18-year-old Army Private Nathan Thacker from Greenbrier was killed on October 13th by a roadside bomb in Kirkuk, Iraq. Three other soldiers were injured by the blast. Pvt. Thacker had only been in Iraq for less than two weeks and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, New York.   His parents, Stephen and Darlene, remember him as a son who felt obligated to serve his country. “He believe in doing his duty,” his father said in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Although he was nervous about going to Iraq, his father noted that Nathan told him “‘It’s my job now, and I need to do it.’ He was very duty conscious, a good boy.”

Pvt. Thacker attended Guy-Perkins High School in Guy, Arkansas. Although he left school early, he received his General Education Development diploma last year. His former principal, David Westenhover, recalled that he was one of the first students he met when he became principal. “He was just one you could count on to be in class and do his work. He was not disruptive. Citizenship was definitely a plus for him.”    One of his teachers, Stacy Ralls, taught “Nate,” as they called him, in science classes. She told a local TV station that Pvt. Thacker “liked to have fun, he always had a smile for you.” She said that he was great at building friendships with a wide variety of other students. “It’s not every kid you encounter, seems to have these qualities, he had those qualities.” She felt that he died a hero and will miss him greatly. He received a full military-honor funeral in Greenbrier. Pvt. Thacker was the third youngest of seven children. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.