Willsun M. Mock killed by I.E.D.

Willsun Mock's two older brothers were married with children at the time of the 9/11 attacks. The Harper native decided he'd be the family's representative in the war on terrorism.

"He just felt it was his time," said his mother, Ann Mock. "Of course he wanted to save the world. He was my peacemaker. He liked people. He loved people. And people remembered him after they met him."

The U.S. Army announced Wednesday that Sgt. Mock, 23, died Sunday of injuries sustained when a bomb detonated near his vehicle in Baghdad.

The second-youngest of seven children, Mock enlisted in the Army more than four years ago and was serving his second tour in Iraq when he was killed. Mock was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division in Schweinfurt, Germany.

Ann Mock said her son was a caring young man.

"I wish he had never had to live through this," she said. "He loved his fellow man so much that it was very hard for him to see another world.

"He might have been very tough, very well-seasoned and very good at his job, but he wanted to help those people out. He wanted to help his fellow soldiers out.

"I was very proud of him."

From the Wichita Eagle