Maryland's Eighty-Fifth Hero

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Army Pvt. Charles Y. Barnett, 19, of Bel Air, Md.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died on Nov. 20 of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident in Tallil, Iraq.

HE WAS EXCELLENT STUDENT AND BELOVED BROTHER

Charles Barnett was born in 1989. His mother was from Seoul and his parents met when his father, a Army staff sergeant, was stationed in South Korea.

He attended school in Sykesville and then, after his mother remarried, attended Bel Air High School, before obtaining a GED. He wanted to serve in the Army for a few years and then attend college.

Soon after he turned 18, Charles told his mother he wanted to join the Army. His mother chased military recruiters from her home, but the teenager was determined to enlist.

Charles Yi Barnett enlisted in the U.S. Army right out of high school to fulfill his adventurous dreams of becoming a SWAT team member.

"When he was 14, that’s all he talked about," said Barnett’s eldest brother, Jason. "He just wanted to get his foot in the door and do something different with his life."...

Private Barnett was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. In May of 2008, The private was sent to Iraq. Among other duties, he was assigned to clear roads of mines.

Late Thursday, November 20th, military officials came to his mother and stepfather's Bel Air home with news that the 19-year-old had died that day of injuries he received in Tallil in a noncombat incident.

"When we opened the door, there was a chaplain and a staff sergeant — why else would they be at our home at 11 at night?" Danshiell said.

"I knew Jesus was holding his hand," his mother said. "I knew he would be OK. I prayed for him. I never, ever thought two soldiers would be knocking on my door in the middle of the night."

Barnett was the youngest of three sons born to his Korean-born mother and American father. His parents divorced when the boys were young, and the three boys grew up very close in their mother's Sykesville home, said his eldest brother, Jason Barnett, 22, of Cheyenne, Wyo.

As a boy, Barnett loved drawing complicated scenes of fantasy characters and comic book heroes. He was an excellent student and often helped his older brothers with their homework, his mother recalled.