Sapulpa Soldier Remembered For His Smile

SAPULPA, Okla. (AP) -- Friends and family of an Oklahoma soldier killed in Iraq remembered him Wednesday in Sapulpa for his bright smile and devotion to his wife and daughter.<br/><br/>The overflow crowd

Wednesday, May 17th 2006, 6:01 am

By: News On 6

SAPULPA, Okla. (AP) -- Friends and family of an Oklahoma soldier killed in Iraq remembered him Wednesday in Sapulpa for his bright smile and devotion to his wife and daughter.

The overflow crowd in the 300-seat First United Methodist Church gathered in memory of 24-year-old Army Specialist Bryan Quinton.

Quinton and another soldier died May 4th in Baghdad when a bomb went off near their military vehicle. He served with the Fifth Engineer Battalion, First Engineer Brigade, at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

Letters from Quinton's fellow soldiers described him as a "battle buddy" and a fighter who refused to back down while his brother Brent described him as a sweet-tempered mischief-maker who never stopped smiling.

And friends remembered him as being a devoted husband and father who spent 99 percent of his time with his wife Cyndi and 3-year-old daughter Pyper.

He also has a 4 year old son from a previous marriage.