Spc. Kenneth Melton, a graduate of Thayer High School, was described as someone with a penchant for practical jokes who was always there for others and would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. Spc. Melton had been in Iraq for almost a month when he was killed while traveling as part of a protection team with battalion leaders in Baghdad. His daughters wrote to the men in the 39^th Infantry as often as they could and the fellow soldiers from Bravo Company were especially affected by his death as he had known and worked with many of them for years. It was reported that upon the announcement of Spc. Melton's death, his fellow Guardsmen were more concerned with comforting his wife and children than of the dangers of their mission.

 The Rev. Bob Dustman described Spc. Melton as someone with a testimony of faith. "He was not ashamed of that. He practiced living his Christian Faith." My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Carol; his two daughters, Theresa and Marie; and to all those who knew and loved him