20-year-old U.S. Army Specialist Zachary McBride, a 2005 graduate of Mountain View High School, was reportedly killed Wednesday in Diyana Province north of Baghdad, Iraq.
McBride, from Bend, Oregon, was one of six men who died January 9 when a bomb exploded as the soldiers conducted a house-to-house mission, the Oregon National Guard (ONG) reported. Four others were wounded in the attack and evacuated to a coalition forces hospital.
U.S. Army Specialist Zachary McBride in Iraq - photo provided by ONG
Specialist McBride was born in New York, New York, and joined the army in June 2005 immediately after graduating from high school. According to a statement relayed by the family to ONG, Zachary wanted to do something meaningful and to gain life experience. He enjoyed the Infantry’s hands-on approach versus the purely analytical, and enjoyed target shooting, reading, socializing with friends and missions for his church, they said.
McBride is survived by his father, Marshall, a Pastor of Music & Worship at Eastmont Church; his mother, Laura; and sister, Sarah; all of Bend.
This was the first incident involving multiple deaths of U.S Soldier in Iraq since September 10, when seven Multi-National Division-Baghdad soldiers died and 11 were injured in a vehicle accident in western Baghdad.