The Army vs. Spec. Richmond

But Edward refused to follow instructions if he thought they were pointless. His father made many trips to meet with administrators at East Ascension High School, including assistant principal Gwynne Pecue, who found him overprotective but struggling to understand his son. At the start of 11th grade, Edward announced that high school had nothing more to teach him, and he dropped out.

He was involved in an altercation with some local boys the next year, and he was charged with resisting arrest and disturbing the peace. His next run-in was more serious. A few months shy of his 18th birthday, Edward was arrested with crack cocaine and marijuana in an undercover drug sting. After deputies swooped in, he punched an officer in the chest and tried to run. He was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana, battery of a police officer and resisting arrest.

Edward did a 30-day stint in rehab, passed his GED and enrolled at Louisiana State University, but he still faced felony drug charges. The military was his answer.

"There was the understanding that if you don't do this, the DA will prosecute you," said his attorney, Carl E. Babin of Baton Rouge. A soldier was born. The prosecutor did not seek a conviction.

A recruiter who worked in the Gonzales office at the time said Edward scored high on his tests and said he wanted to serve his country. "He had some problems, but it wasn't anything that we couldn't put him in the Army for," said the recruiter, who was not supposed to discuss Edward and asked that his name not be used.

From basic training, Edward shipped to Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, home of the 1st Batallion/27th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division. He broke his jaw in a bar fight and joined the headquarters company mortar platoon. In "Lightning Thrust Warrior" training exercises, Edward was chosen as best gunner and "hero of the battle."

His father counseled him about challenging his superiors. "Regardless of whether they are right or not, they are wearing stripes," he said.

"Daddy," Edward answered, "dumb people are hard to deal with."

For a kid from the middle-class suburbs, he could trash-talk like a thug, "but when he put on those glasses and buried his nose in a book, his whole attitude changed," said Sgt. Shaun Mittler, Edward's squad leader in Hawaii.

Sometimes he came off as a know-it-all. By the time his mortar platoon got its orders for Iraq, "everybody turned on him," said his buddy, Pfc. Frederick Sidney. "He would speak out. Everybody else was trying to suck up."

Spec. Richmond went home to Gonzales before deploying. Yellow ribbons were tied around the oaks in his yard. A photograph shows Edward at a picnic table giving his little sister a playful headlock. In another shot he is shirtless and handsome, with deep-set eyes and vacation stubble, staring steadily into the camera.

"I'm ready," he told his mother.