Updated at 5:07 p.m., Wednesday, August 22, 2007
2nd Missouri man among soldiers killed
Advertiser Staff
A Kansas City, Mo., TV station is identifying a 21-year-old soldier from Caruthersville, Mo., as among those killed in the fatal Iraq crash.KMBC-TV is reporting on its Web site that Ricky Bell was due to come home on leave Sept. 13, his aunt, Glenda Overbey, told The Associated Press. He had been in Iraq since June, where he turned 21 on June 30.
He is survived by his parents, Ricky and Janice Bell, a sister and brother, all of Caruthersville in Missouri's Bootheel.
Overbey said military representatives delivered the news Wednesday morning at the parents' workplaces.
He graduated from Caruthersville High School in 2005 and immediately joined the military. He was based in Fort Lewis, Wash.
J.J. Bullington, a Caruthersville middle school principal, said she has known Bell since he was a child.
"I knew him when he was a little boy," she said. "I taught him swimming. This is a real small community of about 7,000. Everybody knows each other."
Bullington said Bell's family asked her to convey to the media that they "need space" and were not taking phone calls.
Overbey said Bell's body is not expected to return to Missouri until the middle of next week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
