Sergeant Killed on 4th War Tour

'Larger Than Life' Soldier Was 17 When He Joined Army

Army Staff Sgt. William Vile had been awarded two Purple Hearts, put in more than a decade of service and was on his fourth tour to one of the country's two wars when insurgents attacked his unit this month.

The May 1 attack occurred near the village of Nishagam in Afghanistan's Konar Province, according to the Department of Defense. The Defense Department reported that two soldiers had been killed: Sgt. James D. Pirtle, 21, of Colorado Springs, and Spec. Ryan C. King, 22, of Dallas. Both were assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division based at Fort Hood, Tex.

The status of Vile, 27, of Philadelphia, was initially listed as unknown; the Defense Department announced his death a day after Pirtle and King's. He was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Riley, Kan.

"I never met anybody who was so honest," Vile's fiancee, Heather Jackson, told the Philadelphia Daily News. "He never put on a mask. He was never anyone but himself. Bill was larger than life."

Jackson met Vile in summer 2006 when friends set them up. They were engaged and planned to be married Feb. 13.

Yesterday, Jackson and Vile's mother, Donna, were joined by a crowd of more than 130 friends and family members at Arlington National Cemetery to honor Vile's life and sacrifice. Both women were presented with flags by Lt. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley of the U.S. Army Accessions Command. Afterward, Army Secretary Pete Geren offered his condolences.

Vile was 17 when he enlisted in January 1999. He left for basic training that summer, not long after turning 18, Army officials said. He was previously assigned to Fort Polk in New York, Fort Drum in Louisiana and Fort Benning in Georgia.

He had twice been deployed to Iraq and had served in Afghanistan during 2006 and 2007.

Yesterday's services took place under a cloudless blue sky. Mourners followed Vile's wooden coffin as it was carried to the grave site, which was backed with a display of flowers and wreaths.

Mourners recalled Vile as a "great American hero" who would always be remembered by his country, family and fellow soldiers.

Outside sounds occasionally intruded into the service -- a drum roll from ceremonies elsewhere in the cemetery, planes flying to and from nearby Reagan National Airport.

A seven-person firing party paused for a plane roaring overhead before snapping off three volleys. To the west and south of the mourners, a bugler playing taps and a military band stood amid an ever-growing sea of white tombstones in Arlington's Section 60, where many of the casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried.

Vile was the 91st casualty from the war in Afghanistan buried at Arlington.