Spc. Jason N. Marchand, 26, of Greenwood, West Virginia, died October 5, 2007, in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat operations.

Marchand was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, in Vilseck, Germany.

From the Stars and Stripes:

...Spc. Jason N. Marchand, 26, of Greenwood, W.Va., died Friday of wounds received when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle, the Pentagon said.

Marchand had called his mother, Debbie Parsons, three days before he died, The Associated Press reported.

“He didn’t like it over there, but said, ‘This is my duty because I have to protect my family.’ And he had to be there with his soldiers; he said his buddies needed him,” Parsons told the AP.

“He said, ‘I am going out there (on special assignment) for two weeks.’ He said, ‘Mommy, I love you’ and I said, ‘I love you, too,’” Parsons said.

Marchand, who graduated from Doddridge High School in 2000, participated in football and track.

“He was a good all-around kid,” Marchand’s former football coach, Dan McConnell, told the AP.

“He was a good student, a good human being and he would do anything you asked of him … he is going to be missed by a lot of people,” McConnell said.