Every now and then I like to check on the old MRT where I used to work. I was saddened to read the story of a soldier who was killed in Iraq on Sunday. His wife is from Midland and is expecting twins January 15th. It just hit home so much and reminded me how very, very fortunate I am. I don't usually do this, but here's the story in its entirety. God bless her. I put a picture of him on here to remind us all that war has a face.

Baghdad car bomb kills Midlander's husband
Emily Baker Midland Reporter-Telegram 11/09/2004

When Spc. Brian Baker, 27, learned he and his wife were expecting identical twin girls, he told his wife he was filled with a warm feeling. The girls are due Jan. 15 but won't meet their dad when they are born. The children's father, an infantryman with the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, N.Y. was killed in action by a car bomb Sunday in Baghdad. "I hope they look like him because I need to see him every day," his wife, Amy Roach Baker, a 2000 graduate of Lee High School, said Monday. "I just wish I could feel that (warm feeling) right now. I feel so empty," Amy Baker said. Family members gathered in grief Monday and talked about their loved one's fate in Iraq. "He was there because he wanted to be, not because he had to be," Baker's father, Rusty Roach, said. Baker met her husband a few years ago in San Antonio through a friend. They were married nearly 13 months ago. Baker describes him as a "perfect husband" who was selfless and happy. He was killed when a portion of a car bomb hit his chest. The bomb was one of several aimed at coalition forces Sunday, which was supposed to be Baker's husband's day off, she said. "His chest was his best part because he had such a beautiful heart," Baker said. "He cared about me so much and about Coletin," her four-year-old son. "He had a wonderful laugh," Baker continued. "He always thought my jokes were stupid, but he'd laugh anyway."
He also never complained and often assured his wife he wasn't doing anything dangerous while deployed, Baker said. Baker's husband was from Springville, N.Y. and had his first taste of brisket when he moved to Texas, Roach said. His priorities were always God, family and country, Roach said. And he was his wife's peace and comfort, her sister Summer Roach said. Despite her loss, Baker continues to maintain support for the efforts in Iraq. She said that though more Americans will inevitably be killed, the liberation of Iraq must be completed. "The Army is at a loss without him," Baker said. "He was one of the best." He also leaves behind his parents, Greg and Holly Baker of New York, his mother-in-law Barbie Roach, two sisters and a brother.

At least five area military personnel have been killed since the Iraq war began.
Pfc. Clayton Welch Henson, 20, who called Midland and Stanton home, died April 17.
Pfc. Robert Arsiaga, 25, of Greenwood was killed April 4.
Marine Cpl. Daniel Amaya, 22, of Odessa was killed April 10.
Pfc. Chad Bales, 20, of Coahoma died April 3.
Chief Warrant Office Johnny Villareal Mata, 35 of Pecos died March 23.