POCATELLO — When Justin Toll presented a dedicatory AR-15 to the parents of the late Army Sgt. Blake Stephens, they were left speechless.

As Trent and Kathleen Stephens held the firearm in their hands, Toll said tears rolled down the Gold Star mother’s face. The normally talkative Trent didn’t say a word for almost 10 minutes, Toll said.

The AR-15 was customized to honor Blake, a Pocatello native and Century High School graduate who was killed by an improvised explosive device while serving in Iraq on May 8, 2007.

A Cool Project

Silver lettering on the gun’s receiver reads “SGT Blake C. Stephens,” while the forend reads “U.S. Army KIA-IRAQ.” The stock has Blake’s date of birth and date of death, while the opposite side of the receiver has an American flag.

The rifle was presented to Blake’s parents about two weeks ago. But Toll, a family friend, said the idea for the customized AR-15 came to him in May when he was looking to find a way to honor the 10th anniversary of Blake’s death and pay tribute to the sacrifice he made for the United States.

“I just did it because I thought it would it be cool for the family,” Toll said. “I thought they would like it.”

Toll had purchased the AR-15, but needed help funding the project. He reached out to a private Facebook group called Give Back Recovery and some local businesses. The response was astonishing.

“In two days, we raised $780 and another $100 in parts,” he said. “The veteran community loves each other like no other, and it’s really amazing.”

Jack’s Auto Body and Dayley Custom Fabrication contributed money as well, while Sportsman’s Warehouse donated a scope for the rifle. Hux Customs in Chubbuck performed the paint work on the rifle for free.

“It was a cool project,” said Jared Huckstep, the owner of Hux Customs. “Most of the time, our customers are looking for something that just looks cool. But this is more of a showpiece, something to remember him by.”

As for Blake’s parents, they said they are just overwhelmed by the large number of people who stepped in to help create the commemorative AR-15, which they plan to keep in a secured location.

“We were just very, very touched that they would think of doing that for us,” Trent said.

Premonitions

Blake joined the Army National Guard when he was 17 years old, shortly before he became a member of the first graduating class at Century High School.

He then went on a mission in the Netherlands and Belgium for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but he was recalled by the National Guard after the 9/11 attacks. When his time with the Guard expired, he transferred to active duty in the United States Army.

Blake met his wife Erin, who was serving in the U.S. Air Force at the time, while the two were stationed at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.

Erin had already been deployed to Iraq multiple times when Blake was called to fight in Operation Iraqi Freedom in early 2007.

“She did not want him to be deployed,” Trent said. “She just had a premonition that if he went, he wouldn’t come back.”

Blake arrived in Iraq in March 2007, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.

His parents have a copy of their son’s journal from his short time serving in Iraq. The last entry is dated April 29, 2007, where Blake describes the response to the scene of an IED explosion that destroyed a vehicle and killed three U.S. soldiers.

In this journal entry, Blake describes how the explosion’s aftermath “gut checked” some of his fellow soldiers. However, he also stated that dying for one’s country is the most honorable way a man can die.

He also pointed out that the vehicle that was attacked was not suited to protect its occupants from such violent explosions.

“After seeing the blown up vehicle, that looked like a stripped down junkyard car with no doors, roof, or much of anything, it definitely reassures me that no matter the armor or ballistic vests, when it is your time it is your time,” the journal post read.

A little over a week later, Blake was killed in a similar IED attack in Salman Pak, which is located about 20 miles south of Baghdad. At the time, he was part of a convoy that was escorting an Army colonel.

A Shock

For Blake’s parents, it was clear early on that their youngest son was destined for a career in the military.

Blake spent his childhood running around the hills surrounding Pocatello, building the physique and mental toughness required of soldiers in the U.S. Army. Though his sometimes audacious behavior gave his parents scares from time-to-time, he always emerged unharmed and bursting with energy.

This was one of the reasons why his family wasn’t too nervous when they learned he was being deployed to Iraq.

“He was just always doing a lot of high-risk activities, but he always came through unscathed,” Trent said. “So when he left for Iraq, we never thought of the possibility that he wouldn’t come back.”

This sentiment was also shared by the fellow soldiers who served with him.

“A couple of people in his battalion told us, ‘If Blake could be killed, anybody could be killed,’” Trent said. “He was the type of guy you wouldn’t think would be casualty. It seemed it was as much of a shock to them as it was to us.”

Telling Stories

It’s been more than 10 years since Blake’s death, and his family and friends still recall him as a friendly, fun-loving, outgoing person who loved to tell stories. Though true, the stories sometimes seemed utterly unbelievable.

In fact, Trent recalls getting a phone call at 2 a.m. when his son was stationed in Fort Benning in Georgia.

“It was one of his commanding officers calling me up,” Trent said. “Blake had been telling him a story and it seemed so unlikely he had to call to verify it.”

Others recall Blake’s kindness.

His mom, Kathleen, said one of her favorite photos of Blake was taken a few weeks before his death. In the photo, Blake is in an Iraqi village, dressed from head-to-toe in his combat gear, smiling and shaking the hand of a young boy.

“I love this photo, because this was Blake,” she said. “He loved children.”

Still, Blake’s sudden death at the age of 25 shook everybody who knew him. Trent said he and Kathleen had numerous “religious experiences” after their son’s passing. Though the pain is still there, Trent and Kathleen have always looked toward a higher power.

“We know that he is up in heaven right now, doing greater things than he could do here,” Kathleen said. “We will see him again.”

After his death, Blake’s parents visited the Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland, which was the sight of the bloodiest single-day battle in U.S. history, where more than 22,000 soldiers were either killed, wounded or went missing.

Trent recalls looking at the famous 800-yard Sunken Road, where thousands of Civil War soldiers died within a four-hour timeframe on Sept. 17, 1862. Like Gettysburg, some visitors still claim to see the ghosts of marching soldiers who perished that day. Trent said his son would have a lot to say to them.

“Blake was the type of guy who would say to these soldiers, ‘I’ll compare my battle wounds to your battle wounds any day. You think you had a rough time, let me tell you about mine,’” Trent said. “He’s still telling stories.”