Matthew Stanley remembered

A New Hampshire man killed in Iraq over the weekend was an upbeat guy, a popular high school prankster who touched everyone he met, family and friends said yesterday.

Specialist Matthew Stanley, 22, of Wolfeboro , was one of three soldiers killed by a roadside bomb Saturday as they rode in a Humvee in Baghdad. The newlywed would have turned 23 the day after Christmas.

"He was just one of those kids, happy-go-lucky, all the time," said James Savage Jr., his stepbrother. "He loved life. He was a fun person to be around. He just thought going to the military was an honorable thing to do."

The family was stunned to hear the tragic news, Savage said: Stanley, assigned to the Armored Calvary based at Fort Hood in Texas and on his second tour of duty, never said he was going to Baghdad.

"When he was heading back over, it was our understanding he was going to be in one of the outlying cities where there was not going to be quite as much fighting," Savage said.

Stanley was born in Massachusetts and grew up in the Wolfeboro area, graduating from Kingswood Regional High School in 2002, Savage said.

Stanley's stepfather, Jim Savage, works in security at the high school, and his mother, Lynn, is an aide at a middle school, Savage said.

While most students are far removed from Stanley's graduating class, many know members of his family, said high school guidance director Ryan Whittaker. Students created a memorial poster with his picture affixed to it. Teachers and staff were grief-stricken, he said.

Stanley is the first Kingswood alumnus to die in the Iraq war.

"It affected a lot of people quite a bit," Whittaker said.

Stanley had such a sense of humor that if the high school had had a comedy show, he would have been the star, Whittaker said.

"His personality was very vibrant; he was a practical joker with great smile," he said.

After graduating, Stanley knew college wasn't for him so he took a year off to figure out what he wanted to do, Whittaker said.

"He joined the military to get out of Wolfeboro and give back to his country," Savage said. "He wanted to do some good."

Stanley's wife, Amy, who lives in Texas, arrived in New Hampshire Sunday to be with her husband's family, Savage said.

From the Boston Globe

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