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A Mesquite soldier stationed at Fort Campbell was killed in combat in Iraq, the Defense Department confirmed Thursday.
Staff Sgt. Clay Craig was killed April 29th in Baghdad.
The military news release said Craig "received small arms fire during combat operations."
Clay was the youngest son of eight children and after graduating from Mesquite's Horn High School, in 2003, enlisted in the U.S. Army.
Craig's sister, Nita Edwards of McKinney, sat down with CBS 11 News Thursday afternoon and shared fond memories of her brother.
Edwards said the 22-year-old staff sergeant, was married and had a 14-month-old daughter, Isabelle, who was 'his pride and joy'.
She recalled one afternoon when the little girl with the 'very big smile' went with them to a North Texas restaurant. "We were eating and she was so funny. She wanted to stand up in the back of the booth. [She's] just like Clay, always curious and smiling."Craig was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Ky. Edwards said it was her brother's third tour in Iraq and that he hadn't been home to Texas since last summer.
Family members say military officials informed them that Craig was killed during a night mission. "Now I'm a little hurt that it was the third time that my brother was over there," Edwards said.
The now grieving sister says she respects and supports everyone fighting in Iraq and knows her brother made the choice to be there. "My brother deserves all the respect in the world, because he was doing his job and he didn't think twice about it."
There was one last indication that Craig received a message from his sister - something that comforts her today. "I was relieved that he viewed his MySpace [page] on the 29th, right before he went out on that mission," said Craig's sister, Nita Edwards of McKinney. "I got to tell him how much I missed him and loved him, right before his final mission."
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