Sister says medic died doing ‘what he always wanted to do’
BY JILL ZEMAN
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Sgt. Russell Collier couldn’t keep away from the military — partially because he "hated civilian life," his sister said.

And when Collier was shot and killed as he tried to save another soldier’s life outside Baghdad on Sunday, the 48-year-old Crossett native died doing "exactly what he always wanted to do," Carolyn Pfaus said Tuesday.

"If he was going to die, that was the way he wanted to die — helping someone," Pfaus said.

Collier, a medic with the 39th Infantry Brigade’s 1 st Battalion, 206th Field Artillery Unit, died when he tried to save Sgt. Chris Potts, of Tiverton , R.I. Both men, hit by small arms fire, were the first casualties for the Russellville-based 206th Field Artillery Unit.

Collier, a lifelong member of the military, grew up on and around army bases. After graduating from Wuerzburg High School in Germany in 1975, Collier joined the U.S. Army. In 1978, he transferred to the U.S. Navy and then joined the Arkansas Army National Guard in 1999, said Capt. Kristine Munn, spokesman for the Arkansas National Guard.

"He didn’t like the civilian life," said Pfaus, who lives in Conway . "All we’ve ever known was the military. He hated being a civilian."  The 39th deployed to Iraq last spring. Collier was set to return home in March, Munn said.  Before leaving for Iraq , Collier became a certified emergency medical technician, readying to be a medic with the Headquarters Company of the 206 th. Upon arrival in Iraq , he became the medic for the 206 th’s Alpha Battery.

Collier had three children, a grown son and daughter who live in North Carolina and a 9-year-old son who lives in Harrison . His wife, Rocky, also lives in Harrison .

Pfaus remembered Collier as a "really great cook, a talented artist" and a "very loving, protective older brother."  Dressed in a T-shirt Collier sent her from Iraq , Pfaus laughed, then wiped away tears as she remembered just how protective her big brother could be.  "Sometimes, he limited me to two slices of pizza," she said. "And then he liked to tease me because I was so tiny. He was a fun brother."

Collier had a passion for hogs, both the Arkansas Razorbacks and Harley-Davidson motorcycles. While in Iraq , he was trying to save up enough money to buy his own Harley, Pfaus said.  "He was just really excited to be there," in Iraq , Pfaus said. "We’re just all deeply proud of him.

No funeral date has been set for Collier, who will be buried in Harrison .

With nine casualties each, Arkansas and Oregon have more National Guard deaths than any other state, according to the latest National Guard Bureau statistics.
Collier is the 20th person with Arkansas ties to die in the fighting in Iraq and Arkansas . He is the 19th member of the 39th Infantry Brigade, which contains 4,200 soldiers from 10 states, to die in Iraq , according to Munn. Eight of these soldiers came from Oregon , one from Connecticut , one from Rhode Island and nine from Arkansas .

Scholarship fund

The Harrison Rotary Foundation has established a scholarship fund for Hunter Collier, 9, son of fallen Army National Guardsman Sgt. Russell L. Collier. Tax deductible contributions can be made at any Arvest or First Federal bank or mailed to P.O. Box 1796 , Harrison , Ark. 72602 .