A bad week in Iraq for Schofield Barracks got even worse yesterday with news of the death of a fifth soldier on Saturday.

First Lt. Frank B. Walkup IV, 23, of Woodbury, Tenn., died of injuries suffered when a roadside bomb detonated during a foot patrol in Rashaad, Iraq, the Pentagon said.

Walkup, husband of former University of Hawai'i tennis player and coach Sabita Walkup, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

Walkup's father, Frank Walkup III, also of Woodbury, Tenn., yesterday said his son "was extremely proud to serve, and he felt like they were making a difference not only in this country, but for the people they were trying to help in Iraq."

Walkup said that yesterday would have been his son's 24th birthday and that his family released 24 helium balloons filled with birthday cards into the air to remember him.

"It's a tragic loss," he said. "We feel like the mission he was on was very noble and very needed and that he served his country well. We're so proud of him. We think he's a fine young man and good leader."

Twenty-eight Schofield soldiers have died since the current deployment to northern Iraq began last July.

Walkup said his son grew up in a military family and that joining the Army was "kind of a natural progression."

Walkup said he served in the Army and that his father fought in Vietnam for the Navy.

"It's a calling," Walkup said. "When you're a family like that, you feel like it's your duty."

Walkup said his son was born in Memphis, graduated from Riverdale High School in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and went on to graduate from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where he met his wife, the Associated Press reported.

Sabita Walkup served as a volunteer assistant coach with the UH women's tennis team in 2006.

Women's tennis head coach Jun Hernandez said Sabita Walkup had also played on the team for a semester last fall, but most recently had taken time off from graduate studies at UH and was working at a 24-Hour Fitness in Hawai'i.

Frank and Sabita Walkup had been married for about a year and a half, Hernandez said. "So that's not easy. A young couple. I knew Frank, I met him a few times, and he's a great guy," Hernandez said.

Hernandez saw the couple when Frank Walkup returned to Hawai'i in February or March on midtour leave.

"The things he was telling me about what was going on, it's crazy," Hernandez said. "Just the fact that there, he was always in front and he said (his unit was) the first ones to see if there's a bomb or if a (vehicle) accident happens."

Sabita Walkup's mother and brother are in Hawai'i for support, and she is expected to leave soon for Tennessee, Hernandez said.

Walkup was the fifth soldier based in Hawai'i to die in Iraq in the past week. On Thursday, 21-year-old Val John Borm of Sidney, Neb., was one of three Schofield soldiers killed when a bomb exploded near their Humvee in Kirkuk province. The other two have not yet been identified by the Pentagon.

Last Wednesday, Pfc. Casey S. Carriker, 20, of Hoquiam, Wash., died in Kirkuk from injuries suffered in a noncombat incident. Carriker was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment.