The Adventist Press Service (APD) has learned that Army Spec. Frank K. Rivers, Jr., of Newark, New Jersey, (USA) is the first reported Seventh-day Adventist to die in military service in Iraq.

Rivers, 23, enlisted following graduation from high school in 1999. He died April 14 after collapsing during physical training exercises in Iraq, according to a report in the Washington Post on April 17. Army officials said the cause of his death is being investigated.

Active in the Trinity Temple Adventist Church in New Jersey, Rivers spent "every Saturday there when he was home," the Post article said. His grandmother, Betty Rivers of Newark, described him as "a church boy," always available to help his friends. He was sent to Iraq in November.

Funeral services were held at the church on Friday April 23. During the services Rivers was posthumously awarded a Bronze Start. "Specialist Frank Rivers Jr. is an American hero," said Major General William H. Russ as reported in Newsday. "Today, we will present this star to the hero’s hero. You all recognize that Frank Jr.'s hero is Frank Sr."

Rivers joined the army to follow in his father’s footsteps, according to Newsday. He was based at Fort Lewis, Washington, and had spent several years on the West Coast since enlisting. Frank’s brother Lamar is currently serving in the U.S. military in Germany.