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Army Sgt. Benjamin "Ben" C. Morton, 24, of Wright, died May 22, 2005, after he was shot while on patrol in Mosul in northern Iraq.

He is the son of Allen and Ruth Morton, members of St. Andrew Parish.

A memorial service was held May 26 for Morton and two other members of the division at Fort Lewis. He is the 18th Kansan to die in Iraq.

Morton was born July 10, 1980 at Minneola. He attended Sacred Heart Cathedral School in Dodge City, and graduated from Spearville High School. In his spare time he enjoyed hiking, cooking, photography, reading, sport bikes and listening to music. He cherished his wife Elaina and siblings and loved his red S-10 pickup.

Morton entered the military in July 2000 and was stationed in Korea prior to serving at Fort Lewis in 2002. He had been in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom since October 2004.

He was awarded the Global War on Terrorism Expedition medal; the Global War on Terrorism service medal; the National Defense service medal; the Army Good Conduct medal; the Army Achievement medal; and the Combat Infantryman’s badge.

A vigil was held June 1 at St. Andrew Church, and the funeral was June 2.

He is survived by his wife, Elaina Salinas; his parents; brothers Tom and Frank; Sisters Sarah and Erin, Grandparents Rex and Billie Morton, Philip and Barbara Lutz, Tom and LaMoyne Kushner, and Ignacio Sr. and Marcinana Salinas.