Spc. Gary W. Walters

Gary Walters, a father of three with a fourth on the way, joined the Army after working a string of jobs including selling cars and installing satellites. "He wanted to settle down and he wanted to take care of his family," said his mother, Margaret Stanley. Walters, 31, of Victoria, Texas, was killed April 24 in Baghdad when an explosive detonated near his vehicle. He was based at Fort Stewart. Walters joined the Army in 2003 and married Johnna, the mother of his 5-year-old child, two months before being deployed. She is pregnant and he has two children from previous relationships. Stanley said her son had signed up for the military briefly when he was 17, but he didn't complete his enlistment because of some turmoil in his life. When he joined in September 2003, she said, he was ready to serve. Before leaving for Iraq, he made amends with his father-in-law. "He was making peace with everybody before he left," she said. "He would try to tell me he wasn't scared about going, but I told him it was OK. ... He was going to Iraq. Who wouldn't be scared?"