Father of fallen Nevada soldier shares memories

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CARSON CITY — The father of 23-year-old Army Sgt. Anthony J. Schober broke down Friday while expressing his love for his son, who died a week ago when his Humvee burned in a pre-dawn ambush by militants in Iraq.

"I met Anthony for the first time when he was 2 and I was dating his mom," Edward Schober said during a news conference at the Nevada National Guard Armory in Carson City. "The first thing he did is wrap his arms around my neck and call me ‘Dad.’ I adopted him at age 5."

Schober spoke of how proud he had been when his son called him last January and said he had been appointed to the rank of sergeant. He reenlisted last year in the Army and was serving his third tour of duty in Iraq at the time of his death.

Initial Department of Defense reports indicated Anthony Schober may have been one of three soldiers captured during the May 12 ambush. Family members were told Thursday evening that DNA tests showed he was one of four soldiers killed in the attack, 20 miles south of Baghdad.

His status was changed Friday from "whereabouts unknown" to "killed in action," Army officials said.

"At age 17 he came to me and said he wanted to join the Army," Edward Schober said Friday. "He was affected by the 9/11 incident. I asked him whether he was sure about this. He said yes, so I signed the papers (to let him enlist as a minor). When he came home from basic training he had changed, from a boy to a man."

Schober spoke surrounded by family members, including his 19-year-old daughter, Jessica. She could not be consoled during the 15-minute news conference. Her father said Anthony had been her hero.

Anthony Schober’s birth mother, Roberta, did not attend the news conference. National Guard officials said she was on the premises and initially wanted to attend but decided against making an appearance at the last moment. She and Edward are divorced.

The Department of Defense listed Anthony Schober’s residence as Reno. Members of the Schober family, however, live in Carson City and said the sergeant considers that his hometown.

Anthony Schober enlisted in the Army in 2001 after receiving his GED diploma while attending the Job Corps in Reno. He spent a total of two years and four months in Iraq, including the past 10 months.

Previously the family lived in Gardnerville, and Anthony Schober attended Douglas High School for two years.

Robert Schober, the slain soldier’s uncle, said the family hopes to have a funeral at a large church where many people can attend. The soldier’s remains already are in the United States.

Gov. Jim Gibbons called Schober one of the nation’s "true heroes" and ordered the flags at the state Capitol flown at half-staff.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who as Senate majority leader has called for a responsible end to the war and described President Bush’s troop surge as a failed strategy, issued a statement regarding Schober’s death.

"This is a tragedy," Reid said about Schober, the 50th U.S. military personnel with ties to Nevada to die overseas in the nation’s wars on terrorism.

"Sergeant Schober served our country with honor, and the news of his death saddens us all in Nevada and across the nation," he said.

Meanwhile, in the fertile farming region in Iraq known as the "triangle of death" where the attack occurred, a massive search continued for the three missing soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, N.Y.

Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops have been scouring the countryside, even draining canals, in hopes of finding the three: Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass.; Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, Calif.; and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich.

The effort has focused on Quarghuli village, where the 10th Mountain Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team has been leading the search.

"The brigade has been constantly searching for the soldiers since their abduction," Col. Michael Kershaw, the combat team’s commander, said in a statement early Friday out of Yusufiyah, Iraq.

"The families back home need to know that we are not going to stop searching for the soldiers until they are found," Kershaw said.

"Everyone is motivated and knows the importance of finding the soldiers," he said. "They all take pride in this brigade and their fellow soldiers. … It is in the soldiers’ creed to never leave a fallen comrade."

Maj. Rob Griggs, battalion operations officer for the 31st Infantry Regiment, said he hopes tips from Iraqis will lead them closer to the soldiers.