Staff Sgt. Alan W. Shaw

Alan W. Shaw "lived and breathed" his job in the military, said his wife, Sharrell. He had "0311" _ his Military Occupational Specialty Code in the Marines _ tattooed on his arm. On his left shoulder, he had a large camouflage "S." "Everybody in his unit _ all those guys called him Superman," Sharrell Shaw said. "They all called him invincible." The nickname fit his personality _ always the one to lend a hand or to break up an argument or a scuffle, said his older brother, Larry Shaw. Shaw, 31, of Little Rock, Ark., died Feb. 9 of wounds suffered from an explosion in Baqubah. He was assigned to Fort Hood and was on his second tour. After graduating high school in 1994, Shaw spent a year at Arkansas Tech University, where he was defensive end on the football team, before joining the Marines in 1998. When he was discharged in 2002, he joined the family business hanging acoustical drop ceilings for Shaw Acoustical Co. He rejoined the military two years later. He also is survived by a son, Austin, 10, and daughters Jourdan, 7, and Davyn, 6. "They walk around saying that their daddy''s a hero," Sharrell Shaw said.