Richard Gilmore remembered

Specialist Rick Gilmore is being remembered as a brave man who purposely chose one of the most dangerous jobs in the Army. Gilmore enlisted as an infantryman in December of 2005.

This was Spc. Gilmore's first tour of duty in the Iraq. The SpecFour infantryman was scheduled to come home in June, but the Army extended his stay. "My son would have been alive if they would have brought him out after his twelve months tour," said his father Richard Gilmore.

The 22-year old had recently been injured by a mortar blast, then Wednesday, he was one of four U.S. soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad. Gilmore says the loss of his oldest son is his worst nightmare.

Spc. Gilmore's best friend Jeremy Spears is also struggling with the grim reality. "I'm gonna miss him," cried Spears. But Spears says Gilmore died doing what he loved. "I could tell that he loved it. He's the type of guy, if he was going to do something, he was going to stick with it," said Spears.

The news of Spc.Gilmore's untimely death came as a shock at Walker High School. "It's just a shame he had to leave like this and we will miss him," said employee Jacqueline Mathis. She said Gilmore made his mark as a 2003 graduate and member of the JROTC. "You always saw him with a smile on his face always just real jovial, just a happy go lucky type of individual," said Walker High School Principal Danny Gambrell.

"He's kinda like a guy that you wouldn't forget about, because he was always around and always has a smile on his face," said teacher Vincent Medlock. Friends say that smile will now live on in his two children, two year old Malakiah and three year old Alexis. His best friend will be a part of the children's lives as they grow up. He plans to tell them many stories about their father.

The military will fly Spc. Gilmore's body back to the U.S in the next week.

From WIAT 42

Related Link:
Richard Gilmore reported killed in Iraq