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JChristin
03-30-03, 10:44 PM
Letter arrives from killed Portland soldier
03/30/2003

By kgw.com and AP Staff


Gregory Stone made sure his sons knew he loved them, and a letter to that effect arrived two days after his death in Kuwait.


Stone, 40, who was raised in Portland, was one of three soldiers with Oregon ties to die in the war with Iraq and one of the first confirmed American losses after grenades were tossed into command tents of the 101st Airborne in Kuwait a week ago.


"It was good," 11-year-old Alex said about his father's letter, which arrived Thursday. "At the end he said he would be back and that we'd go to Universal Studios."


The letters, along with other mementos saved by Alex and 7-year-old Joshua, are among the treasures that will help them remember their father, his ex-wife, Tonya Stone, said Friday.


Alex has started what he calls his "special drawer" inside the family's home to collect things that remind him of his dad.


Gregg and Tonya Stone had been married for 11 years when they divorced in 2000, she said.


Stone's family members are now waiting for his body to be returned from Kuwait. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia in mid-April. A memorial service is planned next Saturday at Boise, Idaho's First United Methodist Church.


Tonya Stone said the shock of his death Tuesday has been especially strong because of the circumstances that caused his injury. Another officer was killed and 14 others injured in the attack. Army Sgt. Asan Akbar is in custody following the attack.


Before Stone was deployed in early March, he talked with Alex and Joshua about his safety and assured them he would do everything possible to protect himself from harm. He showed his combat gear to his children, and Alex tried on his father's bulletproof vest, the boys' mother said.


"It's really hard to realize what a loss they have, because they love him so much and I hate to have them lose that," Tonya said.


(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)