Army Sgt. Nathan S. Barnes

Died July 17, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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23, of American Fork, Utah; assigned to 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.; died July 17 in Rushdi Mullah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his unit was attacked by insurgents using small-arms fire.

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Soldier from Utah County killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

AMERICAN FORK, Utah — A 23-year-old soldier from Utah County was shot and killed as he prepared to get off a helicopter in Iraq, his father said.

Sgt. Nathan S. Barnes died July 17 in Rushdi Mullah of wounds suffered when his unit was attacked by insurgents, the Department of Defense said.

Four hundred American flags lined the streets leading to the Barnes home in American Fork. On the house, a banner read: “Sgt. Nathan Barnes: Returning home with honor.”

Barnes was deployed in August 2006 and was expected home around Christmas.

“We were going to give him a big hero’s welcome, but it wasn’t supposed to be like this,” sister Lisa Blake said.

Barnes enlisted in the Army at age 19. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, at Fort Drum, N.Y.

“We’re sure he volunteered to go on the mission,” said his father, Kevin Barnes said. “He was always volunteering. He told us, ‘I don’t like to sit around.’ ”

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Toys, other goods will be sent to Iraq to honor soldier

The Associated Press

AMERICAN FORK, Utah — People are collecting toys, medical kits, clothing and other supplies to send to Iraq in honor of a local soldier.

“He really did love the children of Iraq,” Kevin Barnes said of his son, Sgt. Nathan Barnes, who was killed by enemy fire in July.

“He told us that in his letters and showed us pictures that he had of them,” Barnes said. “It is always the poor children that get caught in these bad things that adults do.”

RoseAnn Gunther is coordinating the Honoring an American Fork Hero project.

“We are honored that RoseAnn would think to do something like this to further honor his name and his sacrifice,” Barnes said.

Items are accepted at the American Fork East LDS Stake Center, from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays. Money for supplies can be deposited in the Nathan Barnes Memorial Fund at any branch of Bank of American Fork.