Private Noah Boye's mother, Diana Barela said she didn't get a lot of details, but officials told her that her son died a hero.

Boye had been deployed near Fallujah in January after finishing a tour of duty last year with the first coalition of troops to go into Iraq in March 2003.

Boye graduated in 2001 from Grand Island Senior High. After graduation, he joined the Marine Corps.

He was in Iraq for four months in 2003, came home and then was redeployed to Iraq last month.

The last contact that Barela had with her son was a letter she received from him three weeks ago that was dated March 7.

Boye had four brothers: Gary, Joshua, Joseph and Marshall.

Joseph was also among the troops during last March's initial invasion of Iraq with the Army.