Thomas H. Byrd
Profile
Age: 21
From: Cochise, Ariz.
Assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.
Incident: Army Spc. Thomas H. Byrd was killed Oct. 15 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle during combat operations in Ramadi, Iraq.
Died: October 15, 2005
Tucson soldier killed in Iraq
Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. — A 21-year-old soldier from Tucson has been killed in action while serving in Iraq, authorities said.
Military officials confirmed Tuesday that Army Spc. Thomas Byrd was one of five soldiers killed Oct. 15 when their assault vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb in Ramadi, about 70 miles west of Baghdad.
Byrd, who was based in Fort Benning, Ga., was a 2003 graduate of Tucson’s Santa Rita High School.
“I thought he was going to come home and we would grow old together,” said his 18-year-old widow, Mykel Byrd. “I honestly never thought this would happen to us.”
The couple married 18 months ago in a courthouse ceremony in Tucson while Thomas Byrd was home on leave.
Though she worried about her husband’s safety, Mykel Byrd said she understood and admired his decision to join the service.
“He didn’t do it because he had to, he did it...