Ryan Hill remembered

Friends remembered Ryan Hill as an only son who cared for his mother and always thought about his friends.

Army Pfc. Ryan J. Hill, 20, died Saturday in Baghdad of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee, according to the Defense Department.

Hill grew up in the Keizer area. He was a 2003 graduate of the Oregon Youth Challenge Program in Bend, where he completed his GED, his family said. Hill joined the Army in July 2005 and was sent to Iraq last July.

"We're very thankful for the kind of life that Ryan has lived, the honor that he's shown to his country," Rev. Scott Erickson said. "He was a high-caliber individual, a person of incredible character."

Funeral plans have been tentatively set for Feb. 2 in Salem.

A formal internment at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland will be held in the afternoon, where full military honors will be rendered at the gravesite, as well as presentation of any military awards.

Erickson said the family had attended his church for several years.

"He loved his country, loved the Lord and loved his mother," Erickson said.

Hill's remains were in transit to Oregon on Wednesday, pending military processing in Dover, Del. Hill is scheduled to return to the state Jan. 31, according to military officials.

Hill attended McNary High School for three years, said principal Ken Parshall. Hill participated in football .

"It's a tragic loss for the family and community," Parshall said. "People are thinking about him."

Friends said Hill worked a couple of jobs in Salem before joining the Army. Jessica Stoner, 22, of Keizer said she and her fiancee kept in frequent contact with Hill when he deployed to Iraq. He would call or send messages to his friends through the Web site MySpace. Stoner said Hill would make it a point to call back home especially if his friends in the Army had died.

"He told us that he'd never forget his 'dawgs,' " she said.

Stoner worked with Hill at the Albertson's in Keizer while they both attended McNary. Hill loved playing basketball and hanging out with his friends, she said.

Stoner said Hill was an only child and had "tough times" with his mother, but always wanted to make her happy.

"He wanted to do the best for his mom," she said. "He wanted to make her proud."

Tyson Olsen, 20, of Albany knew Hill from working with him at Sears at Lancaster Mall. Olsen said the two often spent time together at Detroit Lake or hung out after work. Olsen said he knew Hill was excited to join the Army, even though other friends tried to dissuade him from enlisting.

"He was definitely a best friend. He definitely didn't deserve this," Olsen said.

Hill spent several years in the Westgate Assembly of God youth group in West Salem before entering high school. Former youth minister Brian Eldridge said Hill had a sensitive spot in his heart for others.

"He wasn't necessarily the best-behaved kid all the time, but he was one of those kids where once you got to know him, once he trusted you, things changed," Eldridge said.

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