Army Spc. Dylan T. Reid

Died October 16, 2010 Serving During Operation New Dawn

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24, of Springfield, Mo.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; died Oct. 16 in Amarah, Iraq, in a non-combat incident.

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Joined military while visiting family back home

By Jess Rollins

The (Springfield, Mo.) News-Leader

LAMAR, Mo. — A Lamar family is grieving after a soldier who enlisted in Springfield died in Iraq on Oct. 16.

Pfc. Dylan T. Reid, 24, died in Amarah, Iraq, in support of Operation New Dawn.

Reid, who was posthumously promoted to specialist, was a new and proud father, family and friends said.

“He couldn’t wait to be a dad,” said Dylan’s sister Erika Reid of Lamar. “It’s all he ever talked about.”

She said Dylan’s wife, Alesia, gave birth to their daughter, Avery Lynn, a little more than a month ago. They are living with Alesia Reid’s parents in Minnesota.

Erika Reid said her brother liked to read and listen to loud music and was the best friend a sister could ask for.

She said Dylan joined the military on a whim while in Springfield, visiting his family in nearby Lamar.

“That’s the way things were with him.”

Dylan was the youngest of five siblings.

Reid said Dylan’s parents, who live in Lamar, were at Dover Air Force Base, Del., on Monday receiving their son’s remains.

Mason Dosey of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., graduated with Dylan Reid from Desert Technology High School in 2005.

“He was a really good guy to talk to,” Dosey said, “He never judged anybody.”

Dosey described his friend as a “machine-head” who was always working on something, including his beloved Camaro.

Dosey said he was able to keep in touch with Dylan despite his deployment, speaking with him often on instant messaging.

“He pretty much just talked about how beautiful his daughter was,” Mosey said.

The details of Reid’s death have not been released by the military other than to say they were not combat related.

Reid was a track vehicle repairer with the 4th Infantry Division, out of Fort Carson, Colo. He was seven months into his first deployment.