Small American flags and yellow ribbons line the sidewalk at the Montrose home of Chris and Judy Sitton. They lead to the door that two soldiers knocked on Saturday to bring the news that the Sittons’ son, Army Spec. Chris Sitton, had been killed in Afghanistan.
Chris Sitton’s friends in an adventure-based Boy Scouts troop called the Venture Crew placed the flags and ribbons there Sunday to honor a young man who was an exemplary Eagle Scout, a star track runner, a talented trumpet player, an aspiring physician’s assistant and, in the words of one close friend, “a glowing personality.”
Chris Sitton died Saturday, 19 days after he turned 21. He was in a supply convoy that was hit by an explosive device.
“He was 100 percent proud and 100 percent motivated,” his father, Steve Sitton, said between bursts of weeping. “He was totally dedicated to what he was doing.”
Chris Sitton served in the 10th Mountain Division as a medic and had been stationed in Afghanistan since March. He told his parents he had been working a lot with children there. He also told them he had been stitching up other soldiers who had been injured by roadside bombs.
He had earned three commander’s coins – medals quietly given out for exemplary duty – including one handed to him by a four-star general.
Sitton called his mother a week ago and said he was looking forward to coming home next spring so he could work at a summer camp for Boy Scouts and then get on to college and a medical career.
His interest in medicine began when he was growing up in Quinlan, Texas, and going out on emergency calls with his father, a volunteer with a rescue group.
When the Sittons moved to Montrose in Chris’ sophomore year of high school, his father said the move was tough, but his 6-foot-2-inch, 175-pound son quickly adapted by becoming a lifeguard and joining the track team. He qualified for state competition in two events as a junior and four as a senior, and earned enough respect from his coach for his mentoring as well as his athletic abilities that a picture of him walking with a younger teammate hangs on the coach’s wall.
Friend Sarah Ackerman remembers Sitton as “a human jungle gym.”
“He was amazing with kids. They just gravitated to him,” said Ackerman, a senior at Regis University in Denver.
She said adults also were drawn to Sitton.
“He had the biggest Texas smile and the biggest bear hugs.
“His light just radiated everywhere.”
Staff writer Nancy Lofholm can be reached at 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com.
