3rd soldier from Utah dies in Iraq

Capt. Nathan S. Dalley — Brighton High president of the senior class of '94 and a graduate of West Point — has become the third Utah solider to die in Iraq.

Dalley, 27, died Monday in Baghdad from a non-hostile gunshot wound, according to Congressman Rob Bishop, R-Utah. His body was returned to the United States Wednesday, along with the 17 soldiers killed in the crash of two Black Hawk helicopters in northern Iraq last Saturday.

Dalley was described by his oldest sister, Alicia Schroeder of Kaysville, as a man who "wanted to explore everything and see everything." That's why, after graduating from West Point in 1998, he backpacked through Europe and took part in the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, Schroeder said. "He was full of life."

Dalley was deployed to Iraq with the Army's 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, from Baumholder, Germany, last August, an assignment he chose, his sister said.

"From the time of Sept. 11 he wanted to fight for his country," Schroeder said. "All the soldiers he knew felt so pumped to defend our country. And he wasn't afraid to fight, he wasn't afraid to go to war. He had been trained excellently to do this job."

Dalley was engaged to Kristen Barnekov of Georgia.

He e-mailed his family every week, rotating between family members. "He was kind of vague with us, because he knew we were worried," Schroeder said. His last e-mail was Sunday, to his sister Catherine. "He said everything was fine and he was working hard."

Dalley was an honor student at Brighton High and received appointments to U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marines Academy, his sister said. He originally wanted to become a naval officer, so he could fly F-16s, but discovered that his eyesight was too poor. He then chose the Army, and hoped to become a ranger with the Special Forces, but was deployed to Iraq before he could finish the training.

"He had so many friends," Schroeder said. "And he was a good friend. He treated everyone with respect."

Dalley is the third Utah solider to die in Iraq. James W. Cawley, 41, a Salt Lake City police officer and Marine reservist, was killed in a firefight near Nasiriyah on late March, nine days into the war. Staff Sgt. Nino D. Livaudais, 23, died in April in a suicide bombing at U.S. checkpoint in northwestern Iraq.

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E-mail: jarvik@desnews.com

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