Mesquite Soldier Remembered

MESQUITE, Texas - The Army flag flies outside the home of Retired Major Terry Coatney in honor of the soldier he considered a surrogate son.

"I just can't possibly say enough about him," said Major Coatney, wiping his eyes.

25-year-old First Lieutenant Dustin Vincent was killed Thursday in Northern Iraq.

His unit was attacked with small-arms fire during a patrol.

"It's going to be a horrible, horrible loss," said Coatney.

Vincent graduated from Mesquite High School in 2005, where he was a member of the Runior ROTC program.

Terry Coatney was his instructor and mentor.

"From the day he walked into my office at age 14, he told me he wasnted to join the Army."

Vincent was awarded a full Army ROTC scholarship to UT Arlington, where he graduated in 2009.

He had been in Iraq for six months on his first deployment and was scheduled to return home to see his wife and two-year-old daughter in December.

"He was just looking forward to coming home, and coming home to family," said Amanda Northum, Vincent's friend. "We just really, really miss him."

Friends remember Vincent as a patriotic, fun-loving person who wanted to follow in his late-father's footsteps by joining the military.

"He gave his all for everything. Everything he did he gave his all for," said Northum.

And for the country he dedicated his life defending, he gave his life.

Right now, Vincent's family is at Dover Air Force Base, where his body will be returned to the US.

A funeral for him will be held in Mesquite next week.