I was so worried when he told me he enlisted. It was after 9/11. He really enjoyed it. He really took to the Army. He thought he was really helping the people in Iraq. I think he had a sense of purpose.

People are coming out of the woodwork that knew him. He's one of the people who found it easy to make friends. If you were his friend, you were going to be his friend forever.

While we're devastated as a family, he was doing what he believed in, and I hope people respect that.

I really hope that it helps them to see they have options, that they don't have to settle, and there are people out there that want to help them.