Spc. Stephan L. Mace, R.I.P.

Name: Army Spc. Stephan L. Mace

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Age: 21

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From: Lovettsville, Va.

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Assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

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Incident: Army Spc. Stephan L. Mace died Oct. 3 in Kamdesh, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his contingency outpost with small arms, rocket-propelled grenade and indirect fires. Also killed were Sgt. Justin T. Gallegos, Spc. Christopher T. Griffin, Sgt. Joshua M. Hardt, Sgt. Joshua J. Kirk, Staff Sgt. Vernon W. Martin, Sgt. Michael P. Scusa and Pfc. Kevin C. Thomson.

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Died: October 03, 2009

(From nvdaily.com)WINCHESTER -- A local couple are mourning the loss of their son, a U.S. Army soldier killed Saturday in Afghanistan.

Spc. Stephan L. Mace, 21, of Lovettsville, was one of eight soldiers who died when enemy forces attacked their outpost in the village of Kamdesh with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, the U.S. Department of Defense stated this week.

Mace and the other seven soldiers died during fighting in the Nuristan Province, Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, with the U.S. Army media affairs office, said Thursday.

The soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, at Fort Carson, Colo., according to information from the base's Web site.

Mace's parents, Larry and Deb Mace, live just west of Winchester in Frederick County.

His mother said by phone Thursday morning that she wanted to tell people about their son and that he's "not a number." She said she and her husband have taken their son's death hard.

Information from the Fort Carson media affairs office indicates Mace listed Lovettsville, a town in northern Loudoun County near Purcellville, as his home of record.

Leesburg Today reported Tuesday that flags flew at half-staff in Purcellville as the community mourned Mace's death. The newspaper said Mace attended Loudoun Valley High School from 2003 to 2005, and later received his GED.

Mace entered the Army on Jan. 17, 2008, and joined the 4th Brigade Combat Team on June 18, 2008, according to the base's media relations office. Mace was deployed to Afghani-stan on May 22.

Mace received numerous awards, including a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, a National Defense Service Medal, an Afghanistan Campaign Medal with
campaign star, a Global War on Terrorism Medal, NATO Medal, an Army Service Ribbon and a Combat Action Badge.

Mace is one of several soldiers with local ties who have died in action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Marine Lance Cpl. David Edward Owens Jr., 20, of Frederick County, died in Iraq in April 2003. The James Wood High School graduate became the first Shenandoah Valley resident killed in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. Craig W. Cherry and Sgt. Bobby E. Beasley, two Winchester-based members of the Virginia Army National Guard, were killed in Afghanistan on Aug. 7, 2004. Beasley, 36, and Cherry, 39, were infantrymen assigned to the Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, and died when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle while on patrol in eastern Afghanistan.

Army Pfc. Thomas R. Wilson, 21, of Maurertown, died in August 2007 in Afghanistan while serving with the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.

He attended Central High School in Shenandoah County.