Army Staff Sgt. Lawton was assigned to the 244th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, Grand Junction, Colorado. Lawton was in a convoy that was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade north of As Suaydat. Mark Evans moved to Colorado from Elkhart with his biological father at age 14 and his father threw him out of the house for misbehavior. He arrived on Lindean Lawton's doorstep as a troubled teen in need of direction and Lawton provided that, making such an impression that Evans adopted his last name. Once in his new home, Mark turned his life around. His schoolwork improved and he began running track. Mark graduated from Moffat County High School in Craig, Colorado in 1982, where he was a star athlete. After high school, he joined the Marines and served 14 years including the first Gulf War. In civilian life, Mark was a heavy equipment operator for a Colorado coal company. It was a few years after he got out of the Marines before Mark decided he wanted to join the Army Reserve. He needed the medical insurance, and they let him keep his rank; he thought he could help out. His battalion had been clearing rubble, building playgrounds and restoring irrigation in Iraq. The unit's primary mission is improving living conditions for 4th Infantry Division soldiers. Mark had volunteered for duty in Iraq, even though he was scheduled for an Army school that would have kept him stateside. His desire was that he could share his combat experience with younger, less experienced troops and make sure that each of his boys came home in one piece. Mark is survived by his wife, Sherri, and sons, 4 and 1.
Army Staff Sgt. Lawton was assigned to the 244th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, Grand Junction, Colorado. Lawton was in a convoy that was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade north of As Suaydat. Mark Evans moved to Colorado from Elkhart with his biological father at age 14 and his father threw him out of the house for misbehavior. He arrived on Lindean Lawton's doorstep as a troubled teen in need of direction and Lawton provided that, making such an impression that Evans adopted his last name. Once in his new home, Mark turned his life around. His schoolwork improved and he began running track. Mark graduated from Moffat County High School in Craig, Colorado in 1982, where he was a star athlete. After high school, he joined the Marines and served 14 years including the first Gulf War. In civilian life, Mark was a heavy equipment operator for a Colorado coal company. It was a few years after he got out of the Marines before Mark decided he wanted to join the Army Reserve. He needed the medical insurance, and they let him keep his rank; he thought he could help out. His battalion had been clearing rubble, building playgrounds and restoring irrigation in Iraq. The unit's primary mission is improving living conditions for 4th Infantry Division soldiers. Mark had volunteered for duty in Iraq, even though he was scheduled for an Army school that would have kept him stateside. His desire was that he could share his combat experience with younger, less experienced troops and make sure that each of his boys came home in one piece. Mark is survived by his wife, Sherri, and sons, 4 and 1.
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