A 31-year-old Army captain who grew up a short walk from University Park died in combat Friday night in Iraq.

Tristan N. Aitken, of State College, was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade in an attack near Baghdad's international airport, said his mother, Ruth Aitken.

"The guy loved his country and the service," said one of Aitken's friends, Peter Ort, of Lewistown. "He thought he was doing a good thing."

Aitken was deployed to Iraq on Jan. 24 with the 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Ga., where his wife, Margo, lives.

Ruth Aitken said her son had a competitive spirit and needed structure to learn. He attended high school at Centre County Christian Academy, where he played soccer and basketball and ran track. Aitken earned his college degree with distinguished military honors from Texas Christian University.

Aitken

"We wanted our children to go elsewhere, because they grew up here," said Ruth Aitken, a substitute teacher who worked for Penn State's College of Health and Human Development for more than a decade.

Friends said Tristan Aitken was a proud Penn State football fan. He watched this year's Heisman Trophy ceremony with his friend and
former classmate, Andy Heckathorne.

"He was a sensitive, caring individual and friend," Heckathorne said. "He put others before himself."

Heckathorne, who manages visual communications for Housing and Food Services, said he spent Sunday collecting photos and memories to create a tribute to Aitken on his Penn State personal Web site.

Aitken's previous military assignments included deployments in Korea and Kosovo. His mother said she knew her son would be prepared for the fighting in Iraq, but she worried about the potential for chemical weapons there. She said she supported her son, but was against the conflict. "I'm anti-war," Ruth Aitken said. In the last letter his mother received, dated March 6, Aitken said his faith would support him through his tour of duty. He asked family and friends to keep him and his fellow soldiers in their prayers.

"Trust that all will be fine," he wrote.

Aitken is the fourth soldier from Pennsylvania to die during the conflict.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.