Washington Post -- It did not matter how many times Tommy Lee Latham's children wanted to hear the same book read aloud, a relative recalled last night. Latham would read it.

"Without any complaints," his mother-in-law, Florence Guy, said from her home on Maryland's Eastern Shore. "He was a good guy. He was a really good person."

Sgt. Thomas L. Latham, 23, of Delmar, Md., died Sunday in Baghdad, where he was serving as an infantryman with the 10th Mountain Division, the Pentagon said yesterday.

He died of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee, the Defense Department said.

Latham was born in Southern Maryland and lived there with his parents, Thomas J. and Barbara Latham, until they moved to the Eastern Shore when he was 3.

At Wicomico High School in Salisbury, he played end on the football team, his father said. He and his future wife, Rachel Guy-Latham, had been friends at Wicomico High, his mother-in-law said. He joined the Army after graduating in 2002.

On a visit to Delmar afterward, he and Rachel "found each other again," his mother-in law-said. The two were married 23 months ago.

"I know that he loved my daughter, without a doubt," Florence Guy said. "And I know he loved the kids" -- Ariel, who is 21 months old, and Caleb, who is almost 6. Guy said Latham was Caleb's stepfather.

Latham, who had served a year in Afghanistan, was sent to Iraq in August, his mother-in-law said. He was home on leave in Delmar during Christmas and "was just grateful to have the time" with his family "when he was given it," she said.

He played video games with Caleb and sat on the floor with Ariel playing with blocks, she said.

"He was one nice person," said his grandfather, Bud Collins, of Princess Anne, Md.

He was "a very special boy" and "believed in what he was doing," his father said. "He was committed to his buddies. They were behind what was going on there. They wanted to finish the job."

Latham was assigned to the 2nd Battalion of the 14th Infantry Regiment in his division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Drum, N.Y.

According to his father, Latham's survivors also include two sisters, Jill Ayers, who lives in Southern Maryland, and Brittney Shipman, who lives in North Carolina.