Spc. Frank L. Cady III

Army Spc. Frank L. Cady III was a veritable "kid genius" whose mother said he could have been a formidable attorney.

But Cady's dreams took him in another direction after seeing the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Cady, 20, of Sacramento, Calif., decided to join the Army after graduating from high school in 2005, and was assigned to the 4th Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley. He deployed to Iraq in January, where he served as a chemical operations specialist, and died Oct. 10 in Baghdad of injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover.

The cause of the rollover was under investigation, military officials said.

Cady's mother, Billy-Jo Hull, 35, said she takes solace in the fact that he died living his dream.

"How many people could say that, if they died today, they would be living their dream?" Hull said.

Friends and family members also described Cady as a talkative young man who'd do anything for a laugh.

"He was an amazing kid,"said his friend, former Army Pfc. Tasha Feenan. "There was something about him. He had a sparkle in his eyes — I call it a hint of mischief. He was always there for you no matter what, even if you didn't want him to be. We lost one of the few genuine people left in this world the day he died."