The widow of Army Ranger Matthew Sitton spoke out Wednesday because she wanted everyone to know that they're welcome at the funeral and she still loves the military.
Holding her 9-month-old son, Brodey, Sarah Sitton talked about losing her husband to an IED explosion in Afghanistan last Thursday.
“I want everyone there who wants to support him,” she said. “I won't turn a single person away who wants to support what he did because he died an American hero."
Matthew Sitton, 26, an Army Ranger sniper, deployed last Feb. 28, his birthday. It was his third deployment.
The widow said she's such a patriot; they were married on her favorite holiday - the Fourth of July in 2009. And even though her husband was killed while fighting overseas, she still loves the military.
Sitton was scheduled to return to the Bay area in September.
"One of the last things he said to me through the phone was don't worry about anything bad happening. Don't even go there. But when I get back we're going to take Brody to the lake and we're going to take him to the zoo, and to the aquarium,” she said. "He wouldn't have had it any other way. He would not have let one of his guys take this for him."
Sitton was able to spend two months with his son before being deployed.
Funeral arrangements for the fallen hero are still being finalized. The widow said Sitton's body will arrive at MacDill Air Force Base later this week. He will then be escorted to his final resting place in Largo.