5th GRP KIA

[troy2k]

Army major based at Fort Campbell killed in IraqWSMV-TVJune 17, 2004 -
LAKE ZURICH, Ill. (AP) -- A decorated
U.S. Army major from northern Illinois who was scheduled to return
shortly from Iraq has been killed, his
family said.

Army Maj. Paul Syverson III, 32, was killed in action Wednesday, said
his mother, Joy Syverson. He was
assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group, based at Fort Campbell, Ky.

"Everything is so hard," she said Wednesday, hours after hearing the
news from an Army major who visited the
family's house in Lake Zurich. "I'm going to have an emptiness in my
heart for the rest of my life."

Paul Syverson grew up in Arlington Heights and graduated from John
Hersey High School in 1989. He graduated
from the Virginia Military Institute in 1993, Joy Syverson said.

"His whole life, from the time he was a child, he was interested in our
country," she said. "He followed his
heart. That's where he always wanted to be, he always wanted to serve
the country."

Officials at the Department of Defense declined to comment Thursday. A
telephone message left at the public
affairs office at Fort Campbell was not immediately returned.

Paul Syverson had been promoted to the rank of major on April 29, Joy
Syverson said. He was awarded the Purple
Heart and Bronze Star for helping put down a November 2001 prison
revolt in Afghanistan, she said.

Paul Syverson was scheduled to return home in two weeks, Joy Syverson
said.

"He was supposed to be home," she said. "We were going to see him on
the Fourth of July."

He is survived by his parents, a wife, Jackie, a son, Paul, 7, and a
daughter, Amy Elizabeth, 2 months.

Charles Venegoni, an English teacher at John Hersey High School,
remembered Paul Syverson as "a good-natured
kid" who worked hard for his grades.

"He was a quiet kid who was always smiling," Venegoni said.

Paul Syverson also played on the high school football team that won the
state championship in 1987. A memorial
service has been scheduled for Tuesday in Kentucky.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)