Army Pvt. Lamarol J. Tucker

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pvt. Lamarol J. Tucker, 26, of Gainesville, Fla.

Pvt. Tucker was assigned to Brigade Troops Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska; died May 16, 2011 in Zabul province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device.

Pvt Tucker, who had just deployed in April, was a 2003 graduate of Santa Fe High School in Alachua. He joined the service in January 2009 and was stationed at Ft Leonard Wood before coming to Alaska. Pvt Tucker’s brother, Keith, said Lamarol Tucker always wanted to do something positive and added that he encouraged his brother to join the military.

Keith said the military gave his brother more structure and said he was proud of the decisions his brother made.

“I loved him. Times were hard, but we made it through together on many occasions. He’s a hero in my book. I love him very much, and I miss him,” Keith said. “He enjoyed music and sports. He was very quiet — didn’t talk a whole lot. We’d cut up ... a lot.”

A procession of law enforcement escorted the body of Army Pvt. Lamarol Tucker from Gainesville Regional Airport to Chestnut Funeral Home yesterday morning.

Intersections along the route were crowded with people paying their respects. People in cars that were stopped along the route also got out to honor Tucker.

Riding in the motorcade was Lamarol Tucker’s cousin, Mary Howard, who also described her cousin as a quiet person who is going to be missed.

“We are so proud that he gave himself to his country,” Howard said. “It was so powerful to see him honored like this.”

Pvt Tucker is survived by his father, Lenard Jerome Tucker, his brother, Keith Tucker. He was preceded in death by his mother, Janice Elaine Walker.

Army Pvt. Lamarol J. Tucker was killed in action on 5/16/11.