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By Linda Nishida
Capital News Service
Thursday, Dec. 2 , 2004

WASHINGTON - Friends of a Carroll County soldier said they were "devastated" by news that he was killed Monday in Iraq, making him the sixth Maryland soldier to die in that country in November.

Army Spc. Erik W. Hayes, 24, of Harney, was killed Monday when a roadside bomb was detonated near his vehicle in the town of Al Miqdadiyah, the Defense Department reported Thursday.

"We loved Eric, and we're very proud of him," said Frank Turner, principal at Living Word Academy in Blue Ridge Summit, Pa., where Hayes commuted to school for six years from his Maryland home, before graduating in 1998.

"Everyone who was close to him was pretty devastated," added Turner's wife Cheryl. "He had hoped that he was going to make it through, come home and do something for someone else."

That "something" was a plan to become an emergency medical technician, she said. From his post in Iraq, Hayes had been trying to get in touch with the Turners' son, a paramedic and close friend, to discuss his career goals, Cheryl Turner said.

Hayes' parents could not be reached for comment Thursday evening.

The Pentagon said Hayes was serving with the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division when he was killed. His unit was based in Vilseck, Germany.

Hayes' death brings the total number of Maryland soldiers killed in November to six. A total of 20 Maryland soldiers have now been killed since the start of the war.

The Defense Department said Marine Cpl. Kirk J. Bosselmann, 21, of Dickerson was killed in fighting in Iraq's Al Anbar province on Saturday. Four Maryland soldiers died in as many days earlier in the month: Army Spc. Thomas K. Doerflinger, 20, of Silver Spring was killed Nov. 11 in Mosul; Marine Lance Cpl. David M. Branning, 21, of Cockeysville, was killed Nov. 12 in Fallujah; and fighting in Fallujah on Nov. 14 killed both Marine Cpl. Nicholas L. Ziolkowski, 22, of Towson and Army Cpl. Dale A. Burger Jr., 21, of Port Deposit.

Hayes' friends Thursday described him as someone who "enjoyed the outdoors" and "loved animals."

Cheryl Turner said that since the school had received news of Hayes' death, her home has received a constant stream of visitors.

"Our home has been pretty bombarded by kids being there, talking things out," she said. "It's been hard the past few days . . . he was a good, good guy, and was a blessing to know."

Copyright © 2004 University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism