A year after receiving his high school equivalency diploma, Stephen A. Castellano enlisted in the Army. "He saw [the Army] as a steppingstone to some things," said his mother, Susan Moncure of Long Beach. "He talked about getting back into college and becoming an officer." Four days shy of his birthday, Castellano, 20, died Jan. 28 in Mosul, Iraq, of what the Department of Defense said was a noncombat-related injury. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Castellano, who had been in Iraq for a year, was scheduled to return to the United States in mid-January. His rotation was extended a month, however, because of security needs for the recent Iraqi elections, Army officials said. During their last phone conversation, three weeks before he died, Moncure said her son seemed serene. Rather than discuss everyday hardships, she said, he talked mostly about God. "He told me he was reading
Psalms," she said. "That he was going to church."
Castellano enlisted in the Army in February 2003, a year after getting a high school equivalency diploma from
Long Beach City College, Moncure said.
Psalms," she said. "That he was going to church."
Castellano enlisted in the Army in February 2003, a year after getting a high school equivalency diploma from
Long Beach City College, Moncure said.
A year after receiving his high school equivalency diploma, Stephen A. Castellano enlisted in the Army. "He saw [the Army] as a steppingstone to some things," said his mother, Susan Moncure of Long Beach. "He talked about getting back into college and becoming an officer." Four days shy of his birthday, Castellano, 20, died Jan. 28 in Mosul, Iraq, of what the Department of Defense said was a noncombat-related injury. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Castellano, who had been in Iraq for a year, was scheduled to return to the United States in mid-January. His rotation was extended a month, however, because of security needs for the recent Iraqi elections, Army officials said. During their last phone conversation, three weeks before he died, Moncure said her son seemed serene. Rather than discuss everyday hardships, she said, he talked mostly about God. "He told me he was reading
Psalms," she said. "That he was going to church."
Castellano enlisted in the Army in February 2003, a year after getting a high school equivalency diploma from
Long Beach City College, Moncure said.
Psalms," she said. "That he was going to church."
Castellano enlisted in the Army in February 2003, a year after getting a high school equivalency diploma from
Long Beach City College, Moncure said.
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