A Hickam Air Force-based bomb demolition specialist was killed in Iraq by an improvised explosive device, the military said yesterday.

William N. Newman, 23, died on Thursday in Balad, an area south of Iraq, the Pentagon said.

Family members said Newman, a member of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team based at Hickam, may have been trying to dismantle the IED because civilians were nearby.

"William was an incredible young man," said his foster father, Jay Stephens. "He was always so focused on what really needed to be done."

Newman, who was born in Tennessee, lived with Stephens and his wife in Utah for 12 years following his parents' divorce. As a high school student, he was a yell leader and break dancer, Stephens said.

After joining the Air Force, Williams was stationed at Hickam, where he lived with his wife, So Young, whom he met while in Florida. The couple had been married about a year.

Funeral plans are pending. Stephens said Newman will likely be buried close to his family in Tennessee.

"I love him and regard him as one of my own children," Stephens said.

The Deseret Morning News in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.