Staff Sgt. David W. Textor, 27, was in Iraq as a weapons sergeant with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group.

Three other soldiers were injured in the accident, according to Lt. Gen. Robert Wagner, commander of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, speaking Wednesday at the 1st Special Forces Group headquarters at Fort Lewis.

Textor lived in Lacey with his wife, Colette, and their five children, the command said in a news release. He was originally from Jamestown, N.Y.

“He wanted to fight for his country and fight for his children. That was his main motivation,” Colette Textor told The Olympian newspaper in a telephone interview.

Textor enjoyed family activities, including camping, going to the park, bike riding and taking walks, his wife said. He coached youth soccer while the family lived in North Carolina, and he planned to resume coaching locally when he returned from Iraq, she said.

“He was a wonderful person. He was an awesome father. He loved spending time with me and the kids,” she said. “We liked to watch movies together. He would play with all the action figure toys with the boys.”

The children, including two from previous marriages, range from age 1 to 14.

“He always said, if we ever won the lottery, he would have six more,” she said.

Textor went to Iraq in May, his first deployment, the news release said.

He is the fifth soldier from 1st Group to be killed in Iraq, and the 200th from Fort Lewis to be killed while deployed worldwide since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

It’s been more than a month since the local Army post lost a soldier in the war zone.

The last was a 21-year-old Ranger who was shot and killed during combat operations in northern Iraq on June 9.

Textor played football, wrestled and ran track in high school, and joined the Army in 2002.

He was an infantryman with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, before winning a spot in the Special Forces in November 2006.

In addition to his wife and children, he is survived by his parents and five sisters.

Michael Gilbert: 253-597-8921

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