Brockton family remembers fallen Army specialist

BROCKTON, Mass. — A Massachusetts family is preparing to say goodbye to a soldier killed in northern Syria just days into his first deployment.

Army Specialist Etienne Murphy died in a crash and his family is left only with the memories of how he lit up a room.

Aretha Murphy, Etienne’s grandmother, says he lit up any place with his smile and that is how she wants to remember him.

"He smiles and it lights up the place and when I'm talking to him, I see that smile that he has on his face," she laughed. "He was nice as pie."

Etienne was a husband and father of two boys, who were two years old and three months old.

He was born in Boston and grew up in Brockton. Aretha says she was traveling with family when she got the call last week.

The tragic loss is still just setting in.

“Things just don’t seem like it's real yet, you know? And I keep on telling them I need to talk to Etienne,” she told Boston 25. “He was so giving and loving and caring. So that is what I want to keep up. I want to remember that as he was."

Etienne and his family Moved to Georgia and Aretha plans to head there for the services to be held this week.

MORE: Massachusetts native Army soldier dies in Syria

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