Army Cpl. Nyle Yates III

Died March 16, 2006 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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22, of Lake Odessa, Mich.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; killed Mar. 16 when he came under small arms fire by enemy forces during combat operations in Bayji, Iraq.

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Soldier from western Michigan was humorous, straightforward

LAKE ODESSA, Mich. — A soldier from western Michigan, who was remembered for being humorous and straightforward, has died while serving in Iraq, his former high school principal said.

Lakewood High School Principal Mike O’Mara told The Grand Rapids Press that he learned of the death of Nyle Yates from the soldier’s family on Thursday. Yates was a 2002 graduate of the Lake Odessa school.

“He was a quiet kid who did what he was supposed to do in school,” O’Mara said. “He came as a baby-faced freshman all of 5’5” and left as a 6’1” senior who always had a smile on his face.”

Yates joined the Army in 2002 and was on his second tour in Iraq, the newspaper reported Saturday.

Ferol Ball, of Lake Odessa, said her son, Joey Day, was a close friend of Yates.

“(Yates) was a very straightforward, honest, loving and caring individual,” she said. “He served his country, he wanted to, and unfortunately he gave his life. But without men and women like him, it would be a more dangerous world. I have four sons and can’t imagine losing one.”

As of Saturday afternoon, the military hadn’t released any information on Yates.

The Sentinel-Stanard of Ionia reported that after Yates graduated from high school, his family moved to the Eagle-area, near Lansing. There were no telephone listings under the last name Yates in Eagle.

Funeral arrangements had not been announced, and additional details weren’t immediately available

— Associated Press

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Michigan soldier killed in Iraq

LAKE ODESSA, Mich. — A soldier from a community located between Grand Rapids and Lansing was killed while serving in Iraq, the Department of Defense announced.

A defense department statement released Monday said Army Cpl. Nyle Yates III died in Bayji, Iraq, on Thursday “when he came under small arms fire by enemy forces during combat operations.”

Yates, a 22-year-old from Lake Odessa, was assigned to a unit that operated out of Fort Campbell, Ky.

Yates’ death was confirmed last week by Lakewood High School Principal Mike O’Mara, who said he learned of the death from the soldier’s family. Yates was a 2002 graduate of the Lake Odessa school.

— Associated Press