 The Associated Press --Lukas Hopper's mother says his family expected him home for the
holidays, and they were especially excited because the 20-year-old was
away for Thanksgiving and Christmas last year.
Hopper joined the Army in January 2008 — just months after he started classes at Merced Junior College in California. On
Oct. 30, when he died, he was near completing a yearlong deployment to
Iraq. He was killed southeast of Karadah in a vehicle roll-over,
military officials said. He was assigned to Fort Bragg.
"Pfc. Hopper's great sense of humor, devotion to his fellow
paratroopers, and his dedication to mission accomplishment set him
apart from his peers. He will truly be missed," said Lt. Col. Dave
Bair, Hopper's battalion commander. Robin Hopper said her son
probably began thinking about joining the military when he was in
eighth grade. That was the school year he went on a field trip to the
Pentagon and the site of the World Trade Center, just months after the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "He came back a little different from that trip," said Robin Hopper, an elementary school principal. Hopper
is survived by his mother and his father, Yancy Hopper; and sisters
Chantal Hopper, 17, and Celeste Hopper, 15. The family lives in Merced,
Calif. | 
I would just like to say thank you for your service and sacrifice for our Country. And to your family and loved ones, I wish to extend my deepest sympathy.
Airborne All The Way!