Army Spc. Armand Frickey

Died January 6, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

20, Houma, La.; assigned to the 256th Infantry Brigade (Mechanized), Louisiana Army National Guard, Houma, La.; killed Jan. 6 with six of his fellow soldiers when an improvised explosive device struck their Bradley fighting vehicle in Baghdad. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class Kurt J. Comeaux, Sgt. Christopher J. Babin, Spc. Bradley J. Bergeron, Spc. Huey P.L. Fassbender, Spc. Warren A. Murphy and Army Pfc. Kenneth G. Vonronn.

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Soldier killed in Iraq had joined Guard as teenager

Associated Press

DENVER — The parents of Louisiana Army National Guardsman Armand Luke Frickey were about to send him a package when they learned he had been killed while on patrol near Baghdad.

In the package were school supplies that Frickey, 20, had asked his parents to send for children in Iraq.

“He wanted things to be normal (in Iraq) for the election,” said his mother, Denise Frickey, 48, of Denver. “He asked that, instead of sending him treats, we were to send him notebooks and pencils and things for the children to use.”

She and Vance Frickey learned Friday that their son was among seven soldiers killed when their vehicle ran over a bomb and caught fire. The younger Frickey was part of the 256th Brigade Combat Team.

Frickey joined the Army National Guard at 17, when he was still in high school in Noblesville, Ind. He moved to Louisiana a couple of years ago to be close to his 25-year-old brother, Eric, who lives in Orlando, Fla.

“He always had a liking for the military,” Denise Frickey said of her younger son. “He always had a strong feeling about helping other people. He was a big, strong guy and he felt he could do some good.”

Frickey married his wife, Nikki, last spring and was thinking of training to be a radiologist when his unit was called up in September for an 18-month deployment in Iraq.

Frickey’s vehicle also had run over a bomb last month on patrol, but Frickey survived.

His mother said the 6-foot-3 soldier was devoted to his family. She said she wasn’t surprised that he would get attached to the children in Baghdad.

“He liked to play. He was a real soft touch,” she said. “He couldn’t see anyone hurt anybody.”

Denise Frickey said she was proud of her son and what he was trying to do.

“He lived what he believed and died for what he believed,” she said. “He felt he was able to help people who were not able to help themselves. He was working to try to prevent these people (insurgents) from spreading terrorism into our country. He did a very proud and courageous thing, and I want people to know that.”