Army Staff Sgt. Jimy M. Malone

Died June 23, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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23, of Wills Point, Texas; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died June 23 in Taji, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed were 1st Lt. Daniel P. Riordan, Sgt. Joel A. House and Spc. Derek A. Calhoun.

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Family, friends remember soldier killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

Army Sgt. Jimy M. Malone was very close to his grandmother, Ramona Malone.

“Jimy was always bubbly, he was just a live wire. He played GI Joe, and had to have two flashlights at his side when he went up to bed. He was always a peacemaker.”

Malone, 23, of Wills Point, Texas, was killed June 23 by a roadside bomb in Taji, Iraq. He was a 2002 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas. He was on his second tour.

Malone was the reason his brother Marcus joined the Army himself. “I love my country and I love what I do. He loved it so much, it spilled into me. I love my country and my family very much, and my brother taught me to be the best I could be,” he said.

He also is survived by his wife, Leslie, and 6-month-old daughter, Reagan. When Malone found out Leslie had given birth, he kicked in doors at the base where he served and screamed his announcement, “It’s a girl, and it’s a girl!” His former assistant principal, Jim Lamb, remembered him fondly.

“When he would be on leave, he’d come in and see us. Jimy’s just one of those kids you loved to be around,” he said. “A great young man, with a great personality. Everybody liked him.”