CPT Dalley of Kaysville, Utah, died in Baghdad, Iraq on November 17, 2003 while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Captain Dalley was assigned to 2/1 ABCT.

Capt. Nathan Stephen Dalley never backed down from a challenge. He applied for an appointment to West Point just to prove he could make it. Once he got there, he studied aeronautical engineering.

"He thought being a soldier would be a romantic thing," said his sister, Alicia Schroeder of Kaysville, Utah. "It was all about action and adventure. Once he got to West Point, it wasn't everything he thought it would be. It was a lot harder."

But Dalley, 27, wasn't about to let the military academy conquer him. With hard work and determination, he graduated, then backpacked around Europe, ran with the bulls in Spain, jumped out of airplanes and went whitewater rafting.

Last August, Dalley was deployed from Baumholder, Germany, where he was stationed, to Iraq with the Army's 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division. He died Nov. 17 in Baghdad from a nonhostile gunshot wound.

Schroeder said her brother had many more plans after he returned from Iraq. He wanted a pilot's license. He wanted to surf. He wanted to earn millions of dollars and retire at the age of 35 - all realistic goals within his reach, his sister said.