Pfc. Travis W. Anderson, who died at age 28 in an attack Friday near Baiji, Iraq, devoted himself to the wide-open country in the Alamosa valley, relishing endless hours of hunting small game.
Services are tentatively planned for Sunday at Hooper Elementary School.
The second-oldest of five children, Anderson grew up in a rural area where everyone shares a common area code and telephone prefix.
He attended school in Mosca and lived in Hooper. Both are tiny, windswept towns known by their proximity to valley landmarks – the Great Sand Dunes National Park, the UFO viewing platform and the enterprising tilapia fish farm whose waste-disposal system – a congregation of alligators – does double duty as a tourist attraction.
As a child, Anderson caught and skinned mice, pegging their hides to dry. He became a capable hunter, bringing down rabbits that he learned to dress and cook, and also hunted coyotes widely regarded in the area as a pest.
His maternal grandmother, Violet Freel, affectionately called Anderson an “ornery boy.” His older sister, Toscha Alcorte, described her burly 6-foot-4 brother as more football player than scholar.
He dropped out during his senior year of high school and spent several years on the ranch, where his uncle, Doug Freel, raised cattle and grew hay and potatoes.
One morning in 2003, Anderson’s cousins found him lying on the ground, too ill to move. Doctors diagnosed hantavirus, the potentially deadly pulmonary disease transmitted by infected rodents.
He spent a week in a New Mexico hospital, surrounded by dozens of relatives and friends who made the long drive from Hooper to Albuquerque to see him.
“He’d always had a complex about if people liked him,” Alcorte said. “Well, hundreds of people showed up at the hospital. We all thought that if he could survive that, he could survive anything.”
While recuperating, Anderson earned his GED and enlisted in the Army. After boot camp in Fort Stewart, Ga., he was assigned to the Army’s 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.
Celebrating Christmas at home before his deployment that year, Anderson played soldier to the hilt. He replied to questions with “Yes, drill sergeant” and impulsively dropped to do 20 pushups throughout his leave.
“He loved the military,” Alcorte said. “Loved every minute of it.”
Survivors include his mother, Barbara Anderson of Hooper; grandmother Violet Freel of Hooper; sisters Toscha Alcorte of Fairbanks, Alaska, Billie May Anderson of Odessa, Texas, and Amanda Lisa Anderson of Hooper; and brother Cody “Buddy” Anderson of Alamosa.
Staff writer Claire Martin can be reached at 303-820-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com.
