Karen Morin was able to take a brief mental break Thursday. It was her daughter's 17th birthday.

But any celebration would be subdued as Morin spent the day preparing to bury her son, Spc. Steven R. Elrod, 20, of Hope Mills.

Elrod, an U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper, was the youngest of seven soldiers, all younger than 30, killed Monday outside Baghdad after the truck they rode in veered off the road and plunged 30 feet.

Two detainees also died in the accident. Ten other paratroopers and another detainee were injured.

The soldiers were riding in a 5-ton cargo truck, part of a convoy returning from a raid early Monday morning. The cause of the accident is still under investigation, Army officials said Thursday.

For now, memories, family support and accolades from others has kept Morin intact.

"I don't run across anyone who didn't have something good to say about him," she said in a telephone interview. "The more and more I hear from people, the more I'm finding out how truly he touched people's lives."

Teachers at Massey Hill Classical High School in Fayetteville, where Elrod graduated in 2005, were devastated when they heard of his death, said Principal Mark Culbreth.

Elrod stood out from other students because of his height -- he was 6-feet-5 -- and his baby blue eyes, which earned him the senior honor of having the prettiest eyes, Culbreth said.

"He was a great young man, and everyone thought so well of him," he said.

With a military stepfather, Elrod bounced through four states before spending the most time, seven years, in Hope Mills. In the small town just south of Fayetteville, Elrod chose academics over athletics. Massey Hill is a college preparatory school that doesn't have an athletics program.

Choosing Massey Hill was a big deal because basketball was life to him, Morin said. Elrod often donned basketball gear when not in a school uniform and played in recreation leagues. Basketball also led him to meet his best friend, Scott Thornall, in a gym class freshman year. Elrod taught Thornall how to play the sport he loved. Common interests had kept them close ever since.

"I thought it was a joke at first because you never think that would happen," Thornall said of Elrod's death. "He was just a great guy all around."

Elrod was a kidder who reveled in being "the tall white boy" and ate everything in front of him, especially chocolate.

He joined the Army because he wanted to make a difference, Morin said. After getting out of the military, Elrod wanted to pursue marine biology or sports journalism. He was considering trying out for Boise State University's basketball team. Both of his grandparents live in Idaho.

On Thursday, Morin relied on her experience as a military wife for 15 years to help her through.

"It's helped in dealing with it more than anything else," she said.

Elrod is survived by his mother, father, stepfather and younger sister and brother. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sept. 22 at Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home, 545 Ramsey St. in Fayetteville.