Maj. Stuart Anderson

ANDERSON

Posted By: Cheryl Locher Moonen (email)
Date: 12/30/2015 at 14:21:50

Maj. Stuart Anderson: Deceased reservist praised Several people say the Peosta soldier who died in Iraq was a great family man

An American flag flew at half-staff Tuesday at Western Dubuque High School in honor of a Peosta, Iowa, soldier who was killed Saturday in Iraq.

"He was just a wonderful man," said Rose Meisch, a school counselor for the Western Dubuque School District, of Maj. Stuart Anderson. "He cared for his family. They were first in his life."

Anderson's wife, Tori, and daughters, Kirsten and Keely, are well-liked and respected in the Peosta area.

Anderson, 44, was attached to the U.S. Army Reserve's 3rd Support Command. He was on his second tour of duty in the Gulf region when the Black Hawk helicopter he was flying in went down Saturday in northern Iraq. Family members reported that funeral services are pending.

Anderson's father, Claremont, of Hoffman, Minn., said he and his wife, Nancy, saw the report of the crash but didn't know whether it involved their son until Tori called to share the news Sunday night. Stuart Anderson grew up in Minnesota.

John Hlubek, WD High School principal, said he received an American flag last Wednesday from Stuart Anderson. A note explained the flag flew at a forward operating base in Mosul, Iraq. It also had flown over an American embassy. It was a gift to the school that Keely attends. Hlubek arrived at school Monday and learned that Anderson was killed in the helicopter crash.

"It gave me sort of an eerie feeling," Hlubek said. "I felt sad for the family."

Kirsten Anderson is a fifth-grader at the district's Peosta Elementary School. Meisch reported she and Stuart Anderson kept in contact while he was in Iraq.

"He wanted to make sure her homework was being done," Meisch said. "He was an awesome dad. His kids loved him."

Phil Kramer, Peosta Elementary School principal, described Anderson as a "really great dad" who was active in the school community. He recalled last year that Anderson did a school presentation on Iraq.

"He was a willing volunteer," Kramer said. "If we needed anything, he was there."

Kramer noted Anderson's efforts to help install playground equipment on school grounds.

"He was the first one there and the last to leave," Kramer said. "He was devoted to helping kids. He was a good dad who had a real special bond with his daughters."

Kramer remembered a light side to Anderson.

"He was fun," Kramer said. "He was a talker. He liked to joke around and laugh. In a group of people he definitely stood out as the life of the party."

Tim Showalter, principal of Drexler Middle School in Farley knew Anderson as a parent who was active in his daughter's activities. Keely attended Drexler.

"He was one of those dads who was always attended parent-teacher conferences," Showalter said. "One the first things that comes to mind is all the times I would see this dad at school - and it was certainly never about disciplinary things. He was an involved dad. You couldn't ask for a whole lot more."

Casey Bryant, a high school guidance counselor, said the school community "is doing the best we can to support the family during a very difficult time."

Anderson's parents are mourning the death in Hoffman, a small community in west-central Minnesota. Anderson grew up and graduated from high school in Benson, Minn., 45 miles from Hoffman.

"He loved to talk," Claremont Anderson told KSTP-TV, of St. Paul, Minn. "And he was an avid family man."

Anderson was a graduate of North Dakota State University, in Fargo, N.D. Anderson, a welder, would have been home this fall, his family said.

Lt. Col. Janice Higuera, an Army Reserve casualty assistance officer, said Anderson's family in Peosta declined comment.

U.S. military officials said the UH-60 Black Hawk crashed just before midnight Saturday about seven miles east of Tal Afar, a northern city near the Syrian border that has seen heavy fighting with insurgents. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Johnson did not say what caused the crash.

Claremont Anderson said he went numb when he learned of his son's death. He reminded himself that thousands of other American families were in the same position of grief.

"I'm so proud of all of them," he said, then took a long pause. "But it's the price we pay for freedom."

Stuart Anderson had served in Kuwait and Iraq on his first tour to the Middle East.

"He was real enthusiastic the first time he went over there," Claremont Anderson said. "This time, the joy was kinda out of it. He knew he had to go because of honor, but the novelty had worn off."

Claremont Anderson said his son was doing what he wanted to do.

"He was very proud of being in the military. He just loved it," his father said.

- The Associated Press contributed

Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA) - Wednesday, January 11, 2006