Army Spc. Erik W. Hayes, 24, of Cascade, Md.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, Vilseck, Germany; killed Nov. 29 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle in Al Miqdadiyah, Iraq.
HE COULD DO ANYTHING
Hayes was born in Gettysburg, Pa., and grew up in Thurmont and Harney, where his father, Douglas Hayes, still lives. He graduated in 1998 from the Living Word Academy in Blue Ridge Summit, Pa.
After high school Erik had jobs that ranged from electrical work to working on a dairy farm, Douglas Hayes said.
“Erik could do anything,” Hayes said. “He was artistic. He could draw like you couldn’t believe. He was a good son.”
He joined the Army in 2001 to get a college education and had been stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., as well as in Germany, Bosnia and Kosovo before he was deployed to Iraq.
Hayes’ younger son, Bradley, 20, was injured in a car accident two years ago and is cared for at a Hagerstown medical facility. Erik was devastated by his brother’s injury, his father said.
“Erik loved him with all his heart,” Douglas Hayes said.
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