Donald Valentine remembered

Donald Valentine served on a aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf at the beginning of the War in Iraq.

After his tour, he came back home to Orange Park.

His son, Army Specialist Donald Valentine III also went to Iraq. His family says he wanted to serve his country after 9/11

"I knew he was gonna make it, nothing was gonna happen to him," said Valentine Jr.

But Valentine found out Tuesday his namesake was killed by an improvised explosive device while on a patrol north of Baghdad.

He had been planning to come home for a visit in November. His tour was supposed to last until March.

"He was going to start a family and start to have kids," said the soldier's father.

Valentine leaves behind a wife in Washington State where he was stationed at Fort Lewis.

"He's a hero, to everyone looking for a hero in the world, everyone over there, every volunteer, they're all heroes, every one of them," said Valentine Jr.

Valentine will be buried in Houston.

But there will be a memorial service in Orange Park for the man his father can't believe he lost.

From NBC 12

Related Link:
Donald E. Valentine III dies 'of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat operations'