Story Published: Feb 12, 2007 at 7:13 PM MDT
Story Updated: Feb 12, 2007 at 10:27 PM MDT
Sergeant Jim Holtom
Sergeant Jim Holtom was member of the 321st Engineer Battalion out of Boise.
He was home schooled most of his life and very close with his family...especially his brothers.
David Holtom, Jim's Father: "Jim was a guide on for his brothers and they followed his lead and he was a good leader."
David Holtom remembers his son...Sergeant Jim Holtom, the oldest of 8 kids killed last week in Iraq.
Holtom: "He was a very happy boy from the get-go. Very easy to raise. My wife thought if this is all there is to raising kids then it will be easy."
Jim was smart and was a sophomore studying engineering at Boise State University when he was deployed.
Holtom: "[He] always wanted to be a part of the military. We raised him that way to be patriotic and it sounds good until he actually does it and joins up and leaves but that's what he wanted to do."
Jim left for Iraq in September. His parents knew he was going to a tough area but when he'd call home he'd make the best of his situation.
Holtom: "We knew it was a hot spot and he knew it but he was more than willing to go. [He] never complained about anything and always said everything's wonderful."
David says many have died in this and other wars but it's the life and death of one person that's changed Jim's and his family's lives forever.
Holtom: "There was one that went before him that was not surrounded by friends and family that gave his life that made a difference in Jim's life and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. That was Jim's Savior and that's who he put his faith and trust in just like his family does."
A funeral for Jim will most likely be held in Boise at the end of this week.