KWCH -- Another Kansas soldier has died in Iraq. The Pentagon says 30-year-old Staff Sgt. Bryant Mackey died after a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle.

People close to Mackey say he was funny, a team-player who was dedicated to both his family and his country. They say he was well aware of the dangers of war but was proud to be a soldier.

Waylon Stitt and Kelly Ebberts both graduated with Mackey from Hamilton High School in 1996. SSgt. Mackey joined the U.S. Army just before September 11th and was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. The first time he was injured by gunfire, but his friends say that wasn't about to scare him away from serving his country.

"We graduated with 17 people in our class," says Stitts. "It was the biggest class in 28 years, and with a class so small you can just imagine how big our hearts were for each other."

Ebberts says, "When you hear about it happening on TV and then it's someone that you know, went to school with, palled around with, that's when it hits your heart."

Karen Nielsen slides her hands thoughtfully across a printout of her son's obituary, tears falling down her face.

Touching the words on paper, she talks about how her youngest child, Staff Sgt. Bryant Mackey, died early Wednesday in Mosul, Iraq, after a tank he and four others were in was hit by a mortar.

An Army chaplain came to Nielsen's house Thursday evening to officially break the news.

Trained to drive tanks, Bryant Mackey, 30, enlisted in the Army in August 2001. He was serving his second tour in Iraq when he was killed. He had been injured in his first tour, trying to move a comrade out of harm's way, his mother said.

His father, Carl L. Mackey of Fredonia, said his son loved his country.

"He was a good soldier," he said. "That's what he wanted to do. He understood that it was about freedom."

The father, who also served in the Army, said he talked to his son about 12 hours before he died.

"He was so proud of what he'd done," he said, but he added that his son also was growing tired.

Bryant Mackey didn't like a lot of attention, Nielsen said. He was forgiving of those who criticized or protested the war in Iraq, his mother said.

"He died for them, too," she said.

Mr. Mackey grew up in western Kansas and was in fifth grade when the family moved to Eureka. He graduated in 1996 from Hamilton High School, where he played football. His two favorite teams were the Washington Redskins and Kansas State University.

"Girls were crazy about him in Hamilton," Nielsen said. "I always thought he had that Tom Cruise thing going on."

Growing up, he enjoyed hunting and fishing. Although quiet, he had a great sense of humor, his mother said.

"My daughter was my consoler, my other son was my protector, and Bryant was my entertainer," Nielsen said.

She said her son joined the military to help provide for his family: his wife, Marie Mackey; two sons, Ryan, 10, and Koby, 7; and a daughter, Stephanie, 5. They live in Howard.

After graduation, Mr. Mackey worked at several jobs but found his niche in the military, his mother said.

"I know that he'll be waiting for his comrades who follow him," Nielsen said Monday evening at her dining room table, decorated with a vase of yellow-and-white daisies sent as a condolence.

"He'll be ready to stand there and say 'Job well done,' " she said.

Based at Fort Hood in Texas, Mr. Mackey returned there after his first tour before being sent to Fort Knox in Tennessee, where he was an instructor. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. He went back to Iraq in October, his mother said.

The state of Kansas also will remember Mr. Mackey's service to his country.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Monday ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on Friday to honor him.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Staff Sgt. Mackey's family and friends," Sebelius said. "His courage and sacrifice will be remembered as we lower our flags in honor of his life and service."

Mr. Mackey also is survived by his brother, Carl D. Mackey of Wichita; sisters Lanesa Poulton of Texas and Monica Mackey of Fredonia; stepmother Pamela Mackey; and stepfather Dan Nielsen.

Funeral services with military honors will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Countryside Funeral Home in Fredonia. Burial will follow at Grace Lawn Cemetery in Howard.

Memorials are suggested to the Fredonia Library and may be left in care of the funeral home.

SSgt. Mackey leaves behind a wife and two small children who have been living in the Hamilton area during his second tour in Iraq.