Army Spc. Anthony M. Lightfoot

Died July 20, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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20, of Riverdale, Ga.; assigned to the 4th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery (Strike), 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died July 20 in Maydan Shahr, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle followed by an attack from enemy forces using small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. Also killed were Sgt. Gregory Owens Jr., Spc. Andrew J. Roughton and Pfc. Dennis J. Pratt.

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Kept alive dream of designing video game

The Associated Press

Anthony M. Lightfoot could always be spotted glued to a television set, playing video games.

He beat the Super Mario Bros. game at when he was 4, and from there his passion for gaming, animation and drawing blossomed.

“Ever since then, you couldn’t move him from the TV,” said his brother, Steven Lightfoot, 29. “Everything he touched he tried to master, and that was an awesome quality about him.”

Lightfoot, 20, of Riverdale, Ga., died July 20 when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in Wardak province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Fort Drum.

Lightfoot was familiar with the military at an early age — he was born in Germany while his mother, Lyvonne, was stationed there. He grew to love his own role in the Army, and a sergeant told his family Anthony was “really loved by his unit.”

“He felt so good about himself and so good about his mission and so good about his life,” Steven Lightfoot said. “He was happy and valorous about his service.”

He still wanted to develop a career, though. Anthony Lightfoot’s family said he loved to draw and hoped to one day design a video game.

He is survived by his mother, brother and a sister, Nija.