Two Fort Eustis soldiers were killed Saturday in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device and small arms fire, the DoD announced Monday.
Sgt. Eric T. Lawson and Spc. Caryn E. Nouv were assigned to 359th Transportation Company, 10th Transportation Battalion, 7th Sust. Bde., which deployed to Bagram Air Base in January 2013 in support of ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’.
Nouv, 29, was from Newport News. She joined the Army in March 2009 and was a signal support systems specialist. This was her first combat deployment.
According to Joint Base Langley-Eustis Public Affairs, she served as a convoy operations driver during her tour in theater providing critical security to logistical patrols throughout Northern Afghanistan.
"That’s what she wanted to do. She wanted to have security for her children."
Sister-in-law Sophia Sullivan says family was everything to Nouv, who was a wife and mother of a nine-year-old boy and ten-year-old girl. Though not a sister by blood, to Sullivan, Nouv was as close as it gets.
"She’s like a little sister to me," she says.
Sullivan recalls their last conversation, just days before Nouv died.
"She said she's ready to come home," Sullivan says. "She can't wait to see us. "
Sullivan says Nouv would have turned 30 next month and was set to come home in September.
"I just hate that her life ended so short," Sullivan says.
Lawson, 30, hailed from Sockbridge, Georgia. He joined the Army in September 2002 and was a cargo specialist.
He served as an assistant Convoy Commander during his tour in theater providing critical security to logistical patrols throughout Northern Afghanistan. This was his third tour of duty.
