U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Adrian M. Elizalde died in Iraq on Aug. 23. Elizalde was a 1995 North Bend High School graduate. — Contributed Photo

A U.S. Army soldier with ties to Coos County died last week, when an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle near Al Aziziyah, southeast of Baghdad, Iraq.

Former North Bend resident Sgt. 1st Class Adrian M. Elizalde and Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Tully, of Falls Creek, Penn., had been on a combat patrol Aug. 23, when they both died from wounds sustained in the explosion.

Elizalde, 30, a Special Forces engineer sergeant, had been deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a member of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Arabian Peninsula, according to a Department of Defense press release. He joined the Army in 1996, after graduating from North Bend High School in 1995. He is survived by his parents Jorge and Teresa Elizalde and sister Rachel, all of Renton, Wash.; and his daughter Sydney Grace, 6, of Klamath Falls.

Elizalde and Tully were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Lewis, Wash.

Remembered as a good-natured and loyal friend, a good father, strong student and hard worker, he will be missed, said one family member, friends and former educators.

From her home in Renton, Rachel Elizalde said Adrian, her younger and only sibling, was her best friend, but wanted to save her memories of him for a funeral service at North Bend Chapel, tentatively set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, with a procession to Sunset Memorial Park, where he will be buried with military honor. Another memorial service will be held at Fort Lewis, Wash., at 1 p.m., Friday. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal.

“It's tough right now,” Rachel Elizalde said through a tear-strained voice. She said she hadn't seen him since he deployed in February. “In short, he's the most wonderful man you'd want to have on your side. He stands up for what he believes in. He was a phenomenal father. He was the best.”

Elizalde was born in San Diego, where the family lived for several years before moving to North Bend, Rachel Elizalde said. During his senior year of high school he played on the varsity football and wrestling teams.

Sgt. 1st Class Tim Freeland, who visited the Elizaldes after learning of their tragedy, said he met and befriended Elizalde about 91/2 years ago during their first duty assignment at Fort Bragg, N.C. The two men served in the same unit, boxed on the same team, worked together and eventually became roommates.

“He's a lot of different things. He's my best friend. He's somebody that I look up to and that I can always turn to and so is his family,” Freeland said.

“He's one of those guys. He'd always get you in trouble, but he'd always get you out of trouble, too.”

Recalling several memories of Elizalde, Freeland said his friend spent five days of his leave helping him to install new floors at his house, and on another occasion, bought and installed new tires on his jeep.

“I was real impressed, y'know. He'd do anything for you,” Freeland said, adding that he was sad he won't see Elizalde again. “It comes in waves. Sometimes you are OK and sometimes you are not. It sucks, y'know? We lost a good person.”

He said Elizalde enjoyed wrestling, mixed martial arts and hunting.

“We had a big hunting trip planned for when he came back,” Freeland said.

According to a U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) biographical sketch, Elizalde was first assigned as an infantryman with 3rd Bn., 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment at Fort Bragg. He later served as a Long Range Surveillance Detachment team leader with Company D, 519th Military Intelligence Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division.

In 2004, he was selected to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course at Fort Bragg to become a Special Forces engineer. There, he earned a Green Beret in 2005 and was assigned to the 1st SFG(A) at Fort Lewis, Wash., in March 2006.

During his days as a civilian, Elizalde was a well-regarded student at North Bend High School, said semi-retired geography teacher Pete Whitty, and Jeff Richards, the former assistant principal at the school.

Although he hadn't seen him since high school, Whitty remembers Elizalde as very outgoing and funny when he sat in his two geography classes.

“He was a great kid. He shouldn't have died so young. No one should. It's really sad,” Whitty said.

Richards agreed.

“He was involved in things. He was an outstanding wrestler for the high school, (he was) very popular with his classmates, and a very good student,” Richards said. “It's very sad to lose a very talented and a very nice young man at the prime of his life.”