That event combined with the fact that his second wife was giving birth to a son made him think for the first time of getting out of the military when his tour expired in December. He didn't make it, being shot to death by a sniper Nov. 20, 2005 while on patrol in Taji. "Between the fellow soldier(s) being killed and having a new son, this was too much," his former wife, Louisa Testa, told the Albany, N.Y. Times-Union of Sacco 's new desire to get out of the Army.
Sacco , a tank commander, was in his tank when he was fatally struck. Two weeks earlier the tank had hit a roadside bomb, and Sacco sustained a concussion. Despite cuts and headaches, he was back on patrol the next day.
This time it was a single shot that hit him as he checked to see that the tank was on a proper course. "They said he died instantly," remarked his sister, Lisa Livingston.
His former wife described him as "one of the proudest soldiers ... he just kind of got up and did what he did." At his Topeka funeral, he was awarded the Bronze Star.
