Seven months ago, Sgt. Justin Duffy said goodbye to his family in Cozad and began his first tour in Iraq.

"He was very proud of what he was doing," said the sergeants father Joe Duffy. "He had a very strong work ethic. And he made sure when things had to be done they were done right. We're extremely proud of him."

Tuesday Sgt. Duffy, 31, died after the Humvee he was traveling in was hit by a road side bomb. At least two others were injured due to the improvised explosive device.

Sgt. Duffy was serving with the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army after joining the service in May 2008. He was station in Iraq since November 2008.

"It's a big deal to a town like ours," said Jay Edwards, a family friend. "I mean when you have one of your own go through something like this and the parents live here you know those folks."

Now his community is coming together to mourn his family's loss and celebrate what they are calling his vibrant life.

"I've got to honor that boy and all the rest of them, but it's the thing to do," said Charles Wooldridge, a Duffy family neighbor. "It's my country. I'm backing it."

To back their country, townspeople are flying their flags at half staff.

"We signed the declaration of independence, became a free country and ever since then, we've had men fight for that," said family neighbor Mark Varis. "I believe that's the right thing to do and if they die, i think it's right to honor them for their services."

And to remember Sgt. Duffy for his commitment to his country.

"We're just so very proud that he wanted to do what he did, and we're just so very sad that it had to end this way," his father said.

Sgt. Duffy moved with his family to Cozad from Moline, Ill. in the sixth grade. He graduated from Cozad High School in 1995. He later earned a degree in criminal justice from the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Services are pending in Moline, Ill.