Army Spc. Ryan M. Bell, 21, of Colville, Wash.; 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. Justin M. Estes, Staff Sgt. Robert M. Stanley, Sgt. Andrew C. Perkins, Spc. Justin A. Rollins and Pfc. Cory C. Kosters. Ryan joined the Army in 2004 and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., in January 2005. He was a member of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. His father said he enjoyed outdoor recreation, singing, dancing and watching sports. "He was a walking sports encyclopedia," Michael Bell said. The two last talked March 3. "I let him know how much he meant to us," Bell said. "How we were very proud of him and very pleased with what he was doing with his life." Since his son's death in Iraq's Salahuddin province, Michael Bell said he's heard from staff members at his son's military academy, been stopped on the street in town and even taken a call from Iraq from his son's commanding officer. The officer told him "he had served alongside Ryan and that he could always count on him to do what he's supposed to be doing." Bell is survived by his wife, Terri, of Fayetteville, N.C.; mother Sheryl Vickery, of Spokane; father, and stepmother Virginia Bell, of Colville.
Army Spc. Ryan M. Bell, 21, of Colville, Wash.; 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. Justin M. Estes, Staff Sgt. Robert M. Stanley, Sgt. Andrew C. Perkins, Spc. Justin A. Rollins and Pfc. Cory C. Kosters. Ryan joined the Army in 2004 and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., in January 2005. He was a member of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. His father said he enjoyed outdoor recreation, singing, dancing and watching sports. "He was a walking sports encyclopedia," Michael Bell said. The two last talked March 3. "I let him know how much he meant to us," Bell said. "How we were very proud of him and very pleased with what he was doing with his life." Since his son's death in Iraq's Salahuddin province, Michael Bell said he's heard from staff members at his son's military academy, been stopped on the street in town and even taken a call from Iraq from his son's commanding officer. The officer told him "he had served alongside Ryan and that he could always count on him to do what he's supposed to be doing." Bell is survived by his wife, Terri, of Fayetteville, N.C.; mother Sheryl Vickery, of Spokane; father, and stepmother Virginia Bell, of Colville.
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