Zachary Alday
Thursday, June 15 2006 @ 07:44 AM EDT
Contributed by: tomw
Post-Searchlight -- The family of 22-year-old U.S. Navy Corpsman Zachary Alday of Donalsonville, who was killed Friday, June 9 in Iraq when the humvee he was riding in while on patrol with the Marines set off a land mine, is remembering the joy he brought to their lives.
His unit was conducting combat operations against enemy forces in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq when he was killed.
The Corpsman’s grandmother, Kay Forbes, remembered how outgoing he was.
“Zachary played football in high school,” Mrs. Forbes said. “He was always very competitive, outgoing and full of life. He loved his parents, Tommy and Donna Alday, and the rest of his family dearly.”
Forbes said when Alday got together with his friends, he was always the life of the party. “He was just a guy who everybody liked.”
Forbes said Alday was from a farm family and he joined the Navy 18 months ago because he wanted something better for his 14-month-old daughter, Karmyn. He wanted to get an education and see the world.
“Karmyn was the love of his life. He loved her and her mother, Brooke, very much. He was looking forward to seeing her grow up,” Forbes said. “He was home at Christmas and in February and the whole family just had a great time together. He was an avid deer hunter and fisherman. He loved the outdoors and went hunting and fishing every chance he got.”
Corpsman Alday was part of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 7th Regimental Combat Team, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton in Twenty-nine Palms, Calif. When he went back to California in February, he was sent to Iraq.
Mrs. Forbes pointed out that, while he was very aware of the dangers of being in a war zone, Corpsman Alday was proud of what he was doing for his country and the Iraqi people.
“As a medic, Zachary was dedicated to caring for others and relieving their pain,” she said. “As a medic, he saved lives on the battlefield, and he was very proud of that. He wanted to dedicate the rest of his life to helping others. The best way to describe him is caring.
“He was as caring and compassionate a person as I have ever known. We will greatly miss him. He is a true hero,” Forbes said Tuesday.
He and his older sister, Mandy Barber, were very close. They would joke around when they got together and they were looking forward to raising their children together, Forbes said.
Military officials notified the Alday family of Corpsman Alday’s death Friday night.
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The Corpsman’s grandmother, Kay Forbes, remembered how outgoing he was.