i'd like to tell you about my cousin ben...

from the amarillo globe news

First Lt. Benjamin Britt may have developed his love of country and sense of duty from within, his father said Monday.

"He loved Wheeler, he loved Wheeler County, he loved the Panhandle, and he thought Texas was the greatest state in the United States," Dave Britt Jr. said.

Ben, an Army platoon leader, died Thursday when an improvised explosive device detonated near his position during a dismounted patrol, according to the Defense Department's Web site. He was 24.

Spc. William Lopez-Feliciano, 33, of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico, also died in the incident. Both were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Ben's parents and two younger brothers received notice of his death 8 a.m. Friday, December 23rd, Dave Britt said.

Ben died instantaneously, they were told.

The family last spoke to him Sept. 28, before he went to Iraq, his father said. Ben called to say they wouldn't be able to reach him by phone anymore.

"He was compelled to withhold information, but reading between the lines, he was showing us he was fixing to go over," Dave Britt said.

Ben e-mailed his mother, Mary Britt, two or three days before his death to let her know he was OK.

He knew the dangers he was in and faced them because of his values, his dad said.

His family taught him respect for freedom, the constitution and God since his birth, Dave Britt said. One of Ben's grandfathers fought in World War II and the other in Korea.

But just as Ben eventually bested his father in chess, a game the son learned from the dad, the family eventually learned from Ben's example.

"I'm very protective of the values that Ben held close to his heart," Dave Britt said. "And if I can do half as good a job representing him as he did representing all of us, I'll be happy."

Ben excelled in everything he tried, his father said.

As a tackle for the Wheeler High football team, he played in two state championship games and was named to the 1998 all-state first team. He was valedictorian of his class and an Eagle Scout.

He attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and, after Sept. 11, 2001, reaffirmed his commitment to serve in the officer corps.

"He was gung-ho Army, and he knew what was going to happen," Britt said. "He didn't know he was going to get killed, but he knew he was going to face combat. And he welcomed it because he was representing his country."

ben's service was held monday. it was simultaneously tragic and lovely. he was loved well. and will be sorely missed.