Sergeant Major James Gregory “Ryan” Sartor was born on September 23, 1978, in Teague, Texas, to James Sartor and Mary Teresa (Terri) Pryor. He graduated from Teague High School in 1997, where he was a standout football player wearing No. 84. After high school he moved to College Station to work, and in the fall of 2000 he met the love of his life, Deanna Unger. They began dating in February 2001 and married on June 29, 2002, in Odessa, Texas.
Ryan answered the call to serve in June 2001, enlisting as an infantryman in the 3rd Infantry Division, and he soon deployed to the Middle East, helping lead the initial assault into Iraq. After that first combat tour he was selected for the Special Forces Qualification Course, earned his Green Beret and in 2005 joined Company A, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), at Fort Carson, Colorado, where he would serve for the next 14 years. He was an honor graduate of Ranger School and also earned the Special Operations Diver and Dive Supervisor Badges.
Living the 10th Group’s ideal of the quiet professional, Ryan deployed again and again: to Iraq in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010–2011; to Germany and Israel in 2008; to Africa in 2012 and 2013; and to Afghanistan in 2017 and 2019. He made sure his combat stripes outnumbered his service stripes. For eleven years he and Deanna made their home in Falcon, Colorado, with their three children, Stryder, Grace and Garrett, while keeping a permanent home in Teague.
On February 7, 2019, Ryan said goodbye to his family and departed for his final deployment as company sergeant major of Alpha Company. A muddy-boots leader, he made a point of going out on at least one mission with each of his teams. On July 13, 2019, while with one of those teams in Faryab Province, Afghanistan, he was mortally wounded by enemy small-arms fire. He was 40. “Ryan was a beloved warrior who epitomized the quiet professional,” said Colonel Brian R. Rauen, commander of the 10th Special Forces Group. “He led his soldiers from the front and his presence will be terribly missed.”
Ryan’s awards include the Bronze Star Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Valorous Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters, the Special Forces and Ranger Tabs, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Senior Parachutist Badge. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and an additional Bronze Star Medal.
His funeral was held on July 27, 2019, at the U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel in Colorado Springs. That September Teague High School retired his No. 84 jersey and hosted a memorial service in his honor. Known for a kind yet focused soul, Ryan loved camping, hiking and finding adventure outdoors with his family, and he remains a man whom other Green Berets admired. He is survived by his wife, Deanna; his children, Stryder, Grace and Garrett; his mother, Terri Pryor-Patterson; his father, James Sartor; his sister, Crista Brooner; his half-sister, Shae Sartor; and his grandmother, Patricia Pryor.
Ryan was a beloved warrior who epitomized the quiet professional. He was a leader who led his Green Beret soldiers with muddy boots from the front.
10th Special Forces Group (A) Commander
Sources
- Bowers Funeral Home: Obituary of Sgt. Maj. James Gregory Ryan Sartor
- Shrine of Remembrance: Sergeant Major James Gregory Ryan Sartor
- Freestone County Times: Teague High School retires football jersey
- KWTX: Local memorial service scheduled for area soldier killed in Afghanistan
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: Ryan Sartor news/USASOC text, 2024 stage bio and honoree website bio sheet
