Army Pvt. David Waters, 19, Auburn; Killed in Roadside Blast in Baghdad

When David Waters’ relatives learned of his death in Iraq, it was an especially hard blow to a family still grieving over another loss.

The Army private’s mother had been killed in their hometown of Auburn, Calif., only a year ago.

Shortly before her death, Susan Waters excitedly phoned relatives to say how proud she was that her son had just enlisted and would be serving his country. David Waters was looking forward to coming home and showing off his uniform to her, but she never got to see it.

At her death, he was so brokenhearted that he wasn’t sure he wanted to stay in the military, said an aunt, Debra Smith of El Dorado Hills, Calif.

But the 19-year-old decided to stick with his military service because his mother would have wanted him to.

“He and his mother were extremely close,” his aunt said. “He stood up at her funeral and said, ‘I will be the man she wanted me to be.’ ”

Waters was killed Oct. 14 when a roadside bomb exploded near his convoy vehicle in Baghdad, according to the Department of Defense. “He was up on the top of the truck with the machine gun when it happened,” Smith said. “Just to know that he was up there being a hero makes me so proud of him.”

Waters was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division at Ft. Drum, N.Y.

Susan Waters, 42, was found slain behind bushes in Auburn’s commercial district Sept. 6, 2003. Authorities have been reluctant to release details about the case, which remains unsolved.

David Waters’ great-aunt, Patricia Work of West Sacramento, said her favorite memory of him was when he spoke at his mother’s funeral. “He looked real sharp in his uniform. He knew his mother was so proud of him and he said, ‘I know she can see me now.’ ”

Born in Sacramento, Waters lived all his life in the Auburn area. He attended Placer High School before enlisting. Among his favorite pastimes as a teen was listening to music.

Waters grew up without a father, and as the man of the house, he was unwavering in his devotion to his mother and older sister, family members said.

A patriotic streak and a desire to bring calm to a troubled world spurred Waters to enlist. “He was proud to be an American,” Smith said. “He talked about 9/11. He talked about world peace. When he was here at Christmas, he said to me it was really hard for him to believe that someone could have enough hate in their heart to blow up the World Trade Center.”

His Army service enabled him to succeed in his peace quest, Smith said. “He was fighting for someone else’s freedom,” she said. “That’s huge.”

Waters also is survived by his sister, Brandy Riley of Yuba City, Calif.; and a maternal aunt, Judy Waters of Auburn.