
LAFAYETTE, La. — Spc. Joseph C. Thibodeaux III, of Lafayette, was killed near Hawija in northern Iraq by enemy gunfire.
Thibodeaux, a 24-year-old sharpshooter, died Wednesday.
His father, Joseph C. Thibodeaux Sr., said his son was in a convoy when a roadside bomb disabled the vehicle he was in. When he got out, a sniper shot him, the only casualty in his unit.
His mother, Rebecca Thibodeaux, said her son visited last month before leaving for Iraq. He had previously been stationed in Hawaii.
Thibodeaux was attached to the Army’s 25th Infantry Unit, his father said. He had just re-enlisted and had been accepted to teach at the Army sharpshooter school, but those...