Army Staff Sgt. Justin M. Estes

Died March 5, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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25, of Sims, Ark.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died March 5 in Samarra, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat operations. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Robert M. Stanley, Sgt. Andrew C. Perkins, Spc. Ryan M. Bell, Spc. Justin A. Rollins and Pfc. Cory C. Kosters.

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Ark. soldier who died Monday was among 6 paratroopers killed

The Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas soldier who died March 5 in Iraq was one of six killed by a roadside bomb, the military said March 8.

Staff Sgt. Justin Estes, 26, of Sims was part of the 82nd Airborne Division. The deaths were the largest loss of life for the Fort Bragg, N.C.-based airborne division.

Estes, a 2000 graduate of Oden High School, was on his second tour in the Middle East and was due to return to the U.S. on March 20, his family said.

Estes joined the Army in January 2001, and served in South Korea before joining the 82nd Airborne in November 2005, where he was assigned as a fire team leader. He is survived by his father, Donald Estes; his mother, Diane Salyers; and his sister, Kelli Estes, all of Sims, Ark.

Others killed in the bombing were: Spc. Ryan M. Bell, 21, of Colville, Wash.; Pfc. Cory C. Kosters, 19, of Woodlands, Texas; Sgt. Andrew C. Perkins, 27, of Northglenn, Colo.; Spc. Justin A. Rollins, 22, of Newport, N.H., and Staff Sgt. Robert M. Stanley, 27, of Spotsylvania, Va.

A memorial service was being scheduled by the brigade in Iraq. The men were members of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

Their company commander, Capt. Eugene Farris, called each of the soldiers a hero and said it was an honor to serve with them.