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Town mourns soldier killed in Humvee crash

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Friends and family members remembered a Broken Arrow soldier who died in an accident in Iraq on Christmas Eve as a chubby kid who lost weight to get into the Army.

Stephen Zapasnik, 19, and two fellow soldiers were killed after their Humvee crashed into a canal after a road collapse.

Friends and loved ones gathered Friday at Centennial Middle School in Broken Arrow to say goodbye to Zapasnik. A picture on his casket showed him in uniform, striking a funny pose. It was an image reflected by those who spoke of the teenager who attended Broken Arrow schools.

His brother, Chris Zapasnik, said he regrets he didn’t get the chance to tell his brother just how much he loved and admired him. He said his brother volunteered to man the machine gun on top of his Humvee, a dangerous job because the gunner is an exposed target in a firefight.

“Stephen didn’t have to be a turret gunner,” Chris Zapasnik said. “He is a true American hero.”

Chaplain Greg Bilbruck read e-mails Zapasnik’s family got after his death, including many from soldiers who served with him and their loved ones.

A woman who was married to Zapasnik’s sergeant wrote that she and her husband took him in like a younger brother.

One Thanksgiving, Zapasnik came to their home to eat, and the woman listened as he talked about losing 100 pounds to get into the Army. She then watched him eat several plates of food and pieces of pie, and joked with him that he would be 300 pounds again if he stayed at her house much longer.

“He was an outstanding soldier and a wonderful man,” the woman wrote. “I hope Zap knew how much he was loved.”

Bilbruck told the crowd that Zapasnik was following The Soldier’s Creed, an oath that Army soldiers live by. The creed states that a soldier places the mission first, never accepting defeat and never leaving a fallen comrade.

“That’s what he was doing ,” Bilbruck said. “He gave up his life for our freedom.”

Zapasnik will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.