TORRANCE (AP) -- Schoolmates remembered Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr. as a gentle jock and turned their school into a makeshift memorial after learning Army officials had confirmed the 20-year-old's body was found during an exhaustive search for him and two other soldiers ambushed in Iraq. Friends at South High School, where Anzack graduated just two years ago, observed a moment of silence Thursday and described him as a ``pumped up'' athlete who made them laugh and comforted them when they needed it.
''You'd be sad and sitting there by yourself, and he'd come up to you and just talk to you, and say, 'Hey, how's your day? Are you OK?''' childhood friend Erika Esquivel said.
The school's front steps became a shrine of flowers, flags and balloons, marked with a sign reading: ``You're our HERO.'' The soldier's Web page was also flooded with condolences.
Anzack, an Army gunner, vanished with two other soldiers May 12 when their combat team was ambushed about 20 miles outside of Baghdad. The attack, subsequently claimed by al-Qaida, killed four other Americans and an Iraqi.
Anzack's father told his hometown newspaper, The Daily Breeze, on Thursday that funeral arrangements were pending and that he was awaiting a copy of his son's will to determine a burial site.
''Whatever his wishes were, that's what we'll do,'' Joseph Anzack Sr. said. ``If he asked for Arlington, he's there. I think that's an option for us, and it's an honor being there.''
Anzack's family had held out hope for the past 11 days. They had already endured a rumor weeks earlier that he was dead, then said Army officials told them Wednesday that a body found floating in the Euphrates River was his. The military confirmed Thursday that Anzack had been shot in the head, and his body dumped.
At South, Anzack played football and was on the wrestling and swim teams. He was ''always pumped up and ready to try something new,'' Esquivel said.
Josh Waybright, Anzack's football coach, laid the soldier's jersey on a shrine in front of the school during the afternoon. The school will dedicate this year's season to Anzack, who was an all-league nose guard, and retire his number, 52.
Anzack aspired to join the Special Forces, Waybright said. ''If I was sitting in a foxhole, I want Joe Anzack right next to me,'' he said. ''Because when things get tough, he's not going anywhere. He's going to be right there with you, doing everything he can to help you. He put others before himself.''
In Iraq, members of Anzack's platoon choked back tears at news of his death and said they would not stop looking for the other two missing soldiers.
''We can't leave them behind. I just hope that they have enough faith to keep them going. What they're going through right now, I can't imagine,'' said Pfc. Sammy Rhodes, 25, of Albuquerque, N.M.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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