StarBulletin.com

Isle soldier was hands-on leader


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POSTED: Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The 24-year-old Schofield Barracks lieutenant who was killed when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his Humvee in Iraq was a leader “;who just couldn't stand by and watch others do the job,”; his sister said yesterday.;

First Lt. Daniel Hyde of Modesto, Calif., was killed Saturday in Samarra while on patrol with his platoon, his sister, Andrea Hyde, told the Star-Bulletin yesterday morning.

Hyde was a platoon leader in the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment.

It was Hyde's first combat deployment since he graduated from West Point in 2007, ranking 23rd in his class, said Andrea Hyde in a telephone interview from Modesto.

She said her brother had been accepted by all three military academies.

“;He wanted to do something other people couldn't do,”; she added. “;He was a type of person who'd rather do it instead of depending on others since he knew he could it well.”;

Hyde lettered in three varsity sports in high school — football, basketball and golf — for three years, his sister said, and was elected student body president twice.

“;He had a lot of friends in high school. He was just so very thoughtful,”; she said.

The 3rd Brigade will hold a memorial service for Hyde in Iraq on Thursday. He was the 3rd Brigade's third death since it arrived in Tikrit in October.

Pfc. Christopher W. Lotter, 20, of Chester Heights, Pa., died in Balad on Dec. 31 of wounds he suffered when he was shot by enemy forces while standing guard as a gunner in his Humvee.

On Jan. 11, Pvt. Sean P. McCune, 20, of Euless, Texas, died in Samarra of injuries sustained from a noncombat-related incident.

The Army has not released details of his death except to say it was an accidental shooting.

Funeral arrangements for Hyde in California are pending.