Schofield casualty in Iraq identified as Tennessean

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Schofield soldier Staff Sgt. Todd E. Nunes, 29, of Chapel Hill, Tenn., died Sunday near Kirkuk, Iraq, when his convoy hit a makeshift bomb and was fired upon.

The Department of Defense released his name yesterday.

Ten other members of the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, were injured in the attack.

Nunes, an artist from a family with a long history of military service, leaves his wife, Christy, his 7-year-old daughter, Larissa, and his 19-month-old son, Alex. The family lives on O'ahu.

His mother, Barbara Nunes of Chapel Hill, said that she visited her son and his family in Honolulu last year and that he had been eager to join his brother, James Brian Nunes, who was serving in Iraq at the time.

"He wanted to be in Iraq," she said. "He was all ready to go."

Shelah Crick, a close family friend whose son, Scott, grew up with Todd Nunes, said Nunes' loss is a jolt to the two-stoplight town of Chapel Hill.

"He was just one of the nicest people," she said. "He'd give you his last dollar, if you needed it. He was what you'd call a good ol' boy. There aren't many of them out there anymore, but he was one."

Nunes was a skilled artist who drew portraits of family members, Crick said. In the seventh grade, he drew a picture of one of Scott's favorite comic book character.

"The detail, the shadowing — it was absolutely perfect," she said.

Crick said the title of the piece was "Everybody needs a hero in life."

Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com