Fallen soldier

Sac City’s Adrian Hike killed in Afghanistan in bomb attack

By JOHN MOLSEED, Messenger staff writer
For Martin Bird, learning that his oldest brother, Sgt. Adrian Hike, was killed in Afghanistan was hard to believe.

‘‘He’s my older brother. He’s invincible,’’ Bird said.

Hike, 26, from Sac City, was killed Monday when a bomb struck the Humvee in which he was riding. Six other soldiers were also killed in the attack.

Bird, 21, remembered when it took him and his three younger brothers to take on their oldest sibling when they were younger.

In 2005, Hike was injured in a suicide bomb attack while serving in Iraq. He returned to Iowa for about a month before returning to duty in Germany. When he was sent to Afghanistan with the 173rd Airborne Paratroopers this year, Bird remembers he wasn’t as worried about his big brother as much as he did during his deployment in Iraq. Bird had hoped his brother had weathered the worst after recovering from his injuries.

‘‘He recovered fine,’’ Bird said. ‘‘When he came back he looked like himself.’’

While Hike was in Afghanistan, he didn’t say much about his missions.

‘‘He was not allowed to talk about his job,’’ Bird said.

He was deployed on a mission when the explosive struck the vehicle.

At first Hike’s family members weren’t sure the Army would be able to recover Hike’s body.

When Army officials notified Hike’s father, Robert Bird Sr., in Sac City of his son’s death, they said they hadn’t been able to recover Hike’s remains because of darkness. However, Hike’s body is at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Bird said, to be officially identified and returned home. Plans for a service in Carroll are still pending.

News of his death shook his friends back home.

Natalie Flynn, who knew Hike from when he was in high school, had kept in touch with Hike via the Internet. The two would chat and exchange messages on MySpace or instant messaging.

‘‘I’d always leave him comments and ask him how things are on the other side of the world, and ask him to be careful and safe,’’ Lynn said.

The same tools that Hike stay in touch with his friends helped them support each other in their loss. By Thursday his friends were on the Internet to memorialize Hike. His MySpace profile filled with comments and memories. Another friend established a Facebook group Thursday afternoon that had dozens of members by the evening.

Family and friends converged on Ralston in Carroll County where his mother Kim Bird lives.

Lynn said she plans to visit his family later this week to offer her support and share memories. She described Bird as an uplifting person who was a good friend.

Martin Bird said his brother enjoyed fishing and hunting.

Those who knew him in high school said Hike had changed and grown since he decided to join the Army. A graduate of Sac City High School in 2000, Hike also worked at Casey’s General Store before joining the army.

‘‘You could tell he grew up,’’ said Darwin Otto, store manager. ‘‘He’s a fine and upstanding young man. He didn’t deserve what happened.’’

‘‘He loved his job,’’ said Bird. ‘‘He wouldn’t have traded being in the army for nothing.’’



Contact John Molseed at (515) 573-2141 or jmolseed@messengernews.net