Recent 4th Brigade Widow Shares Her Army Pride in Tampa

The widow of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Sitton held their nine-month-old son Brodey at a news conference Wednesday afternoon in Tampa.

Sitton, 26, died Aug. 2 in Afghanistan; it was the third deployment for the Indian Rocks Christian School graduate.

Sarah Sitton wanted people to know of her continued support for the mission of the military and to let people know they are welcome at his funeral and to line the roadway when his body is transported back to Largo from MacDill Air Force Base.

Sarah smiled at times as she shared her admiration and love for her husband. Sitton loved being a sniper and a Ranger.

"I want people to know I still support the military ... I can't be angry at the military or anything. It is what he chose to do," Sarah said. "He wanted to be an American hero when he died."

Sarah got teary-eyed at other times and clutched a set of dog tags her husband made for her.  

"Every day is a new struggle. It feels like you are getting told every day what's happened. ... People ask me what I am going to do now. For now I am just getting by each day," Sarah said.

Sarah is still very patriotic. In 2009 the Sittons even got married on her favorite holiday, the Fourth of July. Sitton deployed most recently in February and was due back in September. On their last Skype conversation, the family was looking forward to being together. Sitton was especially excited about taking Brodey places like the zoo and the aquarium, Sarah said.

Sitton's battalion commander, Lt. Col. Ced Carrington, regarded him as "one of the battalion's most proficient and well-trained Leaders," . The bond he developed with his team serves as a testament to how much he was loved and respected by the Troopers who served beside him."