SAPULPA -- Friends and family of a slain Oklahoma
soldier remembered him for his bright smile and unreserved
devotion to his wife and daughter, while honoring him Wednesday
as a fearless war hero.
The crowd that gathered in memory of 24-year-old Bryan
Quinton, an Army specialist who served in Iraq, overflowed the
300-seat sanctuary at the First United Methodist Church.
Quinton and another soldier were killed May 4 in Baghdad
when a bomb went off near their military vehicle. He served
with the 5th Engineer Battalion, 1st Engineer Brigade, out of
Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
During the service, Lt. James Smith, the battalion's rear
detachment commander, read letters from Quinton's fellow
soldiers in Iraq. They described him a "battle buddy" and a
fighter who refused to back down in the face of danger.
For fun and to learn, he often tried to take on soldiers
twice his size in wrestling matches, they wrote.
Quinton's older brother, Brent, described him in his youth
as a sweet-tempered mischief-maker who never stopped smiling.
"Bryan, you became better than me, you became tougher than
me," Brent Quinton said, overlooking the flag-draped casket.
"You will always be the brother I look up to."
Several of Quinton's friends recalled his devotion to his
wife, Cyndi, and their 3-year-old daughter, Pyper.
"His hobbies included singing, dancing, working on cars and
spending 99 percent of his time with his wife and daughter,"
the Rev. Steve Farmer said.
