WILLMAR, Minn. - A 19-year-old National Guard member from Minnesota was killed Thursday in Iraq by a roadside bomb that exploded near his convoy.
Family members of Kyle Randall Miller, 19, of Willmar, were notified of his death Friday morning.
Miller's mother, Kathy Miller of Bird Island, said her son had been in the first vehicle of a seven-vehicle convoy when a roadside bomb exploded.
"He was behind the driver," she said. "My son was doing communications, so I thought he'd be safe."
Kathy Miller said she was told her son died on the way to the hospital.
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She said the driver of the vehicle is in stable condition.
"I cannot believe it," she said Friday night. "It's hard to believe he's gone. It's been a hard day."
Kyle Miller lived in Bird Island from the age of 3 to 15, when he moved in with his father in Willmar.
Kathy spoke about her son's good sense of humor and artistic abilities.
"He made me smile every day," she said.
Kyle Miller's father, Randy Miller of Willmar, declined to comment on his son's death Friday morning.
The Rev. Steve Knudson of Vinje Lutheran Church said he had met with the family Friday morning.
Willmar Mayor Les Heitke directed that flags in the city be lowered to half staff Friday.
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Kyle Miller was a member of the 682nd Engineer Battalion of Willmar and was among the 2,600 Minnesotans deployed in March.
He is the fifth military death in the Willmar area since the war started.
Ebert is a reporter at the West Central Tribune in Willmar, Minn. Tribune Features Editor Sharon Bomstad contributed information to this story.
