Army Staff Sgt. Toby W. Mallet

Died April 9, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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26, of Kaplan, La.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany; killed April 9 when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his patrol vehicle in Baghdad.

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Kaplan family mourns loss of soldier

Associated Press

KAPLAN, La. — Todd Mallet didn’t think his younger brother, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Toby Wayne Mallet, would be able to handle military life.

“I’d tell him, ‘Aw, you won’t be able to listen to them. There was no way you could follow orders,”’ the older brother recalled saying to his sibling, who enlisted in 1995. “He said, ‘Oh, I can do it. I can do it.’ And he did a good job at what he did.”

Toby Wayne Mallet died in Iraq on Friday when his convoy was ambushed in Baghdad. The Department of Defense announced his death Tuesday.

Mallet, 26, was killed when the M-2 Bradley vehicle he was patrolling in was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, said Martha Rudd, Army public affairs spokeswoman.

Mallet’s parents, Linda and Jesse Baker and father Ron Mallet, all are from Kaplan. Though the family is requesting privacy as they grieve, Todd Mallet said he wanted to share the story of his brother.

“We’re very proud of him,” said Todd Mallet, who is two years older than his brother. “My mom would like to thank people for the sympathy and condolences.”

He said his mother declined to comment and that his statement would be the last from the family.

“The family requests no further interviews,” he said. “My mom doesn’t want camera crews at the funeral.”

Toby Mallet graduated Kaplan High School in 1995 and enlisted in the Army in June of that year. He was a field artillery automated tactical data systems specialist and was stationed in Germany with the Army’s 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Infantry Division in Schweinfurt.

In March, Toby Mallet visited his family in Kaplan. He had been in Iraq for only about a week.

“He has a brand new baby, about six weeks old,” the soldier’s brother said. “That’s the whole reason his trip was delayed. They let him stay back until his wife had the baby.”

The soldier leaves behind four children, said his aunt and godmother, Millie Vincent, of Kaplan.

“We’re very saddened by his loss,” Vincent said.

Her voice began to waver as she stifled a sob.

“He was a loving child,” she began. “He loved to laugh. Loved to have fun. He was a very good student. A sweet person. A real sweet person.”

The family expects Mallet’s body to be returned from Iraq sometime next week, Vincent said.