SPC Keith D. Pearson

Sgt. Keith D. Pearson, 25, wasn't originally scheduled to deploy to Somalia, but ended up filling a vacancy with the 977th Military Police Company, Fort Riley, Kansas.

"His commanding officer said he picked the best man to go," says his father, Burton Pearson, after his son's death in Somalia Aug. 9, 1993.

"He was a very compassionate young man," his father recalls. "He loved his job, and he loved his country."

A gregarious person and a formidable Dallas Cowboys fan, Keith Pearson is remembered by his family and friends as someone who would stand up for people who needed help, and one who went out of his way to make other people feel comfortable.

He and his wife, Jody, went out of their way to include single soldiers in social events. Jody had planned to tape football games for her husband while he was in Somalia.

Before he was married, Keith Pearson lived for a time with his older brother, Eric. "He was more than a brother; he was a friend," Eric Pearson says.

Keith Pearson died with three other MPs when the Humvee they were traveling in ran over a remotely detonated bomb.