Tommy was a 2003 graduate of Santa Rita High School where he was on the Varsity Wrestling Team for three years, then he proudly entered into the Army in November of that year. He had been married to Mykel 18 months in a courthouse ceremony in Tucson while he was home on leave. When he left for Iraq in January on his first deployment, he went believing that he was going to make a difference. He wanted to give the Iraqi people the same freedoms we have. By all accounts, Tommy Byrd was the kind of guy everyone wanted to be around. He lived his life to the fullest, and for those who knew and loved him, the news of his death has left an emotional scar that may never heal. He always put other people before himself. He had a huge heart of gold. He is survived by his wife and high school sweetheart, Mykel Kristin Byrd; his mother, Julia Byrd; father, Michael Byrd, Sr., and younger brother, Michael Byrd, Jr. He was 24.

Army
2nd Battalion,
69th Armor Regiment,
3rd Brigade,
3rd Infantry Division,
Fort Benning, Georgia.

Tommy was a 2003 graduate of Santa Rita High School where he was on the Varsity Wrestling Team for three years, then he proudly entered into the Army in November of that year. He had been married to Mykel 18 months in a courthouse ceremony in Tucson while he was home on leave. When he left for Iraq in January on his first deployment, he went believing that he was going to make a difference. He wanted to give the Iraqi people the same freedoms we have. By all accounts, Tommy Byrd was the kind of guy everyone wanted to be around. He lived his life to the fullest, and for those who knew and loved him, the news of his death has left an emotional scar that may never heal. He always put other people before himself. He had a huge heart of gold. He is survived by his wife and high school sweetheart, Mykel Kristin Byrd; his mother, Julia Byrd; father, Michael Byrd, Sr., and younger brother, Michael Byrd, Jr. He was 24.

Army
2nd Battalion,
69th Armor Regiment,
3rd Brigade,
3rd Infantry Division,
Fort Benning, Georgia.