HILLSBORO - Army Spc. Richard Morris was riding with Cpl. Ryan J. Buckley in a Humvee in Baghdad just eight days earlier, when a blast from an explosive device killed Buckley, the gunner on the vehicle.

Morris, who was wounded in the attack, sat with Buckley's family at an outdoor memorial service Saturday. Morris, of Airville, Pa., had a cast on his right foot and walked with a crutch.

"I held him while he died," Morris said after the service. "He was my best friend. This nation has lost a hell of a soldier."

The service, held at the recently constructed Hillsboro Area Veterans Memorial, brought out about 600 people to honor the community's first soldier killed in Iraq.

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn eulogized Buckley, 21, as a young man who gave "his last full measure of devotion" for the country, borrowing a phrase from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

"He was a wonderful young man who was given 21 years by God on this Earth," Quinn said. "God did not give him the gift of a long life, but he did give Ryan the gift of a life well lived."

Lt. Col. Greg Butts, commander of the Army's 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, traveled to Hillsboro from Fort Campbell, Ky., with his wife and young sons to attend the memorial service and the private funeral that preceded it. Buckley was a member of the battalion's Bravo Company.

Butts, on leave from Iraq when he received news of Buckley's death, said there was also a memorial service for Buckley in Iraq on Saturday.

"His platoon leaders described him as the type of soldier every leader wants: A very talented, dedicated soldier, who did everything that was asked of him," Butts said. "I'm glad I could come here. It was an opportunity to recognize one of my great soldiers."

Buckley was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq from Nov. 30 to June 23. Bronze Stars were presented to his wife of one year, Tina Buckley, his mother, Sally Nation, and father, Dennis Buckley.

Ryan Buckley, a 2003 graduate of Hillsboro High School, was attending Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield in March 2004 when he left school to join the Army. He had told his mother on 9/11 that he planned to join the military to defend his country.

Jennings Carter, who recently retired from the Army, was the commander of the Litchfield Army Recruiting Station when Buckley signed up. Carter said Buckley was an unusually cheerful young man.

"Every time we saw him, he was always smiling," Carter said. "Before he went to Iraq, we saw him a few times. He was always happy. He would come by and tell us what he was doing."

Carter attended the memorial service with Spc. Josiah Kirk, a friend of Buckley's, who also was recruited in Litchfield.

Kirk, 21, a member of the 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Benning, Ga., recalled that he encouraged Buckley to join the Army.

"We left the same day from Litchfield to swear in at St. Louis," Kirk said, adding that they were sworn in together at Military Entrance Processing Command.

Kirk, who played Little League baseball with Buckley and later worked at the Dairy Queen in Nokomis with him for two years, said he was well-liked by everyone.

"He was always willing to help someone out if they needed it," Kirk said. "He was always wanting to cheer somebody up. He was a fun guy to be around."

Kirk, who returned from Iraq in January after one year in the war-torn country, said it was hard to accept the death of his friend.

"It's hard to understand," he said, speaking with great difficulty. "I couldn't believe it when I first heard he'd been killed."

Jean Buckley, Buckley's aunt, said he was always a responsible young man, who took his school work seriously, as well as his role in the school bands. The talented French horn player was awarded the John Philip Sousa award his senior year as the outstanding band member.

"He was always a protector," Jean Buckley said. "It's such a sad time. We're so thankful for the Ryans of the world. I appreciate all the veterans and all they've done for this country."

Nicole Beasley, a longtime friend and former classmate of Buckley's, recalled that Ryan was very proud of what he was doing as a soldier.

Beasley was at the service with her fiance, a recently commissioned Army officer.

On Thursday, her brother, Spc. Frank "Ryan" Beasley, was deployed with his Army National Guard unit. She believes he will be serving in Iraq within two months or so.

"The war's more real to us now," Nicole Beasley said. "We've got husbands and brothers over there, but now we've lost somebody. I was worried before, but yeah, I'm a lot more worried now."

Huey Freeman can be reached at hfreeman@herald-review.com or 421-6985.