SPRINGFIELD, MO, US
U.S. Army
SPC, HHC, 1ST BN, 8TH INF REGT, 3RD BCT, FORT CARSON, CO
10/16/2010, AMARAH, IRAQ
Dylan Reid knew his junior year of high school that the English assignments piling up on his desk would never be finished, so he wrote about it. In stunning prose, the teenager politely penned a paragraph-long letter informing his teacher. He got an A.
“He was a smart ass,” said Erika Reid, Dylan’s sister with a chuckle. “And he was really funny.”
Those bouts of laughter have helped manage her sorrow. PFC Dylan Reid died of a heart attack while serving in Amarah, Iraq. He was 24.
Dylan Reid was born in Ironwood, Michigan, and moved to Arizona at age 9. His family settled in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where he graduated from Desert Technology High School. Dylan was sharp with tools, often buying trucks, fixing them and then taking them to the desert where speed limits are scarce. Friends also remember him for being very loyal.
Jake Ring, who knew Dylan since he was in 8th grade, called him “a real man,” one who enjoyed a cold beer at the end of the day and “had my back.”
Mason Dosey, 22, agreed. Friends since high school, Dosey turned to Dylan Reid whenever bullies walked toward him. “He didn’t let his friends get picked on.” But Dylan Reid was most widely known for a decision he made before graduating high school.
“He’s always wanted a family,” Erika Reid said. “He didn’t even care if he got married, but he definitely wanted kids.”
This past year, he got both. Before deploying, he tied the knot with Alecia Reid. And on September 14th, he looked on as his daughter, Avery Lynn Reid, was born. Less than a week ago, Dylan Reid logged on to the Internet and talked with a few people, including Dosey. Their conversation skipped along like it always did. Then Dylan Reid started talking about Avery
“He couldn’t believe how much he could love something,” Dosey said. “You never really know until you watch a child be born how much you can really love somebody. He was really looking forward to being a dad.”