Nathan W. Nakis

Age:   19 Hometown: Sedro-Woolley, Wa Date of Death: 12/15/ Incident Location: Mosul, Iraq Branch of Military:   Army Rank: Spc. Unit: Company B, 52nd Engineer Battalion (Heavy), Army National Guard Unit's Base: Albany, Oregon

When Nathan Nakis' mother nominated her son as soldier of the week for his unit in August, she wrote he "has always loved three things: playing in the dirt, being outdoors and acting like a soldier."

"So we were not surprised when he decided to join the Army National Guard as a combat engineer to help support his college education," she wrote of the freshman at Oregon State University.

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