Army Pvt. Nathan Z. Thacker

Died October 12, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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18, of Greenbrier, Ark.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Oct. 12 in Kirkuk, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

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Army private from Greenbrier dies in Iraq roadside bombing

The Associated Press

GREENBRIER, Ark. — An 18-year-old Army private from Greenbrier died Oct. 12 in a roadside bombing near Kirkuk, Iraq, the Defense Department said.

Pvt. Nathan Z. Thacker had only been in the country for two weeks before his death, according to the soldier’s father, Stephen Thacker. Army officials said the bombing injured three other soldiers, one of them critically hurt.

Thacker’s father said his son felt a duty to enlist.

“He said it was his job,” Stephen Thacker said. “Even after he got his orders that he was going over there, he said it’s his job.”

Thacker served as an infantryman in the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, based out of Fort Drum, N.Y.

Thacker had attended Guy-Perkins High School in Guy. He earned his General Educational Development diploma last year, Stephen Thacker said. Thacker enlisted in the Army in April 2007 and completed his training at Fort Benning, Ga. He arrived at Fort Drum in August 2007. His honors include the Purple Heart.

“Nathan was an excellent man,” sister Sabrina Black said. “He loved me, I loved him, and I’d give anything to have him back.”

The Army said Thacker is survived by his parents and grandfather. He was the third-youngest of seven children.

Thacker is the 54th soldier from Arkansas to be killed in the Iraq war.