William L Payne
Profile
Age: 46
From: Otsego, Mich.
Assigned to 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, Fort Riley, Kan.
Incident: Army Master Sgt. William L. Payne was killed in an accidental ordnance explosion in Haswah, Iraq.
Died: May 16, 2003
When a war in Iraq became likely, Master Sgt. William L. Payne put off his retirement because of a sense of duty to the men who served under him.
Payne, who first joined the Army shortly after graduating from Otsego (Mich.) High School in 1975, was killed May 16 when ordnance exploded as he examined it.
Payne would have had 25 years of military service in September, said his stepmother, Beverly Payne. He was preparing to retire, but decided to wait. “He felt that he should go over there with his men that he worked with so long,” she said.
Payne was the oldest of four siblings, including a brother and two sisters, his stepmother said. He is also survived by his wife, Karin, whom he met in Germany; two sons, John, 21, and Nicholas, 14; and his...