Spc. Justin B. Carter

Justin Carter had a truck that locals had nicknamed the "Red Blur." "Everybody in town knew Justin and his truck," said Carter's stepfather and deer-hunting buddy, Brett Misemer. Carter, 21, of Mansfield, Mo., died Feb. 16 when an anti-armor weapon discharged inside an arms storage site in Iraq. He was assigned to Fort Benning. Carter was in a rush to live life, but he always kept track of details about friends and made time to speak to each person at family gatherings. He once invited a handful of friends from his barracks to his home for the Thanksgiving holidays. On Valentine's Day, he remembered to e-mail his mother, Becky, and send his love. "I thank God every day for giving me the chance to be raised by the best mother on earth!" he wrote just days before his death. Before he graduated from high school in Mansfield and enlisted in the Army, Carter was involved with the Future Farmers of America. His cousin, Rebecca Denney, remembered the adventures they had during high school, such as the prom they never quite made it to. He was the life of the party wherever he went, she said.