Explosion Kills Bend Soldier In Iraq

GENERAL NEWS 

By Ethan Lindsey

Bend, OR  January 11, 2008 8:53 a.m.

A booby-trapped home rigged with explosives killed an Oregon soldier in Iraq Wednesday. Zachary McBride of Bend became the 101st Oregonian killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Central Oregon correspondent Ethan Lindsey reports.

Zachary McBride attended Mountain View High School in Bend, and enrolled in the military after graduation.

McBride and his family were active in the community, especially at the Eastmont Baptist Church in Bend.

Senior Pastor John Lodwick remembers McBride as a quiet teenager who liked to hang out with younger kids.

John Lodwick: “Zach was a great kid. There is one family in our church, particularly, that has four small children. He really enjoyed them and they enjoyed him. They are going to miss him."

Eastmont church says McBride returned to Bend in November for a visit. And he regularly corresponded with his parents -- the last email he sent them was on Saturday. He wrote he was heading into a more dangerous area.

John Lodwick: “This is the kinda loss I don't think you ever really fully recover from. There'll always be a hole there, that's left.”

Zachary McBride was 20 years old.

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