A former Oak Harbor High School and Oak Harbor Christian School student was killed in Iraq this week.
Spc. Zachary McBride, 20, was killed with five other soldiers Wednesday, Jan. 9, by an improvised explosive device that detonated in a house while they were on patrol in Diyana located north of Baghad, according to a news release from the Oregon Military Department.
McBride was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Division based in Vilseck, Germany.
Before moving to Bend, Ore. in his sophomore year of high school, he was a student at Oak Harbor High School and involved in NJROTC.
He attended Oak Harbor Christian School from fifth-grade through eighth-grade. Secretary Lynnette Wright said teachers remember McBride as being an exceptional student who was smart and loved computers. She said he was a bit on the quiet side. His father was a music teacher at the Christian School and was also pastor at First Reformed Church.
Born in New York, McBride entered the Army in June 2005 after graduating from Mountain View High School located in Bend.
He enjoyed the infantry’s hands-on approach versus the purely analytical. He enjoyed target shooting, reading, socializing with friends and participating in missions for his church, according to the news release.
McBride is survived by his parents Marshall and Laura McBride and his sister, Sarah, all of whom live in Bend.
In addition to McBride, the five other soldiers killed in the July 9 explosion are Staff Sgt. Jonathan Dozier, 30, of Rutherford, Tenn.; Staff Sgt. Sean Gaul, 29, of Reno, Nev.; Sgt. Christopher Sanders, 22, of Roswell N.M.; Spc. Todd Davis, 22, of Raymore, Mo.; and Sgt. First Class Matthew Pionk, 30 of Superior, Wis.
This was the first incident involving multiple deaths of United States soldiers in Iraq since Sept. 10, when seven soldiers were killed and 11 injured in a vehicle accident in western Baghad, according to the release.
The McBride family named Roger Austin as the family’s spokesman. He can be reached at 541-390-6901 to answer basic questions. All other inquiries can be directed to Kay Fristad of the Oregon Military Department Public Affairs Office at 503-584-3917.
