NEWPORT, N.H. (AP) – A soldier from Newport was killed this week in Iraq by a roadside bomb, according to news reports Tuesday.

Justin Rollins, 22, was serving in the 82nd Airborne Division. He was a 2003 graduate of Newport High School; former teachers said they were having a tough time dealing with the loss.

“He had a great heart, and he was a wonderful young man,” teacher Kathryn Hanson, a close family friend, told WMUR-TV.

Hanson said one of the things that stood out about Rollins was his smile.

“He might have been a little bit mischievous, but when you had him in class and you saw him, he would turn on his smile and his charm, and it washed away anything else,” she said.

School staff said Rollins had visited some of his teachers after basic training – and they noticed a difference in him immediately.

“It brought about a change and a purpose, I think, that was very important to him,” Hanson said.

“He found what he was supposed to do, and he was extremely proud of what he was doing.”

Hanson said Rollins was a gunner on a Humvee and had a close call in December when he was injured by a roadside bomb.

“You hope you will be one of the towns or one of the cities to escape such a tragedy, but unfortunately, we’re not,” Hanson said.

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Information from: WMUR-TV, http://www.thewmurchannel.com/index.html

AP-ES-03-06-07 1813EST