Army Spc. Wade Twyman, 27, Vista; Among 4 Soldiers Killed in Bombing

Army Spc. Wade Michael Twyman, 27, was “a true patriot” who always wanted to serve his country, his family says.

Twyman, of Vista, Calif., and three other soldiers on combat patrol in Ramadi, Iraq, were killed March 4 when an improvised explosive device detonated near the armored Humvee in which they were riding, according to the Department of Defense.

All four were assigned to the 1st Infantry Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team at Ft. Carson, Colo.

Twyman was a scout who performed reconnaissance missions. He will be awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart posthumously.

Twyman was born in Torrance. The family moved to Big Bear before settling in Vista.

He joined the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department cadet program in junior high school and then became a corrections officer for the department after graduating from Rancho Buena Vista High School in 1996, said his father, John.

Twyman eventually left for Arizona, where he spent a year as a sheriff’s deputy.

In 2003, Twyman joined the Army and was stationed in South Korea during his first year. He was deployed to Iraq last August and had recently become the gunner on the Humvee in which he patrolled, his father said.

The elder Twyman said he was proud but worried when his son joined the military and went to Iraq. “I was praying every day and counting the months” before he returned home, John Twyman said. “I thought we were almost there.”

He said his son was proud of his service in Iraq, and thought he was doing the right thing.

During a recent visit home, he told his father that the soldiers “were doing a lot more good” in Iraq than was being portrayed in the media.

Jill Rutan, Twyman’s seventh- and eighth-grade English teacher at Faith Lutheran School in Vista, remembered Twyman as a student who was “always ready to learn.”

“Wade was very curious and very excited about learning,” she said. “He asked a lot of questions and was always actively involved in classroom discussions.”

Twyman had a strong interest in history, the military and law enforcement, she said.

John Twyman said his son had a bright future ahead. “He was a young Christian man who had lots of friends,” he said.

He said his son planned to go to college to study architecture or photography.

In addition to his father, Twyman is survived by his mother, Janice; two brothers; and a sister.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Faith Lutheran Church, 700 E. Bobier Drive, Vista. Funeral services will follow at 2 p.m. at Riverside National Cemetery.