 A Perth father has described the life of his US-soldier son, killed in Iraq, as a love story, not a war story. Jay-D Ornsby-Adkins, 21, died on Saturday in Salman Pak, Iraq, when a bomb went off near his Humvee and gunfire erupted.
His father Shad Adkins said his son was a patriot but had gone to Iraq to build a life with his bride Ashley Ornsby-Adkins. "This isn't a war story, this is a love story," Mr Adkins told ABC Radio. "He dropped out of school and went to work, and he finished his schooling (while) working and he graduated high school. In that time he met Ashley, they just fell in love straight away."
Mr Adkins said love did not go smoothly for the couple at first. "It was just like any young kids, you know, they was partying hard and, you know, and they didn't like what each other was doing so they split but they kept talking," Mr Adkins said. "She was the love of his life and Jay-D had to change something you know to make a difference."
What he did was join the US forces, Mr Adkins said. "It was patriotic what he done but it wasn't the real reason, that was to make a life for him and Ashley. "They got married just before he went, and I have never seen two people so in love, and respect each other so much."
Mr Adkins said the couple had hoped to return to Perth where his son was born in the Swan Districts Hospital, before leaving Australia aged about six.
Mr Adkins would be flying to the US. Hundreds of people have attended a candlelight vigil in California for Mr Ornsby-Adkins. The US Department of Defence announced his death on Tuesday, along with the deaths of two other soldiers. The vigil started shortly afterward.
Robyn Ornsby told the crowd in the town of Ione that her son was not born an American, but he died as one. "He did this with a lot of admiration and love for this country," Ornsby said. 
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