Army Cpl. Darryl W. Linder

Died June 19, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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23, of Hickory, N.C.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died June 19 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device.

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N.C. man killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

HICKORY, N.C. — A North Carolina man has died from wounds suffered from a roadside bomb that exploded in Iraq, the military said June 20.

Army Spec. Darryl Wardlaw “Ward” Linder, 24, died June 19 in Baqubah, the Defense Department said. Wardlaw was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.

Linder joined the Marine Corps in 2001 and served in Afghanistan. After working for his father briefly, he enlisted in the Army and deployed to Iraq in January.

“He said he wanted to go to Iraq,” said his father, Darryl Linder. “There was nothing here as exciting. He was very much a patriot.”

His survivors include a 3-year-old son, Kyle.

Darryl Linder last talked to his son on Father’s Day. The next news about his son came when an Army chaplain visited the family June 19.

Linder, who graduated from Fred T. Foard High School, excelled in football and baseball in high school, said his lifelong friend, Jeff Fulbright. He also liked to hunt, fish, go camping and bowl.

“He had a magnetism that attracted everybody,” Darryl Linder said.

In the midst of combat, Ward wrote a Mother’s Day card on a pack of meals ready to eat and mailed it home.

He was due to come home on leave next month.

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Soldier killed in Iraq remembered for friendliness

The Associated Press

Darryl Linder last talked to his only child, Army Spc. Darryl W. Linder, on Father’s Day.

“He said he loved me and he was looking forward to coming home,” said Darryl Linder. “I encouraged him to mail me some pictures and he said, ‘I’ll be home in a few weeks, Dad.’ ” Linder, 23, of Hickory, N.C., was killed June 19 in Baqubah by an explosive. He was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas, and was on his second tour.

Linder, who was 6-foot-4, attracted people with his happy outlook and friendliness, said his grandfather, Wardlaw Linder, for whom he was named. He adored baseball, hunting and fishing.

Linder was a stellar athlete, excelling in football and baseball in high school, said his lifelong friend, Jeff Fulbright.

He served four years with the Marines, including a tour in Afghanistan, then worked for his father for a year and signed up with the Army, serving in the infantry, as he had in the Marines.

From Iraq, Ward Linder told his parents that the country was “extremely hot,” Darryl Linder said. “His comment to me was, ‘I don’t believe I’m going to be digging footings for a house here.’ ” He also is survived by a 3-year-old son, Kyle.