Hourly Update

Family, friends remember fallen soldier

More than 500 people packed a South Side church Friday for the funeral of Tucson Army Spc. Thomas Byrd, a 2003 graduate of Santa Rita High School. Byrd, 21, who was killed in action in Iraq, was eulogized as a model soldier, husband, son and friend. "Tommy was a brave man of distinguished courage and ability," said Dan Montaño, Byrd's wrestling coach at Santa Rita. "The next time you see our flag waving so proudly in the air, remember why its waving and the sacrifice Tommy made," Montaño told the crowd of mourners. Byrd's wife, 19-year-old Mykel Byrd, his high school sweetheart, his parents Michael and Julia Byrd and his 15-year-old brother Michael, Jr. looked on as the Army offered a 21-shot salute and presented the flag that draped Byrd's coffin. Byrd was one of five soldiers killed Oct. 15 when their assault vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb in Ramadi, about 70 miles west of Baghdad. He is the 15th person with ties to Southern Arizona to die in Iraq or Afghanistan.