Army Pfc. Nathaniel E. Detample

Died August 9, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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19, of Morrisville, Pa.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized), Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Philadelphia; killed Aug. 9 when a mine exploded and enemy forces attacked using small-arms fire as he was investigating a rocket-propelled grenade incident in Bayji, Iraq. Also killed were Spc. John Kulick, Spc. Gennaro Pellegrini Jr. and Sgt. Francis J. Straub Jr.

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Soldier killed in explosion in Iraq

Associated Press

Nathaniel E. DeTample may have been small in stature, but not in courage.

“All 130 pounds of Nate were always ready to stand tall and take on someone twice his size,” said the Rev. David Farina, pastor of the Calvary Full Gospel Church.

DeTample, 19, of Morrisville, Pa., died Aug. 9 in Bayji after coming under attack. He was based in Philadelphia.

A wrestler, an Eagle Scout and a criminal justice major at Shippensburg University, DeTample impressed all with a dogged willingness to serve.

“He led the charge since the day I met him. He was always the guy who said, ‘Follow me,”’ said Vince Paulauskas, committee chairman for DeTample’s Boy Scout troop.

DeTample looked substantially younger than he was, earning him the nickname of “Baby Boy.” He also loved the Phillies, and for a while in high school, he became fanatical about wearing orange.

“We all thought that he looked like a traffic cone,” said his uncle Steve Pursel.

He is survived by his parents, Glenn and Kimberly.

“We may have lost the finest example of a human being on Earth,” Darrell DeTample said of his cousin.