Born in Sudan, raised in northern Virginia, Ayman Taha, a PhD candidate at University of Massachusetts, took “a break” from his studies to join the U.S. Army Special Forces. He died in Iraq last week.

A Muslim, Taha, according to the Washington Post, took the message of Islam to be, “to believe in God and do good deeds.” And that’s what he believed he was doing serving in the U.S. military in Iraq.