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Local Soldier Killed In Line Of Duty

POSTED: 4:57 pm EST January 2, 2007
UPDATED: 10:04 am EST January 5, 2007

Friends and family are in mourning after the New Year's Day death of an Army soldier who was stationed in Iraq.

Sgt. Thomas Vandling, 26, of Bellevue, died when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Baghdad, according to the Department of Defense.

"He was proud to be there," said Vandling's friend, Greg Brown. "He wanted to be there. He really thought that was what he needed to do."

Vandling was a 1998 graduate of Northgate High School, and majored in psychology and philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh.

"He was never a person to not talk to you or help out," said Brown. "And that's the way he was raised, and that all started from his parents. They are hard-working people and they instill that in all their children."


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