CONFLUENCE, Pa. -- A small southern Somerset County town said goodbye to one of its sons last night.

Approximately 300 residents of Confluence and surrounding communities near the Maryland border gathered on a warm summer evening to remember Private First Class Nils G. Thompson. He was killed in Iraq by a sniper on Aug. 4, a day after his 19th birthday.

The tall, lanky, hard-working soldier with the ready smile was recalled as a hero, a son, a brother and a friend.

In letters written by his commanding officer and several of his fellow soldiers in the Third Platoon of Charlie Co., a unit of the 25th Infantry Division, Thompson was described as someone who was willing to take on any assignment.

Thompson, a Catholic, was a deeply religious young man who was teased good-naturedly as a "Bible thumper" by one of his fellow soldiers.

A friend of the family recalled that "Nils was his mother's sunbeam," a description confirmed in a selection of smiling family photos projected on a screen above the altar at the United Community Church of God in nearby Ursina, a few miles over Hogback Hill from the 100-acre farm he loved.

"Although Nils wasn't a member of our church, we made it available to his family and friends," said the pastor, the Rev. Dean A. Hay Jr.

"Rev. Hay and other members of the church were so helpful," said Pat Wheatley, a teacher in the Turkeyfoot Valley School District, where Thompson graduated last year.

What initially was planned as a small service for Thompson's high school friends "really took off," said Wheatley, who co-chaired the tribute with fellow teacher Kathi Smith and Don DeHaven, a local contractor. "That's when church members stepped in to help us."

Among other things, church members made arrangements with PennDot for large traffic control signs to slow down traffic on busy Route 281 that runs in front of the church and state police patrol cars to enforce them.

"The community has been wonderful," said Frances Thompson, the dead soldier's mother. "We've only been here for a few years but all the support we've received has been so heartwarming. We'll never forget it."

In addition to his mother, Thompson is survived by his father, Nils Thompson, and his sister, Lily.

A fund has been set up in Thompson's name to purchase Bibles and to help Iraqi children disabled in the war. Checks may be sent in care of Somerset Trust, Confluence, PA 15424.