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Gold Star Father Remembers His Son As A Great Leader

1st Lt. Doyle M. Hufstedler III of Abilene, was killed on March 31, 2004 in Iraq.

Several years ago when the Dyess Air Force Base Chief’s Group held their first Memorial Day service, forty people showed up. Last year more than eleven hundred people traveled from across the state to take part in the event at the Texas State Veterans Cemetery.

This year there will be a fly-over by the Commemorative Air Force and a community band performance. One part of the service is devoted to honoring Gold Star mothers and fathers.

Doyle Hufstedler Jr. wears a Gold star pin on the collar of shirt every day. He is 72 years old, a father and a grandfather. Hufstedler and his wife, Kathleen, will be honored during the Memorial Day service at the Texas State Veterans Cemetery.

His son, 1st Lt. Doyle Maurice Hufstedler III was 25 years old when he died in an IED explosion on March 31, 2004 in Iraq.

“He was a very determined person, whatever he took on he gave it 100 percent and that’s the way he was when he took on the Army,” Hufstedler said.

He describes his only son as a thoughtful man and a great leader. Doyle grew up in a military family and took on active roles in the Abilene High School JROTC.

Family pictures cover the walls of Hufstedler's Abilene home. They chronicle the life of an energetic boy as he grows up with his three sisters. There are pictures of Doyle when he left Abilene for Texas A & M University. During college he proposed to his wife beneath a saber arch at the end zone of an Aggie football game.

In the last photograph taken of Doyle he is sitting in a Humvee, wearing a helmet and tactical vest. Inside the Humvee there is a small picture of his wife; she was eight months pregnant when he was killed.

Doyle’s daughter, Grace, is 11 years old.

Hufstedler and his wife, Kathleen, will be honored during the Memorial Day service at the Texas State Veterans Cemetery.

"It burns into your mind what great sacrifice these men have made for their country and the thing is they did it willingly and that’s what we celebrate on Memorial Day," Hufstedler said. "It is this willingness to stand on the line, be there, do the job.”