Maine soldier dies in Iraq blast

PORTLAND, Maine -- A soldier from the Army's 82d Airborne Division was killed in Iraq, reportedly while passing out candy to children, the victim's sister said yesterday.

Sergeant Jason Swiger of South Portland was one of four soldiers who left the protection of their Humvee to hand out candy to a group of Iraqi children when a suicide bomber on a scooter detonated an explosive, said Swiger's sister, Angelica Cole.

"He was just trying to make the world a better place," Cole said. "I have two small children, and he would talk about how he wanted it to be safer for them. In that situation, getting out of the Humvee to pass out candy, you could see him doing that."

The account of the death Sunday morning local time was relayed to the family by military officials, Cole said. The account could not be confirmed. The military declined yesterday to confirm Swiger's death.

Swiger, 24, was a 2000 graduate of South Portland High School who found his calling when he joined the Army, said principal Jeanne Crocker. He often returned to school in full military uniform to address a military history class.

"He walked tall and with great pride," Crocker said. "He was the epitome of a soldier, a person very proud to serve his country."

Swiger had wanted to join the Army since he was a boy and watched paratroopers training while visiting his uncle, a former member of the 82d Airborne, Cole said.

Swiger was on his third tour of duty in Iraq. "He was proud of what he was doing," his sister said. "He felt what he was doing had a purpose."

Swiger's mother, Valorie Swiger, was involved in a dispute in 2003 over where she could tie yellow ribbons to demonstrate her support for US troops serving in the Middle East.

The dispute prompted city officials to rescind permission they had given her to hang the ribbons from city buildings and telephone poles. The debate, which was expanded to other communities, centered over what the ribbons represented, support for US troops or support for the Iraq war.

At South Portland High School, the classrooms fell silent when Crocker informed students over the public address system of Swiger's death.

The high school yearbook shows a photo of a laughing, animated student with the nicknames Swag and The Joker underneath.

In addition to his mother and sister, Swiger leaves his wife, Allana, and four other siblings.

Valorie Swiger told Maine Public Radio that she was proud of her son.

"I can't be more proud," she said. "I can't be bitter. I can't change what has happened and try to make it something that it isn't. My son was very proud of what he did. He was most proud knowing that he was protecting us, us meaning America."

Despite the family's loss, Swiger's mother doesn't agree with efforts to bring the troops home earlier than anticipated. She said US soldiers should be allowed to finish the job they were sent to do, to secure and stabilize the country.

"If we bring them home sooner, I really feel that we would be putting more than just our military in harm's way," she said. "I fear for us, our safety here at home."

Swiger was the second South Portland High School graduate to be killed in Iraq this month. Marine Lance Corporal Angel Rosa, 21, died March 13 from injuries sustained in combat operations in the Anbar province.

Rosa, a 2004 graduate, was one of the students in the military history class that Swiger addressed.