Steven J. Chevalier
Sergeant First Class, United States Army
January 25, 1973 – July 9, 2008
Age – 35
Flint, MI
Operation Iraqi Freedom
2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Cambell, KY
Died of wounds sustained in Samarra, Iraq when his patrol was struck by a grenade
Army Sgt. 1st Class Steven J. Chevalier once hung up the phone in Iraq with tears in his eyes. When comrades asked him what was wrong, he answered “My daughter got straight A’s. She is smart.”
It was one of the times the tough acting platoon leader and married father of two daughters was caught baring his softer side.
In his memorial , the fallen soldier who was killed in a grenade attack in Iraq was remembered as “Chevy,” a great father both to his children and as his “platoon’s daddy. “He was the soldier who broke his wrist but refused to wear a cast because it didn’t allow him to hold his M-4 assault rifle — but who kept his daughters pictures by his bed and had learned how to perm their hair.
Behind that toughness, behind that smirk, lay a man few had a chance to see,” comrades said. His Army jacket shipped from Iraq hung up on display, next to a row of medals he’d earned — including the Purple Heart– and pictures of him graduating from Powers Catholic High School and doing the hair of daughters Ashley, 12, and Alishia, 8.
Close friend Yolanda Oliver said Chevalier always talked about taking care of the younger members of his platoon.
She read from a letter he had written her from Iraq but that she just received last week after his death. “They’re 18 and 19 and they need a father. I promised their families they’d come back home.”
Oliver said just days before he died he had said he may be getting an award but that “it was no big deal.” The description, which explained that Chevalier had earned a Bronze Star for demonstrating great leadership and his platoon helped capture more than 40 insurgents including the top insurgent financier in Samarra.
Chevalier also led his platoon on more than 30 raids throughout Samarra and the surrounding areas and on more than 450 combat patrols, as well as developing a model training program for young soldiers.
Chevalier, who was buried July 21 at Fort Benning Cemetery in Georgia, was also remembered for his love of the Wolverines, wrestling buddies and doing everything for Ashley and Alishia who “were the light of his life.”
“He really enjoyed the Army. I’m not mad at them for taking him,” said his teary-eyed mother Dorothy Carol Chevalier, as she hugged mourners. “He thought it was right to be over there and he believed in what he was doing.” I just wanted the world to know how amazing Steven was,” she said.
This was his third deployment in Iraq. His awards and decoration include, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal (6 awards); Army Achievement Medal (6 awards); Valorous Unit Award; Meritorious Unit Commendation; Army Good Conduct Medal (4 awards); National Defense Service Medal (2 awards); Korean Defense Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Humanitarian Service Medal; Noncommissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon (3 awards); Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Ribbon (3 awards); Combat Infantry Badge; Expert Infantry Badge; Parachutist Badge; Driver and Mechanic Badge; and Weapons Qualification, M4 expert.