Photo by Jeanna Duerscherl | The Roanoke Times

Pallbearers escort the casket of Spc. Rush ''Mickey'' Jenkins outside Bassett Funeral Home. Jenkins was killed in Iraq on his 22nd birthday.

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When Rush "Mickey" Jenkins was 9 years old, he would stand on the side of the street with his uncle, preaching the Bible.

"I remember Mickey and his little button-up shirt and his Bible out there with his Uncle Mickey just right there with him preaching," his sister, Rebecca Billingsley, recalled.

More than a decade later, Jenkins would follow in the footsteps of another relative -- his brother George -- by joining the Army.

More than 300 people packed Bassett Funeral Home in Henry County on Thursday to honor Jenkins' life, which was taken when the Bradley fighting vehicle he was in ran over an improvised explosive device in Iraq.

The day he died was Jenkins' 22nd birthday.

Jenkins' preacher uncle, Marshall "Mickey" Pophal, spoke to the congregation about how, as a soldier, there was only one place that Jenkins would end up.

"I know where that boy is. ... He ain't there, he's up there," Pophal said, grasping a Bible and pointing upward. "I don't care what you think of the war, I don't care what you think of the president, I don't care what you think of the United States. That boy died to serve his country, doing what he thought was right."

Pictures of Jenkins dotted the room, with a slide show tracing a young boy's transition from a curly-haired redhead to a muscular, crew-cut Army man. Red and white flowers were abundant above Jenkins' casket, which was draped with an American flag.

As the service ended, friends and family flocked to their vehicles, heading to the plot where Jenkins would be buried.

Cars lined Fairystone Park Highway -- including the Patriot Guard Riders on their motorcycles -- passing slowed oncoming vehicles and sheriff's deputies with hands across their hearts.

Fallen leaves crunched below as Pophal addressed the slightly thinned crowd that was huddled beneath a green awning at Jenkins' plot.

As Pophal finished his address, a handful of military personnel sounded their rifles into the cloudy, autumn sky. Two men approached Jenkins' casket, where they ceremonially folded the American flag and handed it to Jenkins' father, Rickey.

Rickey Jenkins was thanked for his son's service in the military.

Mickey Jenkins, a graduate of Magna Vista High School, was with the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, based in Fort Benning, Ga.

Growing up, the long-haired Jenkins played football for Drewry Mason Middle School and wrestled for Magna Vista. He also played the guitar with his dad.

Jenkins worked for a beer distributor in North Carolina after graduation.

He lived with his sister for a while before joining the Army.

"The whole time he was with me he was real restless," Billingsley recalled.

Jenkins told his older sister that he wanted to join the Army, like his brother.

"I was like 'No, no, don't do it,' " Billingsley said.

Jenkins ignored her pleas and enlisted in March 2006.

Friends and family remember Jenkins as a born-again Christian with a larger-than-life sense of humor.

"He was always so silly and he never wanted to see anybody down in the dumps," Billingsley said. "He'd just walk by you, 'Woo hoo, smile buddy!' "

Jenkins went to Iraq in February, then came home for a couple of weeks before returning in mid-October.

Jenkins is survived by three brothers, his sister and father. His mother died of a heart problem in 1997.

"That body is not my brother's anymore," Billingsley said, glancing toward her brother's grave. "He's in God's army now."