His fellow soldiers knew him as Army Spc. Louis G. Kim, a young man who fought for his country to the fullest. 

His friends knew him as Louie, a charming kid who always found a way to make people laugh.

On Feb. 20, Kim died of injuries sustained by small-arms fire in Ramadi, Iraq. The 19-year-old West Covina, Calif., resident was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.

Maria Xu Gao, who attended Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights, Calif., with Kim says he was very warm, had a beaming smile and “gave very nice hugs.”

 “I remember how we used to make fun of him because he always said, ‘Pardon?’” says Xu Gao, 20, who now lives in Los Angeles. “I mean, how many teenagers actually use ‘pardon’ during casual conversations? These oddities made him interesting and charming in his own little way.”

Matthew Apostol, 17, of Hacienda Heights, became friends with Kim during their time together on the school drumline. Kim had a passion for music, Apostol says, always seeking out new bands and artists.

Another passion of Kim’s was the military. Friends say he snuck into the R-rated movie “Saving Private Ryan” in junior high and was determined to enlist as soon as he graduated from high school in 2005.

Apostol says he noticed little difference in Kim shortly after he joined the army. 

“He was already much bigger built and mature, but still playful in the same way we all remembered,” he says.

“Nobody imagined Louis to be in actual combat because of the fact that he was stationed in Germany,” he adds.

More than a month after his death, Kim’s MySpace page was still up and running, although filled with messages of sadness, prayers and well wishes for the birthday he just missed in March.

“SSG Pena once told me that God has a place for infantrymen,” one comment reads. “I bet you are there making him laugh. Just the way you always made us laugh.”