Army Spc. Christian C. Schulz

Died July 11, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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20, of Colleyville, Texas; assigned to the 3rd Troop, 67th Armor Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas; died July 11 as a result of non-combat injuries in Baqubah, Iraq.

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As a youngster, Christian Schulz used to build tanks out of Legos and play video games involving tanks. Then, a childhood camping trip with the Boy Scouts to Fort Hood, Texas, where he slept on the range and ate with soldiers, sealed his dream of joining the military. "I had no idea he had been smitten so badly at the time," said his father, Bob Schulz. Spc. Schulz, a 20-year old armored crewman from Colleyville, Texas, was killed in Baqubah, Iraq, on July 11 by a non-hostile firearm discharge. He was stationed at Fort Hood. He died on his father's 47th birthday. Schulz joined the Army in June 2001 after studying aircraft engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington for a year. "This kid was so adventurous," Bob Schulz said. "He had a fire lit under his belly, and he wanted to get started. He didn't want to sit in a classroom anymore." He volunteered to serve on the front lines in Iraq and was determined to return home as a sergeant, his family said. He planned to serve in the military until age 35 and then pursue a career in government.

— Associated Press