Army Pvt. Scott M. Tyrrell

Died November 20, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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21, of Sterling, Ill.; assigned to C Company, 299th Engineer Battalion, 4th Infantry Division (Mech), based in Fort Hood, Texas; died Nov. 20 at Brooke Army Medical Center, Texas, of wounds received Nov. 14 when an ammunition point caught fire in Tikrit, Iraq.

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Even before Scott Matthew Tyrrell's first day of boot camp, family members could see he believed his decision to join the Army was the right one. He "really felt like he found his niche when he enlisted in the Army," said his aunt, Mary Beth Mitchell, of Elgin, Ill. "After he decided to enlist, we saw such a transformation in him." Arnold Tyrrell, of Polo, Ill., said that before his son enlisted the boy would blow off his schoolwork. After he decided to enlist, "all of a sudden he buckled down, did what was necessary." "It just seemed like he needed something to focus on," the elder Tyrrell said. Pvt. Tyrrell, 21, of Sterling, Ill., was mortally wounded Nov. 14 in Tikrit, Iraq, while operating an armored earth mover, his father said. He died Nov. 20 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. Tyrrell had been in the Army since the summer after he graduated from high school. He was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. Survivors include his father, his stepmother, Kathleen Tyrrell, of Polo, and his mother, Susan Tyrrell, of Forreston, Ill.

— Associated Press