Army Spc. Kenneth A. Melton
30, of Westplains, Mo.; assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment, 39th Brigade Combat Team, Army National Guard, Fordyce, Ark.; killed April 25 when his military vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire while traveling in a convoy from Baghdad.
Officers in Spc. Kenneth A. Melton's unit referred to him as a "grunt," but offered him the highest praise for his position. "He always did his job," said retired Sgt. Larry Engles, who served with Melton on a peacekeeping mission in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. The 30-year-old from Batesville, Ark., was killed when a roadside bomb detonated near in Baghdad April 25. He was based in Fordyce, Ark. Melton, who was raised in Thayer, Mo., worked as a truck driver for Dowell Transport Inc.
— Associated Press
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