tool name

Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009

Soldier from Merced killed in Iraq accident

Golden Valley High graduate dies in Humvee rollover.

Pfc. Lukas Hopper, a 20-year-old Army paratrooper from Merced, died in a Humvee crash in Baghdad last week, the military said Monday.

A Golden Valley High School graduate, Hopper had been in Iraq for nearly a year. He was less than two weeks away from the end of his deployment when his vehicle flipped Friday in a noncombat-related crash southeast of Karadah, Iraq.

His body arrived Monday night at Dover Air Force Base, Del. His casket will be flown to Merced by the weekend.

Hopper was in the Humvee's gunner seat at the time of the crash. The cause of the rollover is under investigation, the military said.

In interviews Monday, Hopper's friends and relatives recalled him as an impetuous thrill-seeker and a protective big brother from an especially close-knit family. They said he joined the Army at age 18 in hopes of seeing the world and that he recently volunteered for a tour in Afghanistan.

He loved hiking, going to the beach and pulling pranks.

"He's always been an adventurer -- always the one who wanted to be right in the middle of the action," said his mother, Robin Hopper. "He knew he wanted to be infantry, and he knew he wanted to jump out of airplanes."

A Merced native and the oldest of three siblings, Hopper attended Fremont Charter School and Cruickshank Middle School. He graduated in 2007 from Golden Valley, where he swam and played water polo. He spent a semester at Merced College before joining the military two years ago.

After basic training, he went to Fort Bragg, N.C. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

Relatives said Hopper's unit took on a range of missions during his deployment, including guarding checkpoints and tracking insurgents. "He hated guard duty because he couldn't stand staying still," said his mother, who is the principal at Yamato Colony Elementary School in Livingston. "He wanted to be out in the streets on missions."

Hopper's best friend, Daniel Alcorn, described Hopper as a deeply caring friend who seized the day.

"He didn't really talk about the future all that often," he said. "He knew what was important, though. He took really good care of his friends and his family."

Alcorn said Hopper was especially protective of his two younger sisters, 17-year-old Chantal and 15-year-old Celeste.

"He took his role as a big brother very seriously," he said.

Added Hopper's father, Yancy Hopper: "It hasn't been the same since he left home. He was just a lot of fun to have around. He brought the party with him."

Soon after Hopper left for Iraq, his friends made a small cardboard cutout in Hopper's image and began taking it with them to social events. Alcorn then created a Web site, www.flatluke.com, where he's posted photos of Hopper's friends posing with the cutout -- which they nicknamed Flat Luke -- at the beach, at concerts and at restaurants.

"It's a quirky thing, but I think it shows how much Luke meant to his friends," said Ralf Swenson, Golden Valley's former principal. "They really looked out for each other."

Alcorn said Hopper checked the site as often as he could. "It was our way of keeping him with us when he was away," he said. "If Luke couldn't be there, at least Flat Luke was."

Relatives said they've tentatively planned funeral services Saturday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Yosemite Avenue. They said Hopper will be buried in Catheys Valley and that his unit has planned two additional memorial services in Baghdad and Fort Bragg.

Hopper is the seventh service member from the Merced area to die in the Iraq war, which started in March 2003.

The first was Army Pfc. Karina Lau, of Livingston, killed Nov. 2, 2003. Travis Layfield, a Marine with ties to Atwater, died April 6, 2004. Army Cpl. Cesar Granados of Le Grand died Sept. 15, 2006. Marine Cpl. Josh Pickard was killed Dec. 19, 2006. Army Staff Sgt. Frank Gasper was killed May 25, 2008. Army Pvt. Janelle King died Aug. 14, 2008.

The city of Merced will fly flags at half-staff until Hopper is buried, city spokesman Mike Conway said.

Reporter Corinne Reilly can be reached at (209)385-2477 or creilly@mercedsun-star.com.