We just got back from bringing flowers and a card to BYN's family. Only the mother was home. I asked about the funeral and she assured us we could come, as "y'all were his friends." What could I say to her? She wans't crying. She was calmer than we were. I think it was pure shock. She seemed honored that NPR had put her son's name on the radio, and she also didn't know he'd been printed up in the paper. I even made her laugh, by recalling how he used to make fun of his sister all the time.
I just looked his name up online and found a succinct description of what occurred:


A 24-year-old Athens-area man was the sole American soldier to die, along with 18 Iraqi children and teenagers, from a suicide bomb in Baghdad on Wednesday, military officials confirmed on Thursday.
Spc. "BYN" was said to have been giving out candies and toys to a group of children with his colleagues when a suicide bomber careened his sport utility vehicle into the crowd, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. The attack killed a total of 27.

"BYN" had been dispatched to Iraq in January, said an infantry spokesman. He is from Bogart in Oconee County, just outside Athens, where his family still lives.
His sister said the family received the news Wednesday and is still too distraught to speak to the press.
"We really haven't had the chance to digest the news," she said on Thursday.
"BYN" was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart.