Clay County soldier dies in Afghanistan

Gregory Stultz

Clay County is mourning the loss of one of its own.

On Friday, Marine Cpl. Gregory Scott Stultz was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan. He was 22-years-old.

Cpl. Stultz is the first soldier from Clay County to die in the War on Terror and the first soldier from Clay County to die during combat in more than 30 years.

According to Brazil Concert Band Director Matt Huber and American Legion Post 2 member Wayne Parkins, the last county soldier to die in combat was Gary Boyce, who died Jan. 1, 1973, during the Vietnam War.

In addition, former Brazil Times Editor Jim Dressler told The Times former Air Force pilot David Eberly was shot down during the Gulf War in Iraq and was captured before eventually being released.

According to information from www.facebook.com, where a page was set up honoring Cpl. Stultz, he was shot and lost too much blood before being airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he died.

Family members flew to Dover, Del., Saturday, as his body was flown back to the states.

According to the page set up on facebook, Cpl. Stultz was born June 7, 1987.

While attending Northview High School, Cpl. Stultz wrestled for the Knights. He advanced to the regional as a senior in 2006.

NHS wrestling coach Dan Mikesell said he remembered Cpl. Stultz as a grappler who made tremendous improvements throughout his career, both in wrestling and in life.

"He got on the straight and narrow because of wrestling," Mikesell said. "It's something that kept him focused."

Mikesell said when he learned the news of Cpl. Stultz' death, he was "pretty shook up."

"He was on one of my first teams," Mikesell said. "It was pretty tough for me. I was pretty close to Greg."

Mikesell said while he wrestled for the Knights, Cpl. Stultz also enjoyed working with younger grapplers in the Wabash Valley Wrestling Club.

"He always helped the kids," Mikesell said. "He liked helping with the kids."

Mikesell said Cpl. Stultz recently attended a NHS wrestling practice and the two had a chance to catch up and reminisce.

"I told him how proud I was of him," Mikesell said, adding Cpl. Stultz said he missed wrestling, but his training helped him through boot camp.

Former NHS Principal Jim Church told The Times he remembered having many discussions with Cpl. Stultz while he was a student at Northview.

"He was a neat kid," Church said. "We got pretty tight during the years he was there. I really, really liked Greg. He and I clicked. I really liked him a lot.

"If I was going to ever recruit what I feel like what would be the perfect Marine, Greg would fit that kind of a mold. Hard-nosed, yet strong character; someone you can really count on."

Cpl. Stultz' guidance counselor while at Northview was Scott McDonald.

On Sunday, McDonald told The Times he had talked with Cpl. Stultz approximately three or four months ago.

"He was out at the school and I talked to him for a bit," McDonald said. "He looked great. He was pretty much the same kid, except for a lot of, 'yes sirs' and, 'no sirs.'

McDonald said he was out of the area this weekend when he received a phone call learning about Cpl. Stultz' death.

"My first thought was how proud he was that he was in the military," McDonald said. "He was so excited about how he was doing and being able to defend his country.

"He was doing great things and, unfortunately, something like this has happened. He was a great kid with a great heart. It's just tragic."

Funeral arrangements are being handled by French Funeral Home. A time and date for a funeral has not been set.

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