Steven J. Walberg
Profile
Age: 18
From: Paradise, Calif.
Assigned to the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.
Incident: Army Pfc. Steven J. Walberg died April 15 in Baghdad of wounds sustained from enemy small-arms fire.
Died: April 15, 2007
Sierra foothills soldier killed by small-arms fire in Iraq
The Associated Press
PARADISE, Calif. � An 18-year-old soldier from Paradise, remembered by his high school counselor as a �deep thinker,� was killed April 15 by small arms fire in Baghdad, the Army said.
As a high school student, Steven Walberg-Riotto was active in his church youth group and excelled at math and physics.
�He was a quiet, very bright young man who liked to analyze things and enjoyed challenging himself with math and physics,� recalled Karen Olberg, his counselor at Pleasant Valley High School in Chico. �He liked trigonometry very much. He took advanced courses. I foresaw a bright future for him, perhaps as an engineer.�
But he always wanted to join the military. His aunt, Tammy Riotto, told the Chico Enterprise-Record that her nephew played soldier as a boy. Before enlisting, he trained by carrying heavy backpacks.
He was assigned to...