Anthony D. Ewing dies 'of wounds suffered when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device'

Anthony D. Ewing said all he wanted to do was "go home and relax."

Described as "optimistic" by his friends and himself, the 22-year-old had promised that "I'll come home soon damnit!" according to a post on his MySpace profile.

But the army sergeant won't return to the United States the way friends and family had hoped.

Ewing was one of five soldiers killed on Memorial Day in Abu Savda, Iraq, when a bomb struck their vehicle, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Ewing, who was on his second tour in Iraq, according to friends, was supposed to return to the United States soon, but his tour had been extended another 90 days.

Ewing and four other soldiers in the 1st Cavalry Division, stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, were killed in the vehicle explosion.

Ewing was a 2003 graduate of Westview High School in Avondale.

His father still lives in the Valley, and his mother lives in Texas.

"He was always an outgoing, optimistic person," said Ashley Logan, who has known Ewing since fifth grade.

The pair went to Sundance Elementary School in Peoria.

"He always made people smile no matter what," Logan said.

Ewing had planed to start college in February, she said.

From the Arizona Republic