William M. Sigua remembered

Army Sgt. William M. Sigua was a model of calm strength and leadership, but he was quick to be a "goofball" and show his softer side, friends of the 21-year-old Los Altos Hills soldier said.

"He was like a brother," said Ciera Kash, 21, Sigua's friend since kindergarten and his date to their senior homecoming dance at Los Altos High School. "He was always pushing people to be the best, but he was the embodiment of loving."

Sigua, an infantry squad leader, died Wednesday of wounds suffered when his team came under small arms fire during a combat operation in Beiji, Iraq, the Department of Defense announced Friday.

The death of the former high school wrestler and football lineman stunned those who knew him in the leafy, upscale Los Altos Hills neighborhood where he grew up.

"He was so strong," said Kash, a graphic designer living in Lake Tahoe. "He was the embodiment of strength."

The youngest of three sons, Sigua was determined to join the military after graduating from high school in 2003, friends said. He enlisted that summer and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg, N.C.

"He wanted to serve his country. He was that type of guy," said one of his close friends, Brian Johnson, 22, now living in San Diego. "He's very poised. He was a fighter. Everybody loved him. He never raised his voice, and he always had a smile on his face."

The flag hung at half staff Friday outside the darkened home where Sigua grew up. Vases of roses sat by the door with hand-lettered cards to "Ben and Jackie" -- Sigua's parents.

"(William) believed he and his unit would make a difference," his mother, Jackie Sigua, said in a statement. "There is no reason to think he wouldn't. He had an impact on everyone he met and had many friends who looked up to him and will remember him as a hero."

The sergeant believed strongly in his work in Iraq, his mother said.

"William was a remarkable son and a dedicated soldier and paratrooper. He had very strong convictions toward his career as a soldier ... and he strongly believed in our country's mission in Iraq," she said.

William Sigua said little about his time in combat but seemed his old self when he was on leave about five months ago to see family and then briefly visit friends in San Diego, Johnson said.

"He didn't seem bitter or anything like that," Johnson said. "He didn't miss a beat. He was the same old Will."

Sigua's neighbor, Alvie Stevenson, 87, had to wipe away tears as she recalled the young man who had lived next door since he was a small child.

"It's so unnecessary," Stevenson said as she was quietly comforted by her husband, John, 86. "Why, why does all this happen?"

From the SF Chronicle

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William M. Sigua slain by sniper