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Tucson Soldier Killed in Iraq

     A Tucson man is one of the latest soldiers killed in Iraq.  Sgt. Sean Cataudella died last week when the Humvee he was driving hit an embankment and overturned in a canal in Ba'qubah, Iraq.  Two other soldiers escaped with minor injuries but Cataudella was trapped and drowned, "He was my only son," says Sean's dad, Sal Cataudella. He and his wife, Connie, got the news their only son died just a day after receiving a letter from him, "He told me about some of the stuff he was doing," says Sal, "but the one thing that stuck with me he says most of the time I stay by the truck and give candy to the kids. The rest of the time we chase around the idiots with AK-47's who are shooting their guns up into the air."

     Sean Cataudella graduated from Rincon High School in 1994.  Shortly after graduation he joined the U.S. Army rising through the ranks becoming a sergeant in the 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division based at Fort Hood, Texas.  He was a scout and his dad says it's a dangerous job that put his son on the front lines, "He took on one of the hardest jobs in the military.  You don't earn your spurs by sitting still and he earned his spurs."

     Sean and his wife Naomi had three kids together including a six week old boy Sean never got to see in person. Alex, his only daughter, is just seven years old, "I don't know how she's going to take it," says Sal, "she was daddy's little girl big time."  Sean's mom, Connie, says her son was very inquisitive even as a baby, "He took his high chair apart at 11 months old with a Phillips screwdriver. He took a little car apart he had at 18 months but he couldn't put it back together either so I had to do it for him."

     Now Sal and Connie are trying to put back together the shattered pieces of their hearts as they prepare for their only son's funeral, "He loved this country," says Sal as he fights back the tears.