Phoenix, Arizona (AP)

A 20-year-old soldier from the Gila River Reservation was killed while conducting escort operations in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense.

Cpl. Billy B. Farris, of Bapchule, passed away Dec. 3 in the city of Taji from injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device went off near his Stryker Reconnaissance Vehicle.

He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

Farris enlisted in the Army in July 2004, completing basic training at Ft. Benning, Ga., before going to Fort Lewis. This was his first deployment to Iraq.

He was an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe and often visited extended family on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, his mother, Liz Antone, told The (Riverton, Wyo.) Ranger.

Antone said her son had expressed interest in moving to Wyoming after his military service.

A memorial service was held Dec. 12 in Fort Lewis.

Some people remembered Farris as being likable and having a quick smile.

“He was a good student, and he was a jokester,” said Sister Martha Carpenter, a nun at St. Peter Indian Mission School in Bapchule, between Chandler and Casa Grande.

Flags on the reservation were flown at half-staff.

“We’re deeply affected by his death,” said Carpenter, who had known Farris since he was 5. “When we heard about all these roadside bombings, we were worried. Now those bombings have a face, and the war has become much more personal.”