Dustin Allan Yancey

Wednesday, November 09 2005 @ 08:00 AM EST

Des Moines Register -- A Cedar Rapids native was killed Friday by a roadside bomb in Iraq, his father said.

Dustin Allan Yancey, 22, was driving an armored Humvee south of Baghdad when the explosion occurred. He had been in Iraq since January and was due to leave Dec. 1, said his father, Tom Yancey of Goose Creek, S.C.

Pfc. Dustin Yancey was with the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, based in Fort Stewart, Ga. He was born in Cedar Rapids and attended Hiawatha and Garfield elementary schools there before moving with his family in 1991 when the Army sent his father to Charleston, S.C.

A cousin, Brian Yancey of Cedar Rapids, described Dustin Yancey as a devoted family man and soldier.

"He was very much a patriot, very much a military man," Brian Yancey said. "He was a person who wanted to do what he could for his country."

Several of Dustin Yancey's family members remain in Cedar Rapids, including his grandparents and several cousins. He returned every few years to visit on holidays.

"We felt the loss very dramatically," Brian Yancey said. "It's unfortunate that it happened, but it's what happens."

Brian Yancey said Dustin's funeral will be held in Cedar Rapids, although the details had not been set late Monday. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, his cousin said.

Cedar Rapids Mayor Paul Pate said that when it comes to remembering Yancey, his sacrifice should be honored regardless of where he was born.

"I think we take anybody who gives their life for our country very seriously," Pate said.

Dustin Yancey deserves to be honored, Brian Yancey said, but Cedar Rapids should equally recognize all of its natives in Iraq.

"There's a lot of men and women from this area that have given an awful lot for this effort," he said. "I don't think anything Dustin did or was involved in was anything more than anyone else did."

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