LA GRANDE (AP) - Sgt. 1st Class John “Scott” Stephens planned to retire at the end of his current tour in Iraq, where he was a member of a team helping to prepare the Iraqi army to take over the war.

His family said he wanted to earn a master's degree in computer science and then try for a second career, working with computers for the CIA.

But Stephens, who joined the Army more than 20 years ago and spent most of those years outside the United States, will never get to fulfill those plans. The 41-year-old died March 15 in Tikrit, Iraq, when a bomb destroyed the command vehicle he was driving.

Roughly 300 people attended a military funeral Monday for Stephens at the Oregon National Guard Armory and Convention Center. He was later buried in Grandview Cemetery in La Grande.

Stephens, who was born in Prineville and lived much of his life in La Grande, was remembered as a dedicated military man who had a dependability that served him well as a combat medic.

“He lived the military life to its fullest,” said Maj. Gen. Raymond F. Rees, adjutant general of the Oregon National Guard. “I can tell you from my own experience, there is truly a band of brothers” and combat medics are heroes among the heroes, he said.

Stephens did two tours in the Balkans, deploying to Kosovo in 1996 and 1998, followed by postings to Iraq on yearlong assignments in 2003 and 2006, Rees said. He earned many medals, among them the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski told those in attendance that Stephens' life was dedicated to taking care of others and protecting those who couldn't protect themselves. But Stephens was special in another way, the governor said.

“He took younger soldiers under his wing and taught them skills he had learned in 20 years of boots on the ground,” Kulongoski said.

Survivors include Stephens' wife, Beate of Fort Riley in Kansas; children, Darren, Brian and Cheryl; parents Gene and Eve of La Grande; and sister Mischelle of Hermiston.