David A. Wilkey Jr.

Army Spc. David A. Wilkey Jr. would befriend anyone, regardless of what their name was, what they looked like or who they were.

"He tried to make a friend of you no matter what, and he has been like a brother through everything," his good friend Brock Garris said.

Wilkey, 22, of Elkhart, Ind., died June 18 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit in Baghdad. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley. Wilkey was riding in a Humvee convoy, said his father, David Wilkey Sr., when the IED exploded, fatally wounding him.

Wilkey Jr. was born in Norway, Mich., and moved to Elkhart, Ind., as a teen-ager.

He worked with his father at Plastic Components Inc. for several years before joining the Army and being deployed to Iraq. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, traveling, sports, repairing items, shopping and poetry.

"He's going to be missed," David Wilkey Sr. said. "He's made a lot of friends."

Classmates of Wilkey said he was always willing to lend a hand, help smooth out rough edges and have a good time. "Dave was a great guy," said another friend, Bo Garris. "He was always there for you. Even though he was overseas, he still contacted us to make sure we were doing OK."