Army Pfc. Corey L. Hicks

Died May 2, 2008 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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22, of Glendale, Ariz.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died May 2 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.

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22-year-old soldier from Glendale dies in Baghdad bombing

The Associated Press

FORT HOOD, Texas — The Defense Department says an Army soldier from Arizona has died in Iraq.

Pfc. Corey L. Hicks of Glendale died Friday in Baghdad when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. The 22-year-old was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.

His stepfather says Hicks graduated from Cortez High School. Tim Settle says he talked to his stepson the day before he died and Hicks wanted him to look for a truck they could fix up when he returned home.

Settle says he wants Hicks to be remembered as a hero. He says it took courage to sign up for the Army in a time of war.

His funeral will be in Glendale, but arrangements are incomplete.

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Army Pvt. Corey L. Hicks remembered

The Associated Press

“Iraq at last!” were the words used by Corey L. Hicks to describe his excitement on being sent to serve in a war-torn nation.

Hicks, 22, of Glendale, Ariz., was killed May 2 in Baghdad by an explosive. He was a 2004 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Hood.

His duties included exploding roadside bombs before other soldiers came across them.

“We talked to his commanding officer and he told us that the day he died he personally destroyed five IEDs himself,” his stepfather, Timothy Settle said. “That means he saved up to 40 lives, since each one kills about four or five people.”

Karen Kattau, a social worker, said she knew Hicks when he attended school and remembers him as “an awesome young man.”

“He was very outgoing and very friendly, a very fun kid,” Kattau said. “He was a good kid. When he went after something, Corey really went after it.”

Hicks had a passion for animals and the rodeo. He worked as a mechanic before joining the Army in 2007 and hoped to fix up a truck when he returned.

He also is survived by his father, Russel Hicks Sr., and mother, Dawn Settle.