David J. Lane of Emporia, Kansas wasn't letting a war and 7,000 miles come between him and his plans for coming home. He already had contacted friends to arrange get-togethers and bought a piece of property with a friend serving with him at Camp Rustamiyah, Iraq, in eastern Baghdad. They planned to open a business together when they got out of the Army. He was looking forward to his homecoming, even though it was months away. David had entered his oversized, 4x4, 1979 Chevy pickup in the truck pull at the Lyon County Free Fair for the first time in 2005 and had pulled about 79 feet. He was in Iraq during the 2007 fair, and was eager to try it again in 2008. He enjoyed muddin' and had modified the Chevy to make it as tall as he could. David was home-schooled after moving to Emporia from Arizona. After receiving his high school certification, he enrolled in a mechanics course at Flint Hills Technical College before circumstances allowed him to enlist in the Army. He loved school. History was his favorite subject. The Civil War was one of his favorites. He did a lot of re-enactments before he got into the Army. Always and forever, though, he wanted to be a soldier. A hearing problem caused him to have several surgeries and doctors put a titanium implant in his ear that made all the difference. He was able to get into the Army. After he was deployed to Iraq, the private second class kept in touch with friends and family to let them know what his life was like in the Mideast. David told his mother about the children he'd befriended and talked about one Iraqi boy who came daily to the gate of the base to take orders for a tasty flat bread the soldiers had developed a taste for. On his last visit home on leave in spring 2007, seven friends got together for a farewell celebration and finished off the evening at the Golden Corral restaurant. His bulletproof vest shouldn't have withstood the round that struck him but a scar and a lump on his left rib cage showed how close the bullet came to striking his heart. He joined the Army about one year ago and had been stationed in Iraq since February. He was killed when an IED exploded near his vehicle at age 20.

Army
Charlie company
2nd Battalion
16th Infantry Regiment
4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team
1st Infantry Division
Fort Riley, Kan