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.