Navajo soldier dies in Afghanistan

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http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2009/08/22/news/state/20090822_arizo_202230.txt

By SUE MAJOR HOLMES
Associated Press Writer
Saturday, August 22, 2009

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A 21-year-old Navajo soldier killed in Afghanistan was described by his mother as someone who made everyone smile and his father remembered him as an outgoing man with an interest in the outdoors and art.

Navajo Nation Council Delegate David Tom of Beclabito-Cudii and his wife, Carolyn Tom, flew to Dover Air Force Base, Del., for a brief ceremony Thursday night when the body of their son, Army Spec. Troy Orion Tom, was brought back to the United States. "Right now he's just our hero," David Tom said Friday. "His family is all proud of him that he was out there, serving his country."

His son was killed Monday in the Kandahar Province of Afghanistan. David Tom said the family was told he stepped on a roadside bomb when his unit was setting up camp after a fight with Taliban insurgents.

Tom joined the Army in June 2006 after graduating from Aztec High School and was based in Fort Lewis, Wash. His father said he joined the military because he wanted to physically and mentally challenge himself.