This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
AMERICAN FORK - Long before his family would be handed the folded flag off his coffin Saturday afternoon, Sgt. Nathan Barnes let his family and friends know the importance of fighting for those in Iraq.
"He talked often of the children of Iraq," his sister, Lisa Blake, said during his funeral. "He taught about a million kids to give high-fives."
While on patrol one time, an Iraqi child playfully touched Barnes' machine gun, Blake said. The Army 10th Mountain Division soldier would gently slap the kid's hand for a laugh, she said.
"He taught me patriotism. I consider it an honor to have a hero for a brother," she said, her voice shaking with emotion. "There's a heavy void in my heart."
Barnes died July 17 in the farming community of Rushdi Mullah, Iraq, when his unit came under fire. He was on an assault mission when the helicopter he was in took fire as it landed and the door opened, said Kevin BarnesĀ last week of his son's death. BarnesĀ was fatally wounded.
The farming village, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, has been the subject of an intense search for two missing soldiers from Barnes' Fort Drum, N.Y.-based unit.
However, military officials have not said whether he was part of that search.
Hundreds of mourners looked on at the grave site as Barnes' family was presented with two metals: A Bronze Star earned for his service in Iraq, and a Purple Heart.
A slight breeze sent dozens of flags waving in the wind as a 21-gun salute echoed throughout American Fork Cemetery. En route to the cemetery, hundreds of local Boy Scouts stood at attention holding flags along 100 East.
Friends, family members and fellow soldiers remembered Barnes for his dedication to his family, humor, commitment to serving the country and dedication to his faith as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"Like most soldiers, he was selfless," said Army Gen. Mike Oats. "He chose to do so voluntarily. He was disciplined, selfless and courageous."
Siblings recalled Barnes' love for the outdoors, love for literature, and eagerness to lend a helping hand.
While home on leave in January, he offered to help his brother, Michael, with a bathroom remodeling project. The pair were attempting to sheetrock the bathroom, but their measurements were off, Michael Barnes said.
"It didn't matter that we weren't doing good on the bathroom," Michael Barnes said. "We were together."
Barnes' brother Jay said he "was a soldier at heart. Nathan will always be a hero. He understood the cost of freedom."
Looking down from atop a shaded small hill, the Barnes family's bishop, Jim Pack, noted that however tragic, Barnes' death has pulled the community together.
"I think this is a fitting tribute," he said.
Barnes is the 15th Utahn to die this year in the nation's ongoing wars, according to a Salt Lake Tribune count of residents and former residents who have fallen while serving in overseas combat zones.
An account has been set up in Barnes' name at Zion's Bank. Monies donated will be given to charities the family believes he would want to support.
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* Tribune reporter MATTHEW D. LAPLANTE contributed to this report.