Army Staff Sgt. Donnie D. Dixon

Died September 29, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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37, of Miami; assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died Sept. 29 in Baloor, Iraq, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using small-arms fire.

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Miami soldier killed in Iraq spent career in the military

The Associated Press

MIAMI — A career soldier killed in his second tour of duty in Iraq had talked about joining the military almost from the time he first began speaking, relatives said.

Staff Sgt. Donnie D. Dixon of Miami had toy soldiers as a boy, reminded his family at his high school graduation in 1988 that he wanted to enlist and left for boot camp on his 18th birthday, relatives said.

“He died doing what he always wanted to do: serve his country,” said his mother, Dessie Dixon of Miami Gardens.

Dixon, 37, died Sept. 29 in Baloor, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small-arms fire, Pentagon officials said.

He drove a tank and was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. He planned to retire in three years, relatives said.

Dixon’s mother last talked to him on his birthday, Sept. 20, when he called home. Other relatives sang him “Happy Birthday” and promised him a care package.

“At least we know he was laughing the last time we spoke to him, as we sang to him,” his sister, Valencia Dixon, said.

Dixon told his family he had been patrolling buildings to make sure they were protected. He expected to be home by December.

Along with his mother, sister and younger brother, Dixon is survived by his wife and their four children, who live in Texas.