They called him "Sunshine."

It wasn't a particularly tough nickname, certainly not for an Army Ranger, but it fit nonetheless.

The Special Forces soldier loved to laugh, and he especially liked to make others laugh. Even in combat, he found reasons to be joyful: Music and games and stories about the people he loved.

And it was infectious.

In Monday's edition of The Salt Lake Tribune, we tell the story of how a Wildwood, Ill. soldier named Joseph Dimock died. It's an amazing account of courage, sacrifice and comradeship.

But it's not the whole story.

Dimock's decision to sacrifice himself to save a friend, last month, might have been nothing more than a split-second reaction to a horrifying situation. But as I slowly peeled back the layers of his all-too-short life, this week, I began to suspect that the way the 21-year-old soldier died was just an extension of how he lived.

In one light, it might seem heroic. In another, as one family friend told me, "that just sounds like something Joey would do."

This was, after all, a young man who had made a habit of sacrificing himself for others. As a Boy Scout, he once stood between a special-needs scout and a group of bullies from another troop. On one long hike, Dimock carried another scout's 50-pound pack when the smaller boy could no longer do so himself.

I'm sure that Joseph and Ellen Dimock were proud to hear that their son continued to live in such a selfless way, right up to the end of his life. But none of that diminishes the pain they are feeling. "We have just gone through something no family should ever have to go through," the grieving parents said in a short statement. "We are deeply saddened by his loss."

It's very natural for parents, grieving the loss of a son or daughter at war, to latch onto notions that their child died as a hero. Some parents hold so tight onto these early beliefs that they refuse to let go, even when latter evidence paints a different picture.

I think it's telling, then, that Dimock's parents have only tentatively accepted accounts of their son's last-second actions, which likely saved the life of one other soldier and possibly many others.

"We are well aware that our son, Joey, died on his last deployment to Afghanistan," they said. "We ourselves, are not aware of how; we're waiting for the final report from the Army."

Those are not the words of parents desperately seeking solace in the idea of their son's heroism. Rather, they are the words of parents whose child had given them reason to expect nothing less.

The 1st Ranger Battalion has withheld all comment pending the completion of an investigation into Dimock's death. It's unclear when that report will be completed, but there's some evidence that the Army has come to the same conclusion about Dimock's death as we at The Tribune have.

"Ranger Dimock represented everything right with America. He was an incredibly talented young man, who volunteered to serve his nation in a time of war and ultimately gave his life in support of her cause," said Lt. Col. Mike Foster, the 1st Ranger Battalion Commander, in a statement released two days after Dimock's death.

Shortly after, Army officials notified the Dimock family that their son has posthumously been awarded the Bronze Star. The award is presented for bravery and meritorious service.