U.S. Army Specialist Andrew Waits with his mother, Diane Mackin Waits. (Photograph courtesy of Patrice Mackin) Many people in St. Ignace may have not realized it but on Thursday, April 13, 2006, it lost a hero when U.S. Army Specialist Andrew Waits was killed by an explosive roadside device while driving a Humvee in Baghdad, Iraq.

Mr. Waits, 23, a Waterford Township resident and a 2001 graduate of Kettering High School, is the son of Diane (nee Mackin) Waits. She is originally from St. Ignace, a 1969 graduate of LaSalle High School.

His aunt, Patrice Mackin, an uncle, Paul Mackin, and a grandmother, Therese Mackin-Oja, still live here.

Andrew Waits' unit was deployed to Iraq in September 2005. He was a member of the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, Second Brigade Combat Team, of the 101st Airborne Division, based in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

He was able to enjoy a short leave, arriving home March 18, surprising his mother and his two sisters, Catherine, 28, and Laura, 19. They celebrated Laura's birthday early while he was there, knowing he would be back overseas by April 10. While home, he got the chance to see his hometown friends and his fiancee, Sarah Collias.

On Tuesday, April 4, he returned to Baghdad, and a week later, Mr. Waits was killed.

"My son was a real hero," said Ms. Waits. "He was so courageous."

"I'm really proud of him," said Patrice Mackin.

"I loved him," Uncle Paul Mackin simply said. "He was a good kid."

The small boy his mother and his aunt remember grew to be the man they knew he would become.

"The whole time he was in the United States, on leave, he was worried about his friends from camp who were back in Iraq," said Ms. Mackin.

"It makes you realize how much courage it takes," said Ms. Waits, about her son and the thousands of soldiers in Iraq and other areas with conflict. "He was on the front line. They didn't know if they'd make it through each day. I can't imagine the courage it took to do that. It wasn't just my son that had that courage, though; every one of those guys in that infantry does."

He was courageous and honorable, she added. He was passionate about his country. Ever since he was a little boy, he had dreams of being in law enforcement and aspired to work in the Oakland County Sheriff's Department. If he was your friend, said Ms. Waits, he was your best friend.

"He was the most kind-hearted person you'd ever meet," she added. "He was a great son and a protective brother."

Andrew Waits traveled with his mother and two sisters each summer to visit family here, enjoying a day on Mackinac Island, sometimes renting a cabin on Brevort Lake, or just staying with Aunt Patrice.

"My fondest memory of Andrew was during my mother's 75th birthday four years ago," said Ms. Mackin. "They all came up from Waterford and he helped me make posters and signs for the party."

The small boy who loved playing the guitar loved music and playing basketball, the boy who was a good third baseman in the Waterford Coaches Association baseball league, the boy who his mother remembers always taking his fishing pole to fish just across the street from home, is now gone.

Andrew Waits was given a hero's send-off at his funeral in Waterford Saturday, April 22. Hundreds of people paid their respects to him outside of St. Perpetua Roman Catholic Church in Waterford Township. An Army representative presented Ms. Waits with her son's Bronze Star and the Purple Heart during the funeral, and Andrew Waits was deputized posthumously by Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

"Waterford Township is much bigger than St. Ignace in size, but you would've thought it was St. Ignace that day because everyone came out to support Andrew," his mother said. "There were signs all over saying 'Thank You Spec. Andrew Waits.' The people of Waterford Township are amazing."

Emergency vehicles were stationed at every intersection leading to Ottawa Park Cemetery, where Mr. Waits was buried, and each officer stood at attention as the hearse drove by. Also along were the Patriot Guard Riders, who rode the procession route on their motorcycles and carried American flags in protest of anti-war demonstrators, who have taunted the bereaved at other soldier funerals around the country. None of them showed up at this funeral, however.

"The Patriot Guard Riders, these guys did such a great job that it really made me proud to be an American," she said. "We went through a tunnel of flags."

The entire procession, said Ms. Waits, was unbelievable and an honor for her son.

"I've never seen anything like this except in movies, but this was real life," said Ms. Waits. "This was all for a little kid from Waterford Township. I know my son would be so honored."

Andrew Waits was born October 22, 1982, in Pontiac.

He is survived by his mother, two sisters, Laura and Catherine; his grandmother, Therese MackinOja; an aunt and uncle, Patrice "Annie" Mackin and Gene Elmer; two other uncles, Thomas Mackin and Paul Mackin; his fiancee, Sarah Collias, and dear friend, Shannon Ziegler.

He is preceded in death by his father, Fred Waits; his grandparents, Patrick and Bonnie Mackin and George Waits, and a friend Spc. Benjamin Smith of the 101st Airborne Division, who was killed in Iraq.

Amemorial service is to be held for Andrew Waits in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Wednesday, May 10.