Crookston

Army Cpl. and Denver native Duncan Charles Crookston always wanted to join the Army.

"When he decided he wanted to go into the Army, there was no talking him out of it," said his widow, Meaghun.

Crookston, 19, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, at Fort Riley. He died Jan. 25 in Brooke Army Medical Center, Texas, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations in Baghdad Sept. 4, 2007. The attack killed three other soldiers and wounded another.

Crookston, the son of Christopher and Lee Crookston, joined the Army after he and Meaghun graduated from high school. They married soon thereafter.

"He told me in October that he was going to deploy to Iraq early in 2007," Meaghun recalled Sunday. "And I told him, 'All right then, let's go get married.' So the next day, we went and got married. That afternoon we were off to the Courthouse."

By all accounts, Crookston was an intelligent young man who quickly became his unit's resident expert in computers and other electronic devices.

"I walked down to one of the barracks rooms where he was hanging out and watched this kid complete a Rubik's cube in under 56 seconds," said Sgt. Tristan Ruark, a squad leader of Crookston's, in a blog. "His knowledge of computers and iPods and PSPs and electronics were unchecked in the platoon."

Crookston returned on leave in May and took Meaghun on a vacation to Florida.

"He didn't want to sleep at all," Meaghun said. "He told me, 'You can sleep when you're dead.' He was so full of life and had so much energy."

Crookston underwent treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio for burns over more than half his body. He had lost both legs, his right arm and his left hand, and had other severe wounds. His wife said he remained selfless to the end, worrying that other soldiers might more urgently need the pain medication he was taking.

"He was just a kind guy," Meaghun said. "He was very loving and selfless, one in a million. He was willing to give up his life for other people."