Putting it simply, Elias Torrez loved his life on the farm in West Texas. "He was funny. He could take a bad situation and make you laugh no matter what," said stepbrother Rigo Ramirez, 20. "He was a free soul. He had a zest for life." Lance Cpl. Torrez, 21, of Veribest, Texas, died April 9 in hostile fire in Iraq. He was based in Twentynine Palms, Calif., and was on his second stint in Iraq, Ramirez said. Ramirez described Torrez as an easygoing, lovable guy with a lot of friends. Torrez graduated from high school in 2001 and started boot camp the day before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Ramirez said he last heard from his stepbrother a month before his death, when he left a message telling his father and stepmother that he loved them and everything was going OK. Torrez's parents are Elias Torres Jr., of Veribest and Veronica Norris of Grape Creek. Torrez spelled his last name differently than his family.

— Associated Press

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