April 3, 2006 -- The family of 22-year-old Israel Devora was notified on Saturday that their son died in Iraq.

Devora graduated from Clint High School in 2001 where he was a member of the Junior ROTC.

"You start thinking, 'Oh my god,' this is the casualty of war that no one wants to think about. When it hit us everyone was in shock that it was Israel," said Clint teacher Frank Durant.

Not only was the news of his death hard for the family but everyone who knew him.

"Not him. He was such a great individual. I'll never forget what a nice guy he was. You could see he was going to be a nice man," said Durant.

Not too long ago, when Devora was on leave from the Army, he paid a visit to his former school to speak to the current JROTC class.

"He said he had had a good time in the Army, he was glad he had joined the Army, but even more glad he had been a member of this JROTC program," said JROTC instructor Gerardo Acuna.

That was the last time students and teachers at Clint High School saw him.

"This war is terrible when we get these casualties, But it hurts more when it hits close to a small community like Clint," said Acuna.