Brett A. Walton dies of injuries from I.E.D.

A 37-year-old Portland soldier was killed Monday evening when a roadside bomb hit the Humvee he was driving in Baghdad, a spokeswoman for the Oregon National Guard reported late Thursday.

Army Pfc. Brett Andre Walton died less than a month after he was sent to the Middle East, spokeswoman Kay Fristad said.

Walton, a graduate of Grant High School, was a driver for Airgas Inc. in Portland before entering the Army on Sept. 13, Fristad said. He was deployed to Iraq on March 10.

He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division out of Fort Collins, Colo.

Survivors include his wife, Lindsay, and 5-year-old daughter, Sydney. They moved to Sherwood to be closer to his wife's family after Walton joined the Army, Fristad said.

He also is survived by his father, Phillip Walton of Portland; mother, Cassandra Phillips of Tigard; sisters, Cheryl and Kathleen; and brother, John.

A memorial service is being planned at the Solid Rock Church in Tigard, followed by interment at Willamette National Cemetery.

From the Oregonian