Sgt. Arnold Duplantier

Arnold Duplantier II found joy giving Iraqi children gifts, watching their faces light up when he handed them one of the Hot Wheels cars he often carried in his pockets. "He was a big kid," said his wife, Tanya. "He liked video games and toys. He was always making jokes and teasing people." Duplantier, 26, of Sacramento, Calif., was killed June 22 by small-arms fire in Baghdad. He was based in Auburn. He earned an electrical engineering degree from Cal State Sacramento and was working at an automobile dealership when he joined the National Guard in 1999. Duplantier was the guy who listened to the homesick blues of others while he silently bore his own longings, his father said. "That's his style," said Arnold Duplantier. His son was the kind of young dad who lowered his 6-foot frame to the floor to scramble with his daughter, Isabel, and help her select crayons. He went shopping on his last leave, buying toys to hand out to the children. He told his wife he was sure they would grow old together and he couldn't wait for the days when they could pass the time together swinging on the porch.