A family remembers the good times with a fallen hero

TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) - Sergeant Kyle Osborn's father, Creigh Osborn, remembered how he was told his son died in Afghanistan.

"[An army chaplain said] the United State of America regret to inform you that your son was killed today, this day, in a small arms gun battle in Afghanistan," Creigh said.

Creigh, his wife Christa, and their two children, Kade and Katlyn, received the news Thursday night. But as the family mourns, they remember the good times they had with their son, stepson, and brother in the countryside of Tippecanoe County.

"I remember when I was a little kid, Katlyn was riding the four wheeler with Kyle," Kade Osborn said. "He did a two wheeler, and Katlyn was on it, and her face was pretty much hilarious."

Creigh describes his son as fiercely loyal, and said he touched many lives from Tippecanoe County to Louisiana and Italy, and even a place called Black Duck, Minnesota.

"There is a team in Black Duck, Minnesota, who hasn't won a game for years," Creigh explained."They did a moment of silence for Kyle, in Black Duck, Minnesota. They dedicated the game to him, and they won. All the way to Black Duck, Minnesota, a very small community, he touched lives there."

Although it's not known when Sgt. Osborn will be buried, in his last will and testament he requested he be buried in Tippecanoe County, at Yorktown Cemetery, next to his grandfather.

"Kyle has been gone so long, in college and in the military, in our minds he is just gone," Creigh said. "It's hard to get our heads wrapped around the fact that he is dead. I think that when his remains are brought back here, and we are able to be close, I think it will be a start for closure."

Creigh is confident his son's legacy will live on through Kyle's brother and sister.