Oklahoman killed by sniper fire in Iraq

Iraqi insurgents take the life of an Oklahoma soldier. Specialist Lyle Rymer of Roland, Oklahoma[high school picture], was shot by a sniper Friday. <br/><br/>The military says his unit was setting up

Monday, January 31st 2005, 8:33 am

By: News On 6


Iraqi insurgents take the life of an Oklahoma soldier. Specialist Lyle Rymer of Roland, Oklahoma[high school picture], was shot by a sniper Friday.

The military says his unit was setting up security for an Iraqi polling place. News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan went to Roland and says Specialist Rymer was shot protecting other soldiers. They were setting barricades in place in Iraq, when a sniper hit him with a single shot.

Rymer was 24, a member of the Arkansas Army National Guard for the last two years. He was a graduate of Roland High School, from the class of 1999. He was remembered there as a student who was kind and was eager to work with his hands. Roland High School teacher Chuck Davis: “Well I hate it, I really do, as everybody would say about that, but I'm behind our service people 100%, but he's a volunteer like everybody else, and he was doing his job, and he was a good person, and it's just a terrible thing that's happened.”

Rymer will be buried in the Fort Smith National Cemetery. He will be the first soldier killed in the Iraq war to be buried there.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete, and typically take about a week to arrange because of travel time for the body.

Specialist Rymer was married with two children, the youngest born since his deployment. He was able to see his baby in November while on a two week furlough - that's the last time his family saw him.
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