From: Estel Matt [mailto:visualtracker70@yahoo.com]

Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 8:34 AM

To: vistkr@aol.com; davebroeker@comcast.net

Subject: Re: Post info on homepage I am not sure if I answered this e-mail.

For months I have been running, work, church, family............................

Steve had a long fight with liver and pancreatic cancer.  Most of us knew little about how serious the situation was, Steve just never complained, never had negative words about anything.  He started chemo around Christmas.  The doctor gave him a 20% chance of survival even after chemo.  The chemo made him very sick and he decided not to take it any longer.  He passed away on 3/13/2013 with his family around him.  I talked to him many times and had made plans with William Spivey, Bill Casey, and Charles Hinely to meet in Richmond and spend a few days with Steve.  We were to have arrived in Richmond Tuesday 3/19/2013.   It really hit Bill and I hard that we did not get to spend a little time with Steve, very hard. 

Steve was married twice.  His first wife (I never met) and Steve had two children Justin and Jessica, but no grandchildren.  His second wife, Cindy, remained a close friend of Steve even after they were divorced.  He had his own construction company for many years until his health became bad.

He was a Trained Visual Tracker trained at Fort Gordan in 1970 and was assigned to the
62nd, 1st Cav.  He was put on my team with Carlos Alvarez, cover man (passed away in
1982), Bill Casey dog handler and his lab Boy, myself and a kid Carson scout who's name was Kim.  Kim could not speak any English, but, was very good in the field.  The five of us were together for the last 6 months of 1970.  Bill left on Christmas Eve with a serious case of malaria.  Carlos and I left in January 1971 and Steve left in March 1971.  No one knows Kim's fate.  None of us had any communication until 1999.  Steve hosted the Richmond Reunion.  Many say that the reunion was the best organized reunion to date.  He arranged for all of us to go to the Tomb of the Unknown Solider together in two charted buses and four Trackers laid the wreath on the Tomb.  If I remember right there were 126 Trackers and family members at that reunion.

There are a lot of different personalities in the 62nd, but Steve was one of the few that everyone liked.  You could not help liking someone who never complained, never was negative, and always had a positive slant on anything that was being talked about.

Estel

From: Estel Matt <visualtracker70@yahoo.com>
To: vistkr <vistkr@aol.com>
Sent: Sun, Mar 24, 2013 2:06 am
Subject: Re: Post info on homepage

Morning, Wednesday 03/13/2013. 

The family had his body cremated.  They had a memorial service Sunday 03/17/2013, and his ashes were buried in the national cemetery in Culpepper, Virginia.

If everyone had the same attitude about passing away like Stephen Barton had, it would not be a big event in human lives.  He never batted an eye, never said a negative word, it just is what it is....  But, that is how he was all his life.  As long as I knew him he never said a negative word about anyone, really, never a negative word at all....

Estel

From:  vistkr@aol.com [mailto:vistkr@aol.com]
Sent: Friday, March 15, 2013 9:56 PM
To: davebroeker@comcast.net
Subject: Fwd: Sad news about Steven Barton

Dave, I am forwarding this about Steve Barton, a 1st Cav tracker. He organized our Richmond,VA reunion where we then went to Arlington and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in honor of the trackers. I'll forward more e-mails as I get them. You might like to post this on the web.

Thanks,

John Dupla

-----Original Message-----
From: Helen Spivey <Helen@patrioterectors.com>
To: Helen Spivey <Helen@patrioterectors.com>
Sent: Wed, Mar 13, 2013 5:12 pm
Subject: RE: Sad news about Steven Barton

Hello Everyone,

I am about to leave work for the day.  My apologies for such a short and sad email this morning.  There was no easy way to break this news and I was upset as well so I just stuck to the facts as I tried to remember them and not get too emotional.

I have no additional information to give to you as of right now.

I do have a loving email to share with you from Roni (with her permission)…please see below.  Have a blessed evening and I will update you soon as I hear anything.  Helen

FROM RONI (& Charlie)