David M. Heath joined the Army to be like his dad.
"( David ) ... wanted his dad to be proud of him," his mother, Lola Modjeska, told the Herald-Argus in LaPorte, Ind., following his death. It represented a bond between the two men, who had been separated physically for so much of their lives. "He always looked up to his father," his mother said. The father, John David Heath , fought in the Gulf War and lives in Florida.
Friends said Heath 's sense of humor lightened up otherwise tense situations. For one thing, he didn't lose his temper when he got lost behind the wheel.
"We could be going somewhere and get lost for hours and not argue about it. We'd have fun while we were lost," said his wife, Donna.
Heath , 30, of LaPorte, Ind., died Aug. 16, 2004, in Baghdad when his patrol came under fire. He was on his second tour of duty and was stationed in Fort Riley.
Heath , who dropped out of high school in the 10th grade but later earned a GED, was working as a welder in LaPorte when he found his niche in the Army.
"He always said, I'm looking for what I should be doing, which direction to go,'" his wife said. "I think he found what he was finally supposed to do."
