CALDWELL - Flags flew at half staff at Caldwell High School Tuesday in honor of Private First Class Jacob Allcott, a 2002 graduate of Caldwell High School who was killed by a homemade bomb in Baghdad Saturday.
PFC Allcott was serving with the Fourth Infantry Division. Three other GIs were also killed when the IED exploded, setting their Humvee on fire, according to the Department of Defense.
Allcott's older brother says the 21-year-old soldier had been in Iraq for six months.
"It's not easy. Everybody misses him a lot," Aaron Allcott told KBCI CBS 2 News. "But he knew the risks. He signed up after the war was going on so he did know that was a possibility. But we were hoping for a different outcome."
Jacob Allcott's father is Bruce Allcott, the former Caldwell Fire Chief who is now the fire chief in Burley.
Aaron Allcott says his parents were vacationing in Holland when the military contacted them.
"They actually had somebody find them over there and go talk to them in person," Aaron said.
Jacob Allcott is the second Caldwell High graduate to be killed in action in Iraq. Specialist Carrie French,19, was killed by a roadside bomb in June of last year while serving with the 116th Combat Brigade in Kirkuk.
Caldwell High's Dean of Students Bill Cooper knew both Carrie French and Jacob Allcott.
"We've always had a tradition about family," Cooper told KBCI CBS 2 News. "Our students are good (Caldwell High School) Cougars, and they're good Cougars all the rest of their lives. Carrie and Jacob sought out this service to the United States. It's a tragedy, it's sad. They made the ultimate sacrifice. They were students who were well respected at our school."
PFC Allcott is survived by his parents as well as three brothers and two sisters.