Our Latest American Hero #103

franklcady
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Army Spc. Frank L. Cady III, 20, of Sacramento, Calif.; assigned to the 4th Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; died Oct. 10 in Baghdad of injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover

"Fort Riley Soldier Killed In Iraq Vehicle Rollover"

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Frank L. Cady III was a veritable “kid genius” who could have been a formidable attorney, his mother said.

But Cady’s dreams took him in another direction after seeing the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, she said. He decided to join the Army after graduating from the Visions in Education charter high school in 2005, and deployed to Iraq in January.

Spc. Cady, 20, died Oct. 10 of injuries from a vehicle rollover in Baghdad, where he served as a chemical operations specialist, the Department of Defense announced Oct. 15. He was assigned to the 4th Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Riley, Kan.

The cause of the rollover was under investigation, military officials said.

“My son died living his dream,” said his mother, Billie-Jo Hull, 35. “How many people could say that, if they died today, they would be living their dream?”

Friends and family members also described Cady as a talkative young man who’d do anything for a laugh.

“He was an amazing kid. There was something about him. He had a sparkle in his eyes — I call it a hint of mischief,” said his friend, former Army Pfc. Tasha Feenan. “He was always there for you no matter what, even if you didn’t want him to be. We lost one of the few genuine people left in this world the day he died.”