Bryce E. Gautier

Monday, April 13 2009 @ 02:41 AM EDT

OC Register -- The Army has identified Pvt. 2nd Class Bryce Edmund Gautier of Cypress as one of five soldiers killed by a suicide bomber in Mosul, Iraq, on Friday.

The remains of Gautier, 22, Cpl. Jason G. Pautsch, 20, of Davenport, Iowa; Staff Sgt. Gary L. Woods Jr., 24, of Lebanon Junction, Ky.; Staff Sgt. Bryan E. Hall, 25, of Elk Grove; and Sgt. Edward W. Forrest Jr., 25, of St. Louis were returned to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Sunday.

The suicide bomber drove a truck loaded with an estimated ton of explosives near a police station in Mosul, the Army said. The Americans were bystanders in the explosion, which also killed two Iraqi policemen and wounded 62 others, including an American soldier.

Gautier, a medic, joined the Army in January of 2008 and had been in Iraq since January of this year, according to Army documents. He received the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Gautier graduated in 2005 from Rancho Alamitos High in Garden Grove, according to school district spokesman Alan Trudell.

The men were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

==Another news story==

The Gazette -- On his MySpace.com page. Gautier lists his mood as "confident."



The 22-year-old medic joined the Army last year and met up with his unit in Iraq in January.



His sense of humor is evident from a posting on the site, which Gautier last updated three days before his death.



"Winners make the rules, losers just follow them," Gautier wrote. "In the Army now."



Gautier's brother, Evan, left a simple eulogy on his Web page: "My brother Bryce was one of the American soldiers killed in the suicide bombing in Iraq this morning. I love you bro. I will miss you."

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