patriots – no, heroes – heroes who answered a nation's call and selflessly fought for the freedoms that too many take for granted," said Col. Philip Battaglia, the brigade's commander.
Sgt. Reuben Marcus Fernandez III died Oct. 11 when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in Majar Al Kabir, Iraq. The 22-year-old was an infantryman with Headquarters Company, 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment.
Pfc. Tavarus Danard Setzler was a 22-year-old combat engineer who died Oct. 2 of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered a roadside bomb in the same area. He served with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry.
Pvt. Charles Yi Barnett died Nov. 20 of injuries from a non-combat-related incident in Tallil, Iraq. He was a 19-year-old combat engineer with Echo Company.
The two other soldiers honored Friday were assigned to engineer companies attached to the brigade. They were Staff Sgt. Sean D. Diamond of the 610th Engineer Support Company, 14th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade, Fort Lewis, Wash.; and Sgt. 1st Class George Stanciel of the 370th Engineer Company, 54th Engineer Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade, Bamberg, Germany.
The Fernandez and Setzler families attended Friday's ceremony and Battaglia encouraged the soldiers to talk with them about the impact their loved ones had on their lives.
Aurora, who was accompanied by several family members, including Reuben's younger sister, Stephanie, heard from Reuben's buddies that he was fun – a character.
They told her that it was different without him around and how greatly he was missed.
"It's just an honor to see them all out there," Aurora said of the soldiers. "I'm taken aback.
"It's like he's right there and I just see the impact that he made on so many lives. It's just touching."
Looking at the formation, Aurora said her mind started to wander and she thought, "My son should be there in the middle."
But, he died doing what he wanted to do, she added. He was in middle school when he first talked about joining the military. They lived in Abilene and Aurora thought for sure Reuben would join the Air Force. He told her one night, as she stood in the kitchen, that he would soon enlist in the Army.
"Not now," she told him. She knew the first thing the Army would do was send her son to Iraq.
"Mom, why do you think I'm doing it," he replied. "I believe in it."
Reuben was such a hero from the get go, Aurora said Friday.

From Tampa Bay Sarasota 10 Neqws CBS wtsp.com 10/10/08:

Soldier's remains to arrive at Naval Air Station
3:33 PM, Oct 10, 2008
By Jim Peppard

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — 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.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

From WTVY 4 TV wtvy.com 10/07/08:

Florida Soldier Killed in Iraq

Updated: Tue 12:01 PM, Oct 07, 2008
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) - A 23-year-old Fort Hood soldier has died
in Iraq.

The U.S. Department of Defense said Monday that Army Pfc. Tavarus D. Setzler, of Jacksonville, Fla., died Thursday when his vehicle struck an explosive in Majar al-Kabir.

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

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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.’”