Army Spc. Ryan C. King

Remember Our Heroes

Army Spc. Ryan C. King, 22, of Dallas, Ga.

Spc. King was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died May 1, 2009 near the village of Nishagam, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit. Also killed were Sgt. James D. Pirtle and Staff Sgt. William D. Vile.

Kileen Daily Herald -- SPC Ryan Charles King, age 22, of Hobart, Indiana (formerly of Paulding County), passed away Friday, May 1, 2009, while serving his country in the U S Army, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

He was born on Veteran’s Day, November 11, 1986, in Marietta, GA. He attended Faith Lutheran Church in Marietta for many years.

He played baseball in Canton, Powder Springs, and Dallas over the years, and truly loved being a Georgia boy and a family man. SPC King was a graduate of East Paulding High School Class of 2005.

A few months after graduation he enlisted in the Army, something he had wanted to do since he was a child. He went to basic training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, followed by AIT at Fort Huachuca in Arizona. After he completed his training, he was stationed in Korea for a year, where he met his wife.

As a member of the Special Troops Battallion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry, they both left for deployment to Eastern Afghanistan in July 2008 and both were scheduled to return to Fort Hood in Texas in June 2009. SPC King was respected and loved by many and will be missed, but never forgotten.

Survivors include his wife, SGT Rachel Nicole Smith King; father, Charles Stanley King of Temple, GA; mother, Candice R. King & partner, Sandra Moore of Decatur, GA; younger brothers, Tyler King of Temple, GA and Dante Moore of Decatur, GA; grandparents, Dorothea King of Temple, GA and Tommy & Nancy Roberts of Dallas, GA; as well as many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, May12, 2009, at 11:00 am, from Clark Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will follow in Georgia National Cemetery, Canton, GA, at 2:00 pm, with full military honors. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Monday from 3:00 pm until 8:00 pm.

Georgia soldier killed in Afghanistan
The Associated Press

ATLANTA, Ga. — A 22-year-old Georgia soldier has been killed in Afghanistan.

Ryan C. King of Paulding County, an Army specialist and a member of the Special Troops Battalion, died May 1 in a fire fight with insurgents in Konar Province.

The Pentagon said a fellow soldier, Sgt. James D. Pirtle of Colorado Springs, Colo., also was killed in the attack.

Funeral arrangements are pending for the fallen soldiers.

Army Spc. Ryan C. King was killed in action on 5/1/09.