
TOPEKA, Kan. — Army Spec. Kyle G. Thomas, who died last week in Iraq, was a talented ballet dancer and theater set designer who felt a calling from God to join the military after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, his mother said.
Thomas, 23, was killed Thursday by an improvised explosive device while he was on patrol in Saddam Hussein’s home city of Tikrit, according to the Department of Defense, which did not describe the incident further in a statement Saturday.
A 1998 graduate of Topeka West High School, Thomas joined the Army after the 2001 terrorist attacks because he believed God needed a Christian fighting for him. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd...