Brett L. Tribble

Tuesday, June 06 2006 @ 02:44 AM EDT

www.khou.com -- A grieving family shared memories with 11 News of a local soldier killed in Iraq.

The 20-year-old from the Angleton-Danbury area in Brazoria County had been in Iraq less than a week.

His parents said they are understandably proud of who Private Brett Tribble was and what he stood for.

The sun has never shined as brightly on the American flag in front of the Tribble house as it did Monday.

“He had a lot to give,” said Tracy Tribble.

Tracy Tribble proudly remembered the 20 short years she had with her oldest son Brett who was in Iraq less than one week when he was killed.

“At least I know he was happy he didn’t have any regrets doing what he was doing and he was ready to go you know.  He was ready,” she said.

The military family said they prayed its son would fulfill his dreams of five years in the Army.

“He was gunner in an armored Humvee,” said Alan Tribble, soldier’s father.  “He was sitting up there on top of that machine gun and some kind if IAD explosive device went off.”

Private First Class Officer Brett Tribble was the only one who died in Friday’s incident.

Major Nathan Banks, an Army spokesman, said Tribble was transported to medical facilities in Ar Ramadi, where he was pronounced dead the next day.

“He was a good one.  My hero,” Alan Tribble said.

The opinions of the soldiers’ mother and father now vary on whether other families should have to make the same sacrifice.

“I think it’s time for them to come home, each and every one of them,” Tracy Tribble said.  “I think we’ve done our time there.”

“If we just pull out now then they’ve died for nothing,” the soldier’s father said.  “We got to we got to finish the mission over there.  He was there for a reason.”

Tribble left behind a 2-year-old son and two younger brothers. 

“I had a conversation with his younger brother and not sure if he understands just yet.  But I told him, if he wasn’t over there doing what he was doing there would be more airplanes flying into buildings and it would just be horrible here. I said he’s doing that to protect us.”

In Brett Tribble’s honor, his uncle lowered the family flag.

A total of 2,477 U.S. military men and women have now died since the war began in 2003.

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